I have an Audi 5000 Quattro with a 2.3L engine.  It does NOT require
premium gasoline although it will give you more power if you run premium.
Nice engine - smooth - quiet and lots of FLAT torque.

The engine is the same height as the I4 in my Syncro.  Unless they are
installing it on it's side like the Diesel vanagon - there is no way it
will fit without removing your skid plate - the skid plate depends on the
factory cross member which will interfer with the oil pan - the oil pan is
less than 1" away from this bracket when installing a four cylinder. BTDT

Hopefully I am wrong and you will be enjoying that wonderful 5 banger in
your Syncro.  Please let me know how it works out.

At 08:27 12/01/1999 -0800, Mark Drillock wrote:
>I have a 87 Syncro that I am having a 5 cylinder installed in. I test
>drove
>a vanagon with the Audi 5 cylinder a few days ago and it was fantastic.
>It
>had plenty of power and drove uphill at 80+ mph without even being
>floored.
>The power band was very broad and I could shift into 4th at 30 mph and
>it
>would pull smoothly up to 85. The vanagon was an 84 with an 85 mph
>speedo
>and no tach, so my info is limited to indicated speed. The owner claimed
>that it got 20+ mpg even while people test drove it for power. I was so
>impressed with driving it that I have decided to get one for myself.
>This
>one was a 2.1 liter  which has the lowest HP of all the gas 5 cylinder
>Audi/VW engines. The engine lid was NOT raised on the one I drove and
>the
>same should be true of the Syncro version. I expect  mine to be finished
>in
>early February and I will let everyone know how it turns out. Ken Wilfey
>of  Van-Again is planning on marketing these kits and if the Syncro
>version
>works as well as the 2 wheel drive seems to he should sell a lot of
>them. As
>people are discussing, this conversion is not cheap. I have agonized
>over
>the expense and I am hoping that the kit can be done more cheaply
>somehow so
>more people can afford it. The kit has more parts to it than you might
>think
>and you need a donor car also. In addition to the 2.1 there is a 2.2 and
>a
>2.3 to choose from. The 2.2 has 10 more HP than the 2.1 and the 2.3 has
>30
>HP more. The 2.3 requires premium gas so I am going with the 2.2
>although
>the 2.3 is the same price and easier to find. I am still wavering on
>whether
>to go for the 2.3 as the extra HP is tempting. After driving the 2.1 and
>feeling the power, a 2.3 must be a rocket ship. I am the first Syncro
>owner
>to sign up and the installation is being done by the developer of the
>kit.
>He expects to retain the skid plate and says that the engine lid should
>clear easily with no loss of ground clearance. I spent 4 hours at his
>shop
>on Sat. and I am very impressed with him and his associates. This was my
>second visit as I was there for a test drive a couple of weeks ago. This
>kit
>also works with Auto trannys, power steering, and A/C. A turbo kit is
>planned some day but I don't see a realistic need for it. I will answer
>whatever questions I can, so ask away.
>
>Mark Drillock
>
>

--    David Marshall - Vanagon List Administrator    --
-- 78 1.8L VW Rabbit, 80 2.0L VW Caddy, 87 Audi 5KSQ --
-- 85 VW Cabriolet, 88 2.0L VW Syncro 16" Double Cab --
-- Volkswagen Homepage   http://www.volkswagen.org   --
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