Last December 16th, all hell broke loose... Comming back from a trip to
San Diego for a week, I started the van, took it out of the garage and
after driving for just about 100 meters, I lost power, it started
bucking, and big embarrasing clouds of white smoke came out from its
guts. After stopping the van, muddy liquid was also being spilled from
the exhaust and I could see that it was in real pain...
 
I immediately towed it to the mechanic, which opened it and found the
culpit. You can see the results here:
http://support.inetsoftware.com/~Pablo/VW/VW%20Fotos.htm (high
resolution photos, for those with a slow connection). This little beast
has already 20 years in him (her?) and water had corroded many internal
parts. I've not done any major change to the engine since I bought it in
99, so the good thing is that now I have the opportunity of changing
seals, gaskets, pipes, even some wiring, that you can see are screaming
to be replaced. 
 
Now I'm interested on buying a rebuilt short block for my 84 Vanagon,
1.9L. I believe it should include the block, cylinders, pistons and
heads. Am I correct?
 
I've sent an email to Bus Depot with no answer yet (I'm very happy with
the minor things I've bought from them in the past), but would like to
know if somebody recomments a vendor for these major parts. Your
experience will help me a lot.
 
I have checked several sites but I have not seen the short block
displayed, and instead of sending countless emails, I thought it would
be better to trust the wisdom of the list. 
 
An important detail: I live down in Costa Rica, in Central America. So
international shipping should be provided somehow, perhaps not directly
with the shop. 
 
I appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.
 
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Pablo Bonilla
aylajg@racsa.co.cr
San Jos�, Costa Rica
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