Philippe,

Sorry to hear about the engine being trashed.

One other option you might consider,

When we talked on the phone 2 days ago, I recommended a shop in
Sacramento.

Stephan's Auto Haus .... owned and operated by Vanagon & Syncro
enthusiast and fellow list member, Stephan White.

Stephan has done several Tiico Conversions, one of which is his own
personal Syncro Westy and is very high on that approach.

No matter what approach you are leaning towards, you might want to give
Stephan a call and discuss options.

He would be very glad to help a fellow stranded Vanagon owner in any way
possible.

I really can't recommend Stephan highly enough ....

I don't believe you can find a more honest, conscientious shop in the
Northern Calif area.

Stephan's Auto Haus
3950 Attawa Ave.
Sacramento, California 95822
916.456.3040
916.456.3041 fax
 <mailto:Beetsport@comcast.net> Beetsport@comcast.net
 <http://www.stephansautohaus.com/> www.Stephansautohaus.com

Larry Chase
Email: RoadGuy@RoadHaus.com
Web:
<file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/RoadHaus/Application%20Data/Micro
soft/Signatures/WWW.RoadHaus.com> WWW.RoadHaus.com
What: North American Road Trip
How: RoadHaus - 1990 White VW Westfalia Syncro
Today: somewhere in Arizona

 - - -

Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 22:30:11 -0700

From: "Fuzzy :philippe" <fryday@CALIFORNIA.COM>

Subject: Re: Mechanic near Truckee

Allright, I'm told the engine might be on its last leg. My option:

- Have it opened up and fixed (I'm told 7-8 hours of tear down + fix +
parts)

- Have the engine replaced with a rebuilt engine or *really* good used
one (anyone has an engine they know is good?)

- Have the engine replaced with a TDI conversion

Any recommendations? I'm in Truckee, CA with this real nice mechanic
named Ken at Fast and Pleasant Auto & Truck Repair in Truckee. He seem
to know his VW's, but I'd love to know of any alternatives that will
give me a greater bang for my buck.

So I could just have the engine fixed once it's been opened up, but
that's a good amount of $$ just for figuring out what the deal is
without fixing anything, or I could shell out a good deal of $$ for a
new engine and installation, and possibly selling the old engine for
parts (anyone interested?). Or, my favourite option (but the most
costly) is getting a TDI conversion, but that will take a good deal of
time as well, I hear. And if someone in the area is most qualified with
conpared with Ken, I could go with them (AAA will tow me 100 miles). But
I hear that you cannot do a Diesel conversion in California. Anyone has
any comments on that?

Thanks so much everyone for all your help!!

A bientot et avec amour,

Philippe