I can vouch for the Boston Bob motors.

I bought my 1.9 from him in Sept. for my 85 Westfalia GL.

Installation was a breeze, and Bob's reccomendations and instructions
where top notch.

So far I've got about 2600 miles on it and it purrs like a kitten. Well
balanced, and so smooth !!!

(I still need to get of my A$$ and send the old short block back for my
core refund !!)

But the motor is a work of art. The day I got it in, myself and a friend
spent a few hours just eyeballing it and ooo'ing and aaaa'ing..

Money well spent and highly reccomended...

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 20:16:05 -0500, ROBERT DONALDS <donalds1@VERIZON.NET>
wrote:

>Fellow vanagon types
>
>I cant tell you about what Go Westy does as I have never seen there work.
I
>have spoken with them on the phone they have called me looking for main
>bearings and other sometimes hard to find parts.  I have taken the
>opportunity and asked questions about the different engines they build.
>    I would like to say a few words about the engines I build. Yes I
>assemble every engine and I do all my own machine work with the exception
of
>the cam grinding and the crank grinding. I rarely use a reground crank
most
>used cranks polish up very nicely. I also use new lifters on every engine
>and I hone each cylinder for few reasons first is that I find the piston
to
>cylinder fit on the all piston and cylinder sets to tight .001th
to .0015th
>I like to see a little more .002th to .003th. Also I have found the finish
>on the cylinders to be to coarse for the rings used and I have also seen
to
>many cylinders that are not as round as they could be and often see that
as
>I am honing them . the other things I have a chance to do when the pistons
>are out of the cylinder is check for broken rings, oil the ring lands and
>properly clean and oil the cylinders. All this extra attention to the
>pistons and cylinders is something I first started to do with the Zamboni
>engines to prevent piston and ring damage and increase the chance's that
the
>rings will seal in what can only be called a severe duty application. Lets
>face it there's no such thing as a brake in period in a zamboni they just
>jump in and go make ice. The other things I would point out is the
attention
>to the small details such as the prep work on the engine case. I have
>developed tools to bring the case into true as I bolt the case halves
>together much the same as would the main bearings if they where installed.
>This gives me a chance to measure the main bearing saddles, look for the
>true size of each saddle to assure proper bearing crush, check each for
>signs of shifting at the parting line in each saddle and align bore the
case
>if needed. All my cases are degreased wire brushed painted and then I
debur
>and repair the gasket seal surface's as needed this includes the water
pump
>and water jacket surface for the head this take allot of time to do
>correctly.
>
>     I have a local shop that only does balancing and they explained to me
>that the need to balance is minor in the WBX engine because they have
found
>that they are already within the specs that the balancing machine
>manufacture's has listed. So if you check the piston weights, the rod
>weights and you are using an unground crankshaft there is no need to
balance
>what is already a smooth spinning engine. The WBX engine also has the
>feature of a nice heavy front pulley that adds extra weight to the noise
of
>the crank this smooths out the crank vibrations much the same as a
vibration
>dampener would in a V8. All that said I do balance engines at the customer
>request at an additional cost.
>
>    Other things I do with each engine is to make oil pressure' check for
>oil leaks and check compression before the engine is taken off the
assembly
>stand. All gaskets and some hard to find hardware is included with each
>engine. I also install the front pulley and torque the front bolt to 252
>pds. so the customer does not have to deal with this. I also shim the
rocker
>stands so the adjusters have the correct geometry for a 0 lash hot valve
>adjustment.
>
>THINGS I DON'T DO
>I choose not to build engine's with welded crankshaft journals as is often
>done to increase the stroke of the 2.1 cranks or to repair burned rod
>journals.
>I don't put used parts that should not be put back into service not all
>blocks and cranks are reusable and sometimes you find this out after
having
>spent allot of time and sometimes money on it.
>I never use rebuilt OEM heads
>
>I build only the very best engine I know how every time without compromise
>
>going faster miles an hour I remain
>Boston Bob
>http://www.bostonengine.com
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "jesse johnson" <jjmojo@BLAZENET.NET>
>> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2004 5:07 PM
>> Subject: Boston Bob? or GoWesty?
>>
>>
>> > Hey all..
>> > Going to be buying a 2.1 liter engine in the spring...
>> > Thoughts or comments about Boston Bob engines vs. GoWesty? They seem
to
>> > both have there strengths and weaknesses...
>> > I am sure they are both good rebuilds.. but any real world advice
would
>> > be great...
>> > Does anyone know if either balance all parts in the engine during
>> > rebuild? I know from building inline fours.. balancing makes for a
much
>> > better engine rebuild..
>> > thoughts?
>> > thanks all,
>> > jesse
>> > 89 carat
>> >
>>

I can vouch for the Boston Bob motors.

I bought my 1.9 from him in Sept. for my 85 Westfalia GL.

Installation was a breeze, and Bob's reccomendations and instructions
where top notch.

So far I've got about 2600 miles on it and it purrs like a kitten. Well
balanced, and so smooth !!!

(I still need to get of my A$$ and send the old short block back for my
core refund !!)

But the motor is a work of art. The day I got it in, myself and a friend
spent a few hours just eyeballing it and ooo'ing and aaaa'ing..

Money well spent and highly reccomended...