OK, so I'm at 216K miles on my 90 carat original engine so I can't
say that a conversion hasn't entered my mind, but it's still running
strong and I don't worry about it all that much. I have watched the
subaru versus zetec conversions out of the corner of my eye for a while.

But this afternoon I got a visit from my neighbor Dre on this list
who interned at Bostig for a while this summer and got a conversion
done while there at Jim and Brady's shop. He let me ogle and drive
his zetec converted 88 automatic. I was extremely impressed with the
conversion mechanicals. I mean, that little engine just sits in there
straight up (I'm used to seeing the 50 degree diesel in my westy and
my flat waterboxer). You get a good view of the road from the engine
compartment as the engine takes up very little space. Minimum wiring
mess. All very neat. Everything is  right there, even if it takes a
few minutes to get oriented to where things are re-mounted.
Everything is done right, very right, from the stainless steel intake
to the tip of the exhaust and all the hanger bits in between.

And driving? Well, you've got about the same mileage as the
waterboxer with a good bit more power. I didn't drive it it all that
far, and didn't get on the Interstate, but we pulled a good hill and
checked the acceleration on several flat spots. The motor was
powerful and smooth. I also like the fact that you can plug in a
device that allows tweaking both speed and economy and supports data
logging.

Very impressive.

Jim