In the original post I wrongly guessed Boston Bob's Big-valve Boxer's  MPG
at 70 MPH, but I also stated I may not have been correct.  Since it gets
about same gas mileage as the stock 2.1, 18 MPG, and the TIICO about 22 MPG,
it's a differential of 4 MPG, or about the same as my original post.

All this means that in strict performance terms the hot-rod WBX seems a very
attractive choice, especially if you are able to rebuild one using
high-performance parts yourself.  The two engines have such different
attributes that comparing them seems like attempting to match apples and
oranges.  I like both engines, but for very different reasons.

Based on the posts the TIICO conversion does have some issues, what
conversion doesn't, but they seem to have been overcome by most.  There
seems to be enough collective knowledge on this forum to make the conversion
pallatable to a wider spectrum of people.  Given the high-mileage potential
of the VW I-4, the TIICO conversion seems a very wise choice for those who
can pony up the dough.

For the rest of us who want a rebuilt engine there's always the Big-valve
Boxer.

Chris,

'85 Westy still with that wheezy 1.9 WBX.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Vanagon man" <vgonman@MSN.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, April 27, 2002 6:04 AM
Subject: Re: TIICO vs. hot rod WBX

> Boston Bob's motor was getting 18+ I believe he mentioned.............who
> stated 15 mph?  That motor is a stock FI system, why would it burn more
> fuel?   Boston Bob made it "breathe" better by increasing valve
> size.........thus it appeared to have a serious gain in HP and torque over
> the stock motor .
>
>   A fair comparison is a 2 liter type 4 engine in a bus vs. a 2 liter
engine
> in a Porshe 914...Both type 4 engines, both look the same except the
Porsche
> engine has much better heads leading to the HP gains...................
>
>
> Adam P
>
> 81 Vanagon Westy (The Brick)
> 70 Single Cab "Whitey"
> 74 Beetle "Ol Yeller"
> 73 Transporter (STILL at paint shop)
> 1988 Vanagon Wolfsburg
> Used Vanagon Parts for sale (mostly aircooled)
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Barry E. Muller" <bmuller@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 7:14 PM
> Subject: Re: TIICO vs. hot rod WBX
>
>
> > > Now, based on an average gas mileage of 20 for TIICO, assumed 15 (does
> > > anyone know?) for Bob's motor, gas cost of $1.40 per gallon and 12000
> miles
> > > traveled a year, Boston Bob's Big-valve Boxer will cost $280 more in
gas
> per
> > > year to operate.  This means it will take about 3 years for Tiico's
> improved
> > > mileage to pay off.
> >
> > 15 MPG ??? Is this for real?  I assume the base BB rebuild gets the same
> as the
> > original engine (ca 19 mpg).
> >
> > Oh well - its nice to have choices.
> >
>