of the 1.8 jetta gas engines I've seen in vanagons .......
I did one, and have worked on and driven some others.
power is 'ok'............the engine is smooth .......
but ...............an 8 valve 1.8 does not have significantly more power
than a waterboxer, as far as I know.

it does have a more bullet proof block and head though.  No head gasket
issues.

I picked up an 87 Jetta 16 valve  DOHC 1.8 .
123 hp at 5,800 rpm.
I'd sell this engine package - 'the whole thing' , the entire fuel system
etc.
$ 600 today ...........
located in southern Oregon.  I say 'today' because I might change my mind on
that.
Would make an interesting inexpensive inline vw-based gas engine, for a
manual trans vanagon.
One guy online ........with an 8 valve 1.8 .......
says he gets 23 mph, and saw a high of 27 mpg once.
Let's say he gets 21 to 23 most of the time. That's better than a waterboxer
for sure.  Plus no joke headgaskets.
scott
www.turbovans.com
( Or...........I'll built that engine into one of my vanagons for a
buyer.......
how about in a 5 speed sunroof diesel vanagon ? ......that would make an
awesome package. that van is for sale right now, darn nice one too, hoping
to get it posted to day even. )

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl" <tdiguru@WESTYVENTURES.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2009 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: 1988 Rebuilt Engine Stumbling at various RPM levels2100-2300,
3400- 4000r...

>I dunno Mark, but without a road test alongside a WBX van it's hard to
> say whether it's worth the effort. In my mind, a conversion that barely
> makes a few HP more than a WBX and doesn't increase the mileage seems a
> waste of my time. :-) But that's me.
>
> Karl
>
> Mark Dearing wrote:
>
>> hey guys  I do a lot of subie repairs and they aren't  all that  great.
>> they have their problems also.  I just did a 1.8 jetta motor in a  vannie
>> using
>> the whole vannie controll system. did not change anything to the  body so
>> if I don't like it I can always change it back over, but so far so good
>> ,
>> jetta motor seems to be doing great , I used a vannie diesel bellhousing
>> and
>> oil pan, mounts etc.  road test coming up soon  later  mark  d