Pull the head and fix the bad side. Those 1.9s are robust and designed to be fixed and put back on the road. 
       I had a 1.9 that I patched together hoping To get 6 or 8 months out of and got 5 plus years use out of it.

                               Stacy

                              

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 15, 2016, at 12:24 PM, Ryan Perry <rjdperry@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> My 84, 1.9 manual westy with 198k miles, Artie McPartie, has gone the way
> of the ghost. Driving down hwy yesterday after a pretty good clip up hill
> the engine lost power and will no longer start. Towed to my mechanic and it
> is 0 compression in cylinders 1 and 3. He didn't dig much deeper other than
> it needs a new engine.
> 
> I am at a loss here. I know I have gotten many years out of my van and will
> get many more and should expect that any investment will get me returns. I
> also knew this day was coming after getting the dreaded oil light after hwy
> stretches. I am not made of money and want to make a good decision on next
> steps.
> 
> And with that, I turn to this...the smartest group of van owners I know.
> 
> I want to keep a waterboxer, I know the engine and I like its simplicity. I
> would love to upgrade to a 2.1 or more if it is worth the price. I am
> located in Asheville, NC and would not be doing any of the work myself. My
> mechanic can take delivery and do the install. (I do my fair share of work
> but feel this is out of my league)
> 
> So, any ideas out there on next steps? Thanks in advance for your help!
> Ryan