Different Vanagon owners have different priorities, and there is no "right"
solution for everyone.  No reason to get into fist fights over it. :-)

When my '89 needed a new engine, I put in another wasserboxer. My philosophy
was that no engine was going to change the fact that I drive a barn on
wheels. My Westy goes as fast as I need it to, and even if I could drive it
faster the brakes and handling really wouldn't be up to the task. As for
uphill sluggishness, I've driven aircooled VW's for years, and compared to
some of them it's downright peppy!  I decided that in the long run it was
still much cheaper to put in another stock engine, even after factoring in
the potential cost of a head gasket job every 75-100k miles. In fact I could
replace the stock engine a couple of times over. The money I saved could go
into a lot of other upgrades and repairs on my Vanagon.  I guess I've put
about 50k on that AVP engine so far with no problems. If I get another 50k
(or even less) out of it, I'll feel that I came out ahead financially versus
the cost of the various conversion alternatives. Then I'll look at my
options again and make a fresh decision (which may or may not be the same; I
would never rule anything out).

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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