>In the end, engine conversions of all types are best left for those
>committed to sustaining their Vanagon ownership for a long time after
>the conversion.Whether you do it yourself or pay someone else, the
>upfront costs are pretty high. The best way to recover those costs is by
>long term use of the vehicle after the conversion.

It seems to me that we would "normally" only consider such repowers
for vehicles we genuinely love. The vehicle doesn't have to be the
greatest or more reliable, but we like the way it is in most regards,
and intend to keep it long-term. We love the car, but the idea is to
make it perform better and become reliable... that is, relied on to
keep going and not relied on to break down.

That's why I'm doing my SVX conversion (which I hope to get back on
track within a few months), and performancewise why I'm looking at
replacing the 1.8 diesel in my rough Corolla wagon with a 2.2
turbodiesel...

>...if the numbers were the only true reason we would be driving
something else.

...such as diesel Toyotas!

We're not in it for resale value; that is irrelevant.

>The math still probably works out against the diesel but when I do it,
>it will likely be for eco reasons and added (mostly flat) torque.

Diesels do NOT have flat torque-curves. They have very narrow torque
peaks. Below or above this they just don't perform. Having only
diesels at the moment, this is very apparent to me every day... you
have to keep them in the rev band. My CE96 Corolla spends most of its
time on the steep hills which Dunedin is built on in 2nd & 3rd at
about 3000rpm, otherwise it just doesn't pull.

>An interesting side note to the fact that people are looking for fuel
>alternatives is that the conversion to LPG is gaining a lot of momentum in
>Germany.  One of my vendors is spending a great deal of time changing over
>WBX'ers to LPG.  I believe he's charging about 2K Euro out-the-door for the
>complete setup.  LPG is a lot cheaper (less tax) than gasoline in Germany
>and that's driving this trend.  Unfortunately, LPG doesn't offer the sae
>savings here in the US.

Note that an LPG car sucks the stuff down like there's no tomorrow.
So the price-per-liter may not make sense compared to diesel,
depending on pricing. LPG was quite popular here once, and the
current Ford Falcon is available exfactory with dedicated LPG. But if
diesel is much cheaper than gasoline, there's no point in going for
LPG if economy is important. And of course LPG & CNG cars are bombs.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut

HUMANITY: THE ULTIMATE VON NEUMANN MACHINE

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