I was also "torn" between which platform to use in my conversion.

IMHO, one universal factor is money. So for me, when the right
opportunity presented itself, (Jetta engine + donor parts $600 .....
but I didn't see it running so I could eat those words!) it more or
less sealed the deal in terms of engine choice. That and actually
plunking down money on a KEP kit!

I guess what I'm saying is that while studying up on the different
engine choices and looking for good deals, I kept my options open.

Caveat: for me keeping options open was easier in some ways, as
anything would be an improvement over the air cooled engine I was
running.

And FWIW, once you make a choice and have the parts "in hand" you may
find that things like "open heart surgery" on the wiring harnesses
aren't so difficult. Especially (as Ben pointed out) when you have a
pictoral/diagram of what to do. i.e. with my Jetta engine in place, I
can now see much more easily what I need to do for the exhaust and
carrier. Even though they are still two BIG unknowns (learning curve
on welding/fabbing) they are less than they were when I was still in
the stages of envisioning the processes.

Hope that helps,

Neil.

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 7:42 PM, BJ Feddish <bfeddish@netreach.net> wrote:

>
>  I think there are ALLOT of list members, myself included, who are constantly
>  kicking around what to do for their next engine. I wake up every morning
>  convinced that I am going to get "X" next.  It goes something like this:
>  "Well for +- $2500 I can get a BB and either put it in myself or have my
>  mechanic do it. Hmmm that should run be around $3500-$4500 total. But wait,
>  I can do that Subaru myself, let me add up all those parts prices at KEP.
>  Wow, if I can get a cheap engine I'm saving myself allot of dough.  Wait, I
>  just visited some Subaru conversion pages. Wow that wiring harness looks
>  hard. I think I'll check out Vanaru for the harness. Hey, I can get the
>  harness AND some other cool parts at Vanaru and the total price is.... Wait,
>  why don't I just get all the parts from Vanaru.  Hey if I add up the parts
>  and the good used engine I'm up pretty far. Heck, why don't I just get the
>  turnkey. Even better, have Hans come install it at my house (yeah I'm
>  dreaming here). Hey wait, look at this cool Bostig conversion. Let me check
>  out that site. WOW, THAT's the one I want. 10 hour install time, way cool
>  modern engine that's cheap and plentiful. Whaoh, look at that price! Hmmm, I
>  love that thing. Let's see how to pay for that.. Wait that's twice the price
>  of rebuilt WBX. Well that and/or the Subaru will probably last 4 times
>  longer so they ARE cost effective. Wait, that damn engine will outlast that
>  rust-bucket I have in the driveway. Crap, where can I get a junkyard 1.9 wbx
>  for $600? Nah, can't do that. Maybe I should just get the rebuilt WBX,
>  that's easy. No, for a few grand more I can get a turnkey Subaru. No no, if
>  I can afford that why not get the Bostig turn key. Oh, yeah, that's why.
>  Wait, Bostig has a kit now. If I could just...."