I have only been on the list a couple of months so this may
already have been discussed to death.  My '84 Westfalia had
the cylinders and heads replaced by the DPO but the bottom
end wasn't rebuilt.  In fact, the shop didn't even drop the
block out when they did it.  It doesn't seem to be leaking
any water, although it does seem to consume a lot.  It now
has a serious oil pressure problem so I figure it's time
for a rebuild.  Due to the Vanagon's little habit of
developing leaks, I have been given the cold shoulder in
every VW shop in Denver except for a couple of the dealers
who will sell me a rebuilt unit from Canada.  I am inclined
to rebuild it myself.  Here's what I need to know:

There's the guy in Boston who rebuilds the heads by
grinding them out, welding and remachining.  There's
also the guy in Portland who ceramic coats them.  Does
anybody have any experience with either of these?  I
don't want to buy rebuilt units from the dealer and
have them spring a leak in a year or two if I can
get something better.

The other option is an engine swap.  A GTI engine would
be nice but I have done enough V8 conversions on American
cars to know that it may be more hassle than it's worth.
Has anybody out there done this?  Do you just bolt the
diesel bell housing to the transaxle or is it really
necessary to change the flywheel and input shaft?  I
have a Westfalia so raising the floor is not an option.
I did notice that the clutch alignment tool for my
Vanagon was a perfect fit on my Fox.

How about a regular Fox or Jetta engine?  Will this
fit the diesel bellhousing and will it have enough torque
to be an improvement over the waterboxer?  I know there are
kits for installing a Subaru 2.2 but is this enough of an
improvement to be worthwhile after doing all the wiring
& stuff?  My Fox and Vanagon use the same ignition module
so I figure that would be an easier swap.
thanks, Dave