I would have gone with the Bostig setup if it was legal in California,
but it seems that's not in the cards. I went with a Subie 2.2,
self-installed with parts from Seth and Smallcar, and am quite happy.

On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 2:28 PM, Dave Mari <vw4x41987@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi Peter,
>
>  Its true there is a quiet, but growing following for the Zetec kit that Bostig has to offer. I thinks it has more to do with not investing so much of ones own sweat and time into the conversion. The Bostig kit is a put it in and drive kinda thing! I have had their kit installed for over 27,000 mile now and have had to do nothing but normal maintence, which has been a real nice change. One one thing you did not cover below is Jim and Brady's super customer support, which is worth more than their prices reflect.
>
>
>  Cheere,
>  Dave 87 Syncro Westy Zetec!
>
>
>
>
>  ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>  From: Peter Young <pyjme@aol.com>
>  Date: Mar 3, 2008 4:33 PM
>  Subject: Engine Conversions
>  To: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
>
>
>  All of this talk about engine conversion options - Tiico, Jetta
>  engines, inline 4's, Subaru engines - yet no one ever talks about the
>  Bostig conversion! I currently own a
>  1981 westy, but I hope in the future to either: go Neil's route and
>  convert it to water cooled OR buy a water cooled van and convert it
>  into a camper (using the 81' guts -
>  I love the faux wood grain!). Either way, I want to drop in the
>  Bostig conversion because I like the Zetec engine and the fact that
>  their kit comes as a turnkey motor with mounts and all of the
>  appropriate conversion parts (which is really only one engine/tranny
>  mating part), and I currently own a 2001 Ford Focus wagon with the
>  same engine. The Focus has really demonstrated the reliability and
>  power of this engine. I have only had to get it worked on once for a
>  bad exhaust sensor, and it only cost me $150. Besides that, just
>  change the oil regularly and I haven't had to think about that car
>  running. The Bostig conversion gives you that same reliability in your
>  vanagon (who doesn't want that!), 130hp that doesn't require any
>  engine compartment mods, and actually improves ground clearance in the
>  rear (if you pay a little more for the shortened oil pan). In addition
>  to all of this, the engine tune is selectable between octanes and can
>  be set for an economy mode to improve gas mileage. For a price there
>  are also super chargers available if you want, though they just make a
>  vanagon ridiculously, obscenely more powerfully than anyone really
>  needs (up to 195hp).
>
>  What's the downside? It is an expensive conversion initially. The kit
>  is $8775, then add $225 for the shortened oil pan. If you want the
>  super charger it's another $2950. THe ECU reprogrammer to change tunes
>  comes included with the engine. While expensive, it doesn't seem that
>  bad when compared to the other kits where you may have to refurbish
>  the donor engine before installing it, fabricate mounts, buy extra
>  proprietary conversion parts, etc. etc...?? The Bostig conversion is
>  just a simple drop in, requiring you to only hook up the coolant
>  lines, fuel line (the fuel return line is eliminated - another
>  bonus!), 7 wires, and a couple other small things. That's it. Bostig
>  says just about any automotive shop can do the conversion in 10 hours,
>  and that anyone with only a little knowledge could do it in about 15
>  hours. Personally, it would probably take me longer than that but than
>  I am not the brightest weekend mechanic in the world by far (just look
>  at my previous posts!). Another thing to consider is that after the
>  initial investment, your maintenance costs are going to be almost nil
>  - this is probably a case where you really do get what you pay for.
>  Here are the links to the Bostig site and a YouTube video of their
>  super charged test van in action:
>
>  http://bostig.com/products/zetec/
>
>  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B9_FeHKlXE
>
>  All of the proceeding rant is, of course, just my opinion based on
>  what I have heard about other conversions and info from online. I
>  haven't actually seen a Bostig van in person. I would be interested to
>  hear if anyone out there has the Bostig conversion - is it really all
>  they say it is?
>
>
>
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