Interesting thread and thoughts.  People forget a few things since
they aren't sexy and nobody wants to hear them.

It isn't sufficient to do your homework and not be fearful of getting
your feet wet. It isn't enough to have a clue and some experience
either. One aspect that everyone usually forgets is the importance of
project management. If you aren't good there too, you'll sink it and
be in over your head before you know it.  Also just because another
guy did the thing you are trying to do doesn't actually mean you will
have the same experience unless you can guarantee a pretty high level
of consistency, which nobody in the DIY space, and mostly nobody in
the "pro" space has/can achieve or demonstrate.

Also if you got into Vanagons to drive them, then you need to keep
your focus on that. The moment you start to get sucked into the
modding/tuning hobby (anytime anyone mentions power as a valid reason
to do anything, you know you're in this realm) your usage of the van
will go down, not up. You may struggle for a while and eventually
reign it back in, but usually not in enough time to have avoided
wasting far more money, time, and effort than you thought you would,
or ever wanted to.

While doing a complete DIY isn't beyond the reach of the backyard
mechanic, most in vanagonland are very far from that point. There are
far more accomplished musicians and teachers in vanagonland than
mechanics. The most dangerous thing(speaking long-term and total cost
of ownership) these people can do is have someone install something
for them. The second most dangerous thing they can do is attempt an
unguided DIY project.

This doesn't mean it can't be done by any stretch, it is just going to
be far more painful than they expect, and their mileage (both
literally and figuratively) will differ from "internet mileage" a well
known phenomenon on car boards and just as prevalent in vanagonland.
*-* everything you read online is true right? *-*

Keep your focus, and be realistic... then ignore all that and find out
the hard way like everyone else.

Jim Akiba

On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 5:22 PM, neil n <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
> If by "upright" do you mean the 15� install? If so, on my 15� swap I
> kept the stock (Mk3) oil pan. But maybe you were suggesting the use of
> an oil pan with the cutaway?  (i.e. as used on some Audi's)
>
> It's not an optimal solution, but on my swap, with the carrier running
> under the pan, I rarely find any issue with ground clearance. (though
> it's seen some scrapes!)
>
> Diesel parts can be found:
> http://www.qualitygermanautoparts.com/index.php?p=p1281587145&navt=Diesel%20Components
>
> The 2.0 I found had 97K km's on it. The same local seller runs into
> 2.0 engines (donor cars) with relatively low miles on them. Then
> again, I get the feeling that finding a low mileage ABA or AEG is not
> a common thing.
>
> Neil.
>
>
> On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 4:57 AM, Steve Cotsford <cotsford@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> ..... The diesel vanagon oil pan and bellhousing, mounting cradle etc. are also very elusive.
>>
>
>> The ABA on the other hand is quite plentiful.     Even then, an upright I-4 installation would need a special oil pan unless a Passat engine was sourced.  They too are scarce.
>
>> I am looking at engine swap alternatives and it seems to me that they are all complex and expensive.   Some more than others of course.  If I am going to do all that work, I would like to use an engine that is less than 15 years old and has less than 100k.
>
>
>
> --
> Neil n
>
> Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca
>
> '88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p
>
> '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"  http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
> Vanagon VAG Gas inline-VR Engine Swap Group:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej