Rick,

I find the 5 cyl exhaust sound more of a throaty purr than the waterboxers
putt-putt.  I like the sound of the waterboxer, at least partly because I'm
accustomed to it.  The 5 cyl conversions I've heard so far are somewhat
louder than the waterboxer, but I found the sound pleasurable and not
intrusive. I would guess that you could make it louder or quieter depending
on your choice of exhaust system- others would know more about that aspect.

I am going ahead with the conversion and looking forward to the finished
product.  At this point Detlev is working on rebuilding the engine (an audi
2.3 which looks like it needed it).  If there's sufficient interest I'll
keep the list updated of my experiences, though Mark Drillock covered the
process well when he had his conversion done.

Sincerely,

Bruce Wilbur

87 syncro westy

>Bruce,
>        I've come to your same conclusions about the transplants, I too drive a
>lot in the mountains here in the east in my syncslow-westie. The audi
>engine seems the way to go. I'm envious of your being able to test drive
>the I-5 vanagons. How effective was the exhaust system? Meaning how quiet
>did the vans run compared to the wasserleaker engine. I'm hoping Ken
>Wilford will get a demo for us eastern types to try out. Keep us posted on
>your project if you decide to do it.
>
>Rick Koller