Rick Kovacic says:
 "I am contemplating engine conversions for a Vanagon camper; my 
preference would be a reliable, water-cooled inline or v-style
powerplant that can be adapted to the VW 4-speed transaxle   .  snip  .  
 .   .   .   .I want to use the existing water heating/cooling hookups on 
the late model Westfalia.
  Are you familiar with anyone who makes conversion kits for anything
other than a Porsche 911 engine, and what is your opinion of the
success of such conversions?"

  Rick, I've been told the VW bus model US citizens know as the Vanagon, 
ALSO known as the Transporter in some United Kingdon markets, ALSO know 
as the Kombi in South Africa, and known by other names in other markets, 
is still in production at the VW facility in Uitenhage South Africa.  
They have addressed your question by producing this van series with the 
2.1L pancakemachine motor (about which motor I'm restraining myself from 
further comments about its total cooling system over-design head-room as 
it relates to total in-service user experience) AND the 5 cylinder Audi 
gasoline motor which I am told produces 100kW and develops 200Nm. of 
torque.
  By using the latest VW "stock" parts and design, your transplant 
would become much less subject to the "teething problems" often 
encountered in seemingly straight forward transplants.  I speak from 
enough transplant experience I did decades ago that I could easily miss a 
few if I tried to list them.  If you have an individually conceived and 
installed "one-off-special," you are in a very different positon from 
having a machine which uses a factory design but simply isn't directly 
supported in your own market.  Please don't take may words to mean that 
I'm opposed to unique creations, I'm not.  The more a person experiences 
them, the less discomfort owning one generates.  But if you elect to 
create one, do it with your eyes wide open, having researched every 
alternative you can find.  Also, know that this approach removes you one 
step further from EASY shop support while putting you in the position of 
designer.  Others who've worked for vehicle manufacturers can address the 
amazingly different final in-service experience effects detail design 
differences can make (just now, substituting a piece of plastic for a 
metal water fitting comes to mind:).  Generally, the longer a 
manufacturer produces a vehicle design, the better that product design 
becomes.  VW's long history with their "Beetle" was so successful and 
widely known, that "Volkswagen-like improvements" became an American 
speach pattern applied to non-automotive areas.
  Now, I understand that adapting the 5 cylinder Audi motor using the 
factory's approach requires a bell housing never marketed in the US.  
Also, you expressed interest in reusing a 4 speed transaxel, presumably 
the one you have.  As I understand it, there are at least two issues 
which argue against this.  First, the much stronger Audi 5 cylinder gas 
motor's torque curve would probably leave you in top gear feeling like 
you should shift up one more gear to lower noise, lower fuel consumption, 
reduce engine wear, and all the reasons you now don't normally run around 
in 3rd gear instead of 4th.  If the torque is obviously there to easily 
pull another gear, it's natural to want to shift up.  Second, the torque 
rating on your original 4 speed box WOULD be exceeded every time you 
really used all that additional torque.  I believe the strongest US 
van boxes had a torque rating of 147 Nm. whereas the current South 
African transmission(s) are rated at 202 Nm., a factory design change 
they thought necessary to avoid in-service product failures.  It's my 
expectation that if you just used an American marketed 5 speed Vanagon 
box to rocket around town and accelerate as briskly as it can while 
avoiding shock loads, you'd never have a problem.  But if you decided to 
pull a loaded trailer through the mountains or cruise at top speed, you 
might cook it.  Heavy continuous loads really using all that additional 
torque wouldn't be prudent to my thinking.  Finally, final ratios and 
gear staging difference between available transmissions should be 
reviewed.  So if you wanted to adopt current VW factory factory design, 
ordering both the new bell housing and trans from SA might be justified. 
 Help in making contact is available.
  Finally, we come to Audi 5 cylinder motor selection.  I know someone 
who just bought an Audi car with a bad trans (reverse output spinning 
compared to the one used in the VW bus) but with a good 5 cylinder gas 
motor.  He paid $200 for the whole car, and plans to replace the trans.  
That illustrates how creative digging can allow you to pick up an Audi 5 
cylider gas motor at the low end of a large range of prices.  If a seller 
knows you NEED IT NOW, they have the upper hand.  If a buyer knows the 
seller NEEDS TO GET RID OF IT NOW, they have the upper hand.  You know 
how markets work.  I'd study one of the multi-year Chilton's Foreign 
Repair Manuals to learn motor specification differences for different 
years.  Pubic librarys have them.  I've no interest in having a gaser, so 
I've not researched this area.
  But if you were a certifiable diesel nut, (blush, that's me), you'd 
have other alternative VW/Audi motors to consider.  I understand that my 
diesel interest is uncommon in the US, but that's only because others 
aren't up to speed on what's best in my opinion.  Get out your 50 pound 
salt lick, because a grain may not be enough to tolerate this:  Diesels 
are more efficient, often around 31% compared to 26% for gas motors, they 
typically last at least twice as long, holding other factors equal, and 
the new Audi direct injection Turbo Diesel Inner cooled motors have 
closed the performance gap between gas and diesel motors, and without 
smoking.  Just to illustrate how much cleaner these motors are than their 
older indirect injection siblings, Audi/VW calls for oil changes every 
5000 miles on the indirect injection motors, and every 10000 miles on 
this new cleaner, more efficient, more powerful, fast accelerating state 
of the art motor series.  I understand that the average usable torque 
between commonly used shift points is actually higher for these direct 
injection TDI motors than for equivelant peak horsepower rated gas 
motors, so they "feel" stronger.  My how things change.  Only the 90 
horse 1.9L has been released into the US market, but salvage yards in 
other countries including Canada have them.  If you stayed with the four 
cylinder version, the transplant should look like a normal service item 
to VW shops everywhere a few years down the pike and the bell housing 
issue wouldn't apply.  Just my perspective.
  The Vanagon list has had information on this topic before and will have 
more as details are learned.
  
  John Wakefield