Heck, I forgot about the extra few milometers of block height they added
to take the displacement up to 2 liters.....but the engine block castings,
the head bolt pattern, the exhaust manifold bolt holes, etc....those were
essentially interchangeable from the first generation of inline four VWs
till they changed around 95-97....Many of the early parts are
interchangeable without issues, some require slight modifications.   The
taller ABA block was not a problem to fit into my engine compartment but
the clearance is tighter.

On Sat, Mar 28, 2015 at 9:40 PM, PSD <psdooley@verizon.net> wrote:

> No, in fact the ABA was the first major change in the I4's.  it is known as
> a tall block because the block is notably taller than previous designs.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Don Hanson
> Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2015 10:53 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: inline hybrid motor?
>
>   As far as I know, the VW inline blocks, including the diesel, remained
> the same casting until the Gen IV Jetta, around '95(?)....I am no Inline VW
> expert...I read up and learned all I needed to know to do my own
> motor...only...
>
>