. It's basically the same motor that started
out as a 2.2 litre in the Microbus, was bored to 2.3, stroked to 2.5 and
then bored and stroked to 2.6. Bolting up to a normal Audi gearbox
should work, but I've never tried it so don't take my word for it. I've
spoken to the VW factory rebuild centre about the difference between the
blocks and they reckon the 2.6 has either a taller or a shorter (memory
fails me now) block than the usual 2.2 AAR engine. It was probably a
taller block than the 2.3 because I recall something about being able to
fit pistons, rods and crank into the 2.3 block but having to then deck
the piston tops a bit.

Shipping, however, is going to be crazy. :)

Also, as far as I can recall, the 2.6 is built for torque, not power. It
has the same power output as the 100KW 2.3 litre engine and only about
5KW more than the 2.2 litre version. So I would assume a bit of cam work
will get the power up. :) I'm assuming here, once again never tried it.

Another catch over here is that people seem to want to sell the engine
separate from the engine management, which I kind of don't understand.
At the moment VW have been producing a 2.3 and 2.6 litre version using
Motronic EFI.

There is also a VW/Audi engine rebuild and conversion centre that offers
a 2.7 litre version of the I-5 and from speaking to them I found out
they actually make their own crank using some sort of welding procedure.
Actually, they also offer a 3.2 boxer engine for the Microbus.

There are quite a number of odd things over here, especially the
so-called JT conversion which fits a Ford 3-litre or 3.2-litre V6 engine
into the Microbus using the stock gearbox. Quite a bit more pull, but I
still don't understand how a 3.2 makes 108KW and a 2.6 makes 100KW. :)
It's the torque, I tell you.

G.