> And finally...regardless of deck height.....am I essentially just
> dreaming of ever having a diesel in my automatic transmission westy?
> 4000 rpm cruising can't match well with the diesel.

I wondered the same thing so I asked overland.  Below is the question I
posed and the answer I got:

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Fox [mailto:afox@cnr.colostate.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2002 11:53 AM
To: vanagon@overlandparts.com
Subject: ? about TD conversions

I am considering buying an engine conversion kit to replace my 2.1L
waterboxer in an 86 Vanagon Westfalia camper.  I am curious as to how well
the Diesel engines do at the high RPM's that the stock vanagon
transmissions run at highway speeds.  For example my 86 vanagon does about
65 mph at 4000 rpm (14 inch rims).  Can the diesel engines in these
conversion kits run much faster than 4,000 rpm which is needed to keep up
with traffic on todays highways?  I have heard that diesels are known for
high tourqe and low RPM's.  Will these engines last when run at such high
rpm's for long periods of highway driving?

Thanks,
Andrew Fox

From: Overland Vanagon Info <vanagon@overlandparts.com>
To: Andrew Fox <afox@cnr.colostate.edu>
Subject: RE: ? about TD conversions

Sir,

We are currently driving two Vangons with turbo diesel engine conversions.
While it is true that the majority of the torque in a diesel engine is
found within the lower RPM range, this is not a bad thing for the Vanagon.
You will find that climbing hills in 4th gear, and steep inclines are no
problem for these engines. As for cruising speed, you will not find
yourself flying down the interstate at a much faster speed. Instead you
will do so more reliably and more economically. It is true that the RPMs
will remain as high as before, but we have had no stress problems with the
diesels due to higher RPM driving.

Thanks for your interest.

Ben Zlotkin
Overland Parts Corp.
Eurospec Sport ltd.
http://eurospecsport.com/