I've swapped fuel types both ways..
gas to diesel , and vice versa, without removing the fuel tank or anything.

just drain, add some of the new fuel, slosh that around, drain that ..
etc.
works just fine.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Hanson" <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 7:12 PM
Subject: Re: White Westy convoy, I-4 gasser advice

>  There will be those who chime in now about how "it's not so simple...you
> gotta___, and _____ and then..." blah blah blah"...and they will be right,
> sort of.  Changing a motor is not ever  "really" easy and you will have
> some
> crappy tasks like swapping the diesel tank or douching it out well...dunno
> if that even works.
>  But  as engine swaps go, I would think you will never find a simpler one
> than substituting a gas inline for you VW diesel...almost everything works
> the same, unlike when you swap in a Subie or a Ford where you have to fool
> the sensors and instruments or adjust all the systems to be compatible
> between brands, buy all kinds of adaptor plates, rework the cooling
> systems,
> cross-pollinate engine management systems, find different mounting
> systems,
> move the tranny,    etc etc etc....
>
>  Reliability is not an issue with a VW inline.  There are hundreds of
> thousands of them running world-wide with super-high mileage...Most
> mechanics with any VW knowledge can manage to work on them...Heck, I
> figured
> it out and I am a total hack mechanic...They are really simple and
> straightforward motors with pretty basic fuel injection systems...about 4
> or
> 5 things have to be pretty right for them to work....All those 'crucial'
> things are easy to get to and inexpensive to buy should you need..
>
>  Gasoline cost per mile...it probably works out better than driving a
> diesel...I have not done the math but 23mpg is what I get with my ABA and
> 25
> was what my 1.8 liter gave.....given that gas is less expensive at the
> pump...dunno whether you are saving anything there.   The cost of the
> motors....that is where you really make out.  I see people spending
> thousands on a re-build of diesels, thousands on Subie conversions,
> thousands on new heads for a WBX...I don't see over a thousand in an
> inline
> four...and should you ever need another, they go for around $300 on The
> Samba or Craigs list or at your local import parts yard....I don't think
> you
> can even buy a gasket set to rebuild one of the other options for that
> money...
>
>  I think you should go for it.  If you don't like the gasser...chuck it in
> the dumpster and rebuild your old diesel....You wouldn't be out much...
>
>  Don Hanson
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Shawn Wright
> <shawngwright@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Michael,
>>
>> I agree on the reliability issue. I've been driving VW diesels since the
>> early 80s, and have put many trouble free miles on them. But priorities
>> change over the years, and now that we're driving less than 30k kms
>> annually
>> between two vehicles (only 5-8k on the van), reliability and fuel economy
>> are not as significant. The other big priority that has changed is
>> family -
>> our kids will be on their own in a few years, so I'd like to enjoy the
>> time
>> we have with them instead of in the garage. The reality is that if I'd
>> not
>> gone cheap on the 1.6TD 5 years ago (total spent was under $700, mostly
>> on
>> a
>> h/g, rings, and head rebuild), and done a full rebuild, or got a 1.9
>> block,
>> the engine would probably last as long as we needed it to. If I determine
>> my
>> leak sources are not from the h/g, I might squeak another year from this
>> engine. If I need to pull the head, I'd sooner swap the whole engine. I
>> don't know much about the ABA, and gas FI systems do scare me a bit, but
>> I
>> have time to learn more and decide if I want to venture into the gasser
>> world or not...
>>
>> Thanks for the feedback.
>>
>> Shawn
>> '88 Westy 1.6TD
>> '04 Jetta TDI
>>
>>