John,

You mentioned that VW inline 4's are often used in homebuilt aircraft.  This, to me, is the ultimate qualifier for a dependable engine.  My westy is running great (except that he's been running hot but I need to do some coolant maintentace) so it may be years before I am ready for the swap.  While I definitely want more power, my focus is on reliability.  I am willing and expecting to do maintenance to keep things like new.  However, breaking down road side is just not cool a'tall.  I had read the subaru engine is also used in the hobby aircraft.  I was leaning toward that.  For some reason, it just doesn't seem right to mix the auto cultures so...  That's silly, I know, but realistically, it is probably a better fit to put a VW in a VW.

When I was researching recently, I found all kinds of swaps.  Porche engines, chevy v6, roo's, vw's, volvos...  Suddenly I am right back where I started, clueless.  I have a fantasy of rebuilding a passenger vanagon with some serious horsepower to tote all the kiddies around...  but my westy has special needs.   What are the most straightforward swaps that provide the most dependable traveling?

Thanks again

Rusty

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