> Well I have taken the plunge and bought a pretty clean 81 Westy with a
dead
> engine. Minor bumps and rust here and there, but will be fun to clean up
and
> use.  Looking at options whether to rebuild or do an engine conversion ?

Do a straight engine rebuild and your other clean up.  If you get a lot of
use out of it, great, if you go to sell it you won't get hammered too bad.
If you do an engine conversion either run it 'till the wheels drop off or
chalk the cost up to "entertainment."  Rationalize it by telling yourself
"everyone needs a hobby."

> 1)Is there any performance upgrades that you can do to the stock 2.0 L ?
Has
> any one on the list done any ?

How much money do you have to spend?  I expect that there are performance
upgrades that make the engine more reliable *and* give you more horsepower.
Rationalize it to yourself by saying "everyone needs a hobby."

>
> 2)I have been reading some stuff on the Porsche engine conversion, any
> thoughts on this one ?

Everyone needs a hobby.

> And what would be the most reasonable Porsche engine
> to transplant ?

Don't know, having never done one.
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Tom Young                        '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549          '82 Westfalia
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