I have one of the 2.0 ABA gas Jetta motors in my van, with a 1.8 liter
head and digifant II injection.  Mounted with the diesel stuff. It works
great.  23 mpg now over about 10k miles since I stuck it in there...Plenty
of power.  I have the 5sp tranny, too and it runs comfortably at 65mph at
about 3700 rpm.  The redline I use is 5500, seems about right for this
motor.  If ever my speed drops below about 60 on a steep climb, I go to 4th
gear and run up at about 4000, which is still 60+, rather than
re-accelerating in 4th (it will without complaint) and going back to 5th at
about 70....  It will climb 6-7% all day at 70+...if you hit the hill at
70...the ABA seems to have power later in the rpm band.
  I paid $300 for the motor with everything still attached...alternator,
pumps, exhaust manifold...everything.  I have about $7-maybe $8 hundred into
the whole motor, including some parts I got from Techtonics Tuning to make
the hybrid 1.8/2.0 motor combo a bit easier...it was simple.

  I give it a "+1" as a great option for a powerful dependable inexpensive
and simple engine for a vanagon.  The 1.8 liter motor I had in there before
I swapped the lower end was satisfactory, too.  A bit less torque and power,
but still more than a stock WBX.  25mpg from that one over about 60k miles
of use and it was still going well when I swapped it out...it is now a
back-up motor in my shop, should I ever need another inline block.

  Don Hanson

On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 10:17 AM, Shawn Wright <shawngwright@gmail.com>wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> A quick comment on our recent trip from Victoria to Calgary and back -
> generally, we noticed far fewer Westies along the way than in previous
> years, but the trip started out with a white Westy convoy - we were leading
> two other white Westies along Hwy 1 from Hwy 10 until we turned off at
> Chilliwack... we were joined by one of the convoy at Starbucks... :-)
>
> The bad news is my 1.6TD engine seems to have developed a h/g leak, losing
> both oil and coolant at an increasing rate. It still runs fine, so it's
> possible the leak is elsewhere, but it appears to be coming from the h/g -
> oil around #1/2 and coolant from #3/4 area. I'd like more power, so am
> considering either an early TDI, or an I-4 gasser, such as the 2.0L ABA.
> I'm
> interested in anyone who has gone with the ABA and how it's working for
> them. I have the stock '83 DV mounting along with the DX 5 speed, but my
> rubber gearing is altered about 10% with 215/70R16 tires.
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> Shawn Wright
> shawngwright@gmail.com
>