I just finished an upgrade to a 2000 Forester 2.5 rebuilt engine using a Rocky Mountain Westy kit. It couldn't have been easier to do myself. They walked me through the hard parts and Mark, Joe, and Mike were always ready to answer my questions. 

Since I live a reasonable distance from them and just had rotator cuff repair, I took it to them to do a checkout on my work and some finishing touches. 

Don't be so quick to decide you can't do it yourself and because it's so straight forward your mechanic should breeze through it. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 15, 2016, at 1:24 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