Mike:
        
>I would check with Ben at European Engine Parts, in Eugene, Oregon, phone
>503-485-5148.  He may have a valuable comment about using a regular head
>on a TD.  According to him, he is a machinist who has developed some cost
>saving shortcuts on VW TD rebuilds.  For example, he uses Metal Leve
>(non-turbo, Brazilian) pistons and machines the skirts for oil squirter
>clearance.

        Yes, I do that myself.  But I don't advocate it yet because I don't 
have more that ten to fifteen thousand miles on my rebuilt TD engine, so 
I don't know how durable the modified pistons are, in the more severe 
TD application.

> He uses less deck height than factory specs for reliability. 

        I don't understand this. Do you mean that he uses a thicker gasket
than specs call for, so that the compression is lower and hence the motor
has longer life? ?

>On heads that have lost a pre-cup, he heliarcs the hole, remachines,
>installs a used pre-cup from a junk head, then resurfaces it. He said he
>has done these rebuilds for years with no failures and that some units now
>have over 120,000 mi. on them.

        My machine shop was willing to do the same, but I thought better to 
apply the expensive cost of the welding and machining to a rebuildable core,
and keep the damaged head for spares.

>Sorry if this sounds like an advertisement.  I haven't actually run the
>head he rebuilt for me, so I can't comment on the quality of his work.  On
>the negative side, it did take him about three months to do a valve job
>and ship the part back to me. 

        I assume that your head was low priority, and was only worked on
when there were not more pressing jobs in the shop.  If you don't need
the head yesterday, and you can get a discount for waiting a spell to get
your head back, then this is a good way to go. Locally, I've an excellent
machine shop to patronize, which is owned by a perfectionist.  Ahhhhhh,
here is where perfectionists shine. He just cannot turn out shoddy work.
Even being a perfectionist myself, I cannot find any fault with his work.

PS to my APB for a TD head for a 1.6 litre diesel is that it must be with
adjustable valves..........I already have two hydraulic valve heads.

 gary meek
 sherwood park, alberta, canada

 82 Vanagon GL  1.6 litre turbo-diesel
 83 Quantum SW 1.6 litre turbo-diesel
 83 Audi  4000S  1.6 litre turbo-diesel