> the chevy 2.8 L V6 has a great reputation and parts are easy to
>come by.  You probably would never have to rebuild one of these since you
>could simply mine wrecked vehicles for decent engines.

My '80 V6anagon has the Chevy 2.8L V6 (from an '81 Citation), and so far
I am quite happy with it. Had one instance where mechanical things scared
me, but might have been a false alarm.

You didn't say what all was wrong with the "abused" diesel Vanagon you
had, other than saying it was a lot of stuff to fix. But may I point out, 
that
a couple advantages of that car over all other older Vgons and loafs:

1.) It already has a radiator up front, with hoses, cooling fan, heaters, 
etc.

2.) If it has a 5-speed (Only diesel Vgons came with these, but I don't
know if ALL diesel Vgons did), then you have a slightly taller high gear
(though not much taller), which my V6anagon would benefit from having.

I'd suggest converting the Diesel Vanagon, unless the body is so badly
pounded that it's unsalvageable.

In my V6anagon (this might also be true of a type-4-engined loaf) there
is a LOT of room on either side of the V6 engine-- maybe enough to mount
a radiator sideways with an electric cooling fan. This would concentrate
more weight in the rear, which you don't exactly need, but would also
eliminate 15-foot radiator hoses and odd-looking square things mounted
on the front of your bus.

I can send you more details of mine if you like-- drop me a line.

Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   '80 V6anagon
                              '71 VW Transporter