Well, I had an interesting discussion with a VW 'expert'.  He is Burkhard
Frannke, has a VW shop in Flagstaff, and claims to have been doin' the
VW thing for forty years.

I dumped all my parts on his garage floor (case, crank, rods), and he 
whipped out his trusty very-near calipers, and started measuring here
and there.  Then he says to me with a sad shake of his head, "git yerself
a new case, a new crank, und start ofer!"  It turns out the case has 
already been bored over .040", and the crank (the pretty, shiny, expensive,
counterweighted one) has been ground several times already.  He recommended
I get a new Mexican case, and a new stock crank.  This guy claims 'stock'
is the *only* way to go.  He even raised his eyebrows over the machining
I had done for the external oil filter.  He also took me out back where
his stock '71 pickup was sitting.  After sitting 4 months (he claims), it
started right up, and I must say, it was the smoothest, quietist air-cooled
engine I've probably ever heard.  And there wasn't a drop of oil on the
outside of the case anywhere!

So...

Being the frugal, practical (=broke) guy I am, I think what I'll do is
just buy new bearings, slap it all together, and see if I can make it
to Cottonwood and/or Red Rock Canyon and back.

Dave 
'71 Westfalia & SB