Our 90 syncro westy (Vic) seems to be developing a head gasket leak at 80k
miles.  Independent garages have quoted me about $800-950 for the job.  The
VW dealer quoted me about $1200.  This brings up several ??s:

Any advantage to having the dealer do the job?

At what point should one consider a complete rebuild, or a VWoA Rebuilt
engine (about $2250 plus labor)? (or perhaps anyone elses rebuild?)

Without an engine swap, are there any performance upgrades worth doing to
boost power (I recall seeing within the last few months an ad for an outfit
in Oregon that could boost power with an engine rebuild, and someone was
going to check into this...any word?)

Are there any other jobs (eg preventative maintenance, fuel lines, anything
else) that should be done while the biggie job of head gaskets is being done?

Thanks...
John
SLC