Thanks for all of the info, Jim.  Just what I was looking for.

The interior is in great shape, but it does have rust problems.  I was
thinking of this as a very long-term project--get it home, take it apart,
see what I've got, and go from there.  I've read a little bit about the TDI
swap and it sounds fairly straightforward, although there are gearing issues
to consider as well.

Is a bent rod a common issue with these?  I've searched a couple of forums
and haven't found anything related to this.

Thanks,
Joe T.

>From: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
>Reply-To: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: '82 Diesel Westy For Sale in Denver (Glendale) CO
>Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 11:15:43 -0600
>
>The 1.6 diesel engine is downright enjoyable to work on compared to
>about anything else in my experience. When you are able to get on to
>the yahoo! diesel group, I think you'll find that most others there
>agree. I'm sure glad I learned to make mine into a good dependable
>car with the help of this group and the Yahoo! diesel vanagon group.
>
>Parts are readily available as the engine was used in so many cars...
>rabbits, jetta, vanagons, quantums, caddies, and more. And they were
>made for a long time.
>
>The car is very slow, probably almost as slow as a 1.6 aircooled loaf
>van. If that bothers you, consider an upgrade before you even start.
>And no matter what you upgrade to, you'll probably be limited to
>about 65 mph top end because of gearing issues.
>
>That said, the diesel vanagon list has its members who have created
>exceptional cars that are notable exceptions to the broad statements
>above. Karl Mullendore, Scott, Andrew Libby and others have done
>amazing things with their cars and customers' cars.  And don't forget
>that just about any 1.8 vw gas inline will bolt right into the setup
>that holds the original diesel in place. Plus, you'll have more power.
>
>But you won't have a diesel.
>
>You almost never have to do anything to a good diesel engine except
>change the filters. Water doesn't hurt them. There is only one wire
>to the engine, besides the sensors, and that operates the fuel
>shutoff on the injector pump. They get good mileage. You will need
>about a hundred and fifty dollars worth of special tools available
>from vwdieselparts.com: a cam locker, injector pump locker, camshaft
>pulley remover, metric feeler gauges, valve adjusting tools, dial
>indicator and so forth if you're going to time and setup your engine
>yourself. You can of course convert to some form of biodiesel if you
>want.
>
>The bad, besides the slow speeds, are the things that people
>generally don't like about diesels. They tend to be sootier and
>noisier than their gas counterparts, and can be more difficult to
>start without a block heater in extreme cold (though not by my
>experience, I live in the south).
>
>And while I don't recommend taking a good vehicle off the road just
>for the profit in it (though those parts tend to keep other vanagons
>running) the special oil pan, engine mounts, and transmission bell
>housing will bolt right into a gas vanagon to adapt inline VW gas and
>diesel engines to it, and thus just those parts go for around a grand.
>
>If it has a good set of hoses, they're about priceless. If it has a
>couple of good chrome bumpers and a good sliding door handle (the
>long ones from the old vanagons are pricey) and instrument cluster
>and plastic heater vent cover, there's probably a few more hundred.
>Just about everything but the drive train is standard early vanagon
>and westy and is priced as such.
>
>She's asking too much in my opinion unless the body and interior are
>really good. You'll spend about a grand is you have to find another
>engine (though I've bought them well used for $100, $235 for a used
>turbo engine) to work with. Once you get a rebuildable engine, you'll
>spend about $700 to $1000 making it top notch (bore, pistons, rings,
>gaskets, bearings, clutch, PP and TO bearing, rebuilt head, etc. and
>I recommend $200 for raceware studs if you can swing it. You won't be
>sorry). If the transmission is bad, you'll spend normal vanagon money
>to get it fixed. If you're lucky enough to get an 83 with a five
>speed, you'll like it better. If you're unlucky enough to get an 83
>five speed with a bad transmission, you'll pay twice as much. But,
>then you're good for another 250K miles. I have to say I could be
>wrong about the pricing, I know they are going up and up in price
>these days and I got mine about four years ago when they were even
>more shunned than they are now.
>
>If you need to know anything in particular, write me. But get on the
>Yahoo! group as soon as you can and ask there.
>
>Jim
>
>
>On Jan 12, 2007, at 10:08 AM, joe trussell wrote:
>
>>Darnit, folks, this Diesel Westy, just sittin' there, is haunting
>>my dreams.
>>  I drive by it even when it's not on the way home.
>>
>>I have that sick feeling in my stomach like I'm going to make an
>>offer as
>>soon as Denver thaws out a little...
>>
>>And, I'm bored at work, and furthermore, I know absolutely nothing
>>about
>>diesels.
>>
>>How involved is the motor?  I've rebuilt 1.6 and 1.8 inline four VW
>>gas
>>engines before.  The 1.6  diesel is similar?  I know that there's a
>>Yahoo
>>Diesel group, I think, but Yahoo Groups are blocked here at work...
>>
>>I'm following Ben's body restoration very closely.  Not that I'm
>>necessarily
>>willing to take on this work, but it's nice to know what's involved
>>if I can
>>find an inexpensive body man.
>>
>>Joe T., looking for another insurmountable challenge...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: Jeff Stewart <fonman4277@EARTHLINK.NET>
>>>Reply-To: Jeff Stewart <fonman4277@EARTHLINK.NET>
>>>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>Subject: Re: '82 Diesel Westy For Sale in Denver (Glendale) CO
>>>Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 14:08:18 -0500
>>>
>>><She said she wants $1800.00 for it, although she sounded like she
>>>knew
>>>that
>>>it was maybe a bit of an unrealistic price. I think she'd be open to
>>>offers.>
>>>
>>>If she really wants to sell it, she should be. I paid $1,200.00
>>>for my '84
>>>Westy with seized motor back in September, and it has very little
>>>rust and
>>>a near perfect interior. I thought $1,200 was maybe a little high
>>>until I
>>>saw the condition of the body/interior.     Jeff
>>>Jeff Stewart
>>>fonman4277@earthlink.net
>>>http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vwcampersmidatlantic/
>>
>>_________________________________________________________________
>>The MSN Entertainment Guide to Golden Globes is here.  Get all the
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>>

_________________________________________________________________
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