There are certainly a lot of strange 'options' being tossed out here. The
van is already set up as a TD, the simplest and 'cleanest' option is an
AFN/AHU TDI. Fits better, everything bolts right up, gobs of power - and
won't have the negatives of the 'Boxeer' that you all seem to be touting.
Seriously - take an engine with modern emission controls, delete ALL of
them, including cat, and 'tune' it for even more power while dropping mpg?
That's not a step forward.
Give Russel Johnston in Scotland a ring - he does the best TDI conversions
over that side of the pond.