YAY  !
if that fuel leak got stopped or at least slowed down ..
awesome dude !
Please DO share about that ..what/how you did etc.

yes, we stayed with stock 85 waterboxer 4 speed gearing.
that's a freshly reubilt trans.
Sure , 5 speeds are great to have, 3 ratios from 35mph to top speed..
where with 4 speed there are only two ratios in that speed band to play
with.
that's where the 5 speed really shins.
and 'half a granny' for 1st comes in handy now and then.
Normally you drive a 5 speed  like a 4 speed with a slightly tall 1st.

I like that ..'make anything for anything.'
that's what we all need.

that boy is puttin' some miles on that thing.
Changes the oil a lot too I think.

That's great ya' all got to hang out and 'diesel out' to your heart's
content !

scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Felder" <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 12:06 PM
Subject: Just spent the morning with listmember Gary Bawden

> Listmember Gary Bawden is touring the country in his gas-to-TDI conversion
> done by Scott, which I got to see and drive this morning. Wow, what a
> package and what a nice job by Scott. I took lots of pictures. The car is
> waterboxer-quiet or quieter, and stronger than the waterboxer just a bit.
> He
> was running power steering, too. He left the 85 4-speed gearbox in there
> and
> it seemed fine to me on the highway. I bet he'd like to have my five speed
> in there, though.
>
> Anyway, very impressive job and very nice rig.
>
> Gary had just left Unca Joel's neck of the woods after meeting with him
> and
> John Rogers yesterday. We met up in a public picnic area near Decatur, not
> far from me, and not long after we pulled in, here came a TDI jetta
> checking
> out our vans. The driver turned out to be a TDI-conversion listmember
> Nathan
> Smith who is living on a sailboat a stone's throw from where we stood.
> Nathan has his dad's 82 NA diesel vanagon and a later westy he is
> outfitting
> with porsche transmission, TDI conversion, and porsche brakes front and
> rear. The porsche stuff came off of a 911 turbo wreck. Nathan is a
> mechanical engineer who works at the Toyota V8 plant in Huntsville and has
> access to anything to make anything.
>
> The shop talk got so thick at one point that the fish quit biting. The
> fisherfolk left and we had the place to ourselves.
>
> I was able to stop a small fuel leak on Gary's injector with my scant but
> diesel-specific onboard tool set.
>
> Gary is now off to the northeast before returning home to Nevada. I'm sure
> you'll hear more about it from him.
>
> A very enjoyable morning.
>
> Jim