>OK you dump the wasserboxer and fit it with a subi. But you still have
>a lot of other stuff that are still the same old things. Won't you feel
>those parts are even more difficult to find?

More & more aftermarket manufacturers will make T3 reproduction
parts, bet on it. T3 prices in Britain are beginning to rise the way
Split & Bay prices have already done there.

>BTW, if you drive with a 200HP conversion count on swapping the tranny
>too. That's another $1.5k.

More if you want one that'll last. Which is why there's a
Porsche-derived G50 in my 84, to handle the EG33 torque.

>Also count on brake work per 20k miles or less.
>With WXB my front brake pads (OEM) last less than 30k already. They probably
>will fall apart if you don't replace them every 20k.

Aftermarket brakes are necessary for engine-conversions... the stock
brakes are inadequate period. And pads make a big difference... for
decent stopping power you'll need semimetallic pads, not fade-plagued
OEM junk.

>Oh, don't forget CV joints. They will see more beating from the 200HP engine.

Sure will. Porsche CV conversions are available. They can also be
used on Syncro front driveshafts.

>But of course you do get the thrill of that power. Keep in mind most if not
>all Toyota and Honda vans and SUVs still will out run your subi at any time.

Not mine!! And very few stock Toyota vans (Liteace series & Hiace)
will catch a Subaru-powered VW van... unless it's fitted with an EJ16
or EJ18. Please note that front-engined 6/7-seater peoplemovers are
stationwagons, not vans (including the ?Camry-based Sienna, Corona &
Corolla II-based siblings, Mazda MPV, Nissan Prairie, Chrysler
Voyager etc). Only the Toyota Estima (=Previa/Tarago) has a van-type
body, but it is not tall enough to be a van in the modern sense (the
Europeans may beg to differ, as there are commercials there & also in
Japan, like my Corolla wagon, which have no back seats and are used
as van-substitutes, with normal roofs or sometimes with enlarged rear
bays) and has no seatless option anywhere. Hmmm... Mercedes, with its
Vito, is a confused outfit... a "true" van with a roof too low to
take tall cargo.

Only the DOHC V8-powered Hiace ambulance, 3.0 V6 Nissan Caravan (the
V6 option is extremely rare) and possibly 3.0 turbodiesel hiaces will
match an EJ22/25-powered T3.

>Isn't there a saying early in this list: Driving a Vanagon is you don't have
>to drive in the fast lane to keep cool?

Try repeating this to yourself as a litany when trying to overtake
somebody who does 70kmh around any bend and speeds up to 110 on the
straights...

>Ha ha Friday is good. Enjoy the ride whatever kind beast it is.

We try...
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut