Ken, I believe you have it right.  I put a Boston Engine 1.9 in my '84 2
years ago.  I wound up doing the job myself in my driveway.  No shop in
Middle GA would touch a water-boxer and the members of the local VW club
were scared of by the thought of coolant.  I hadn't even done a tune-up
myself on the old engine.  I did have a Haynes & Bentley.  I got much help
from the list, and Bob Donalds held my hand a couple of times via the
telephone.  One of the keys to putting a new engine in is to replace as much
else that is engine-related at the time including new coolant lines and
radiator (wish I could have gotten all new wiring).  Putting a new engine in
a Vanagon is not rocket science.  If I had a few buddies helping me it would
have been much easier.

John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Wilford" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 7:48 PM
Subject: Re: Bus Depot Rebuilt 2.1L - opinions?

>I have heard conflicting reports about availability on these.  I know a
> few years ago they stopped selling them, and recently I have heard they
> are available again.  However the quality level of them is very spotty
> as well.  It is a factory where they rebuild many different kinds of
> engine along with the waterboxer.  I have heard of them using mismatched
> case halves, mixing and matching 1.9l and 2.1l rods in the same case,
> etc.  Also every one I have ever seen has used rebuilt heads on it (not
> good as far as I am concerned).  I have had very good success with
> Boston Engine rebuilds over the years with brand new AMC heads.  A
> nation-wide warranty is great to have, but through the VW dealer?  That
> means you are going to depend on a VW dealer to:
> 1. Do a good job on the engine install (sound of me laughing).
> 2. Get you a replacement engine in a timely manner if you do have a
> break down (let's laugh some more).
> 3. Actually not abuse you by added costs of things "not covered under
> the warranty" (add crying sound here).
>
> After my experience with them (most don't want to work on Vanagons and
> if they do they have no clue what they are doing) I wouldn't want to put
> too much faith in them.  The warranty is only as good as the people who
> are going to honor it.
>
> Just my opinion.  There are good dealers out there I am sure, but they
> are few and far between.  What are the odds of you breaking down near
> one of the good ones?
>
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>
>
> Robert Cardo wrote:
>
>><<Are these availabel from VW of America?? >>
>>
>>
>>They sure are.
>>
>>12,000 mile 12 month's warrantee good at any VW dealer in the country.
>>
>>
>>
>