> Although the idea has been raised (razed?) before, has anyone done a
2L
 > 16V I4 Vanagon conversion?
 > How about a 1.8T?

We just had a nice long discussion about VW detuning various engines
that they put into Eurovans. Detuning the engine to produce LESS
horsepower and MORE torque (at low rpms.)

The 16V I4's do exactly the reverse, and hence aren't good candidates
for the Vanagon.

The 1.8T's are still so new (relatively speaking) that they are
probably pretty expensive choices for the Vanagons. However, consider,
again, that all the vehicles that VW puts that engine in are small
light weight vehicles. And it's great for them. Doesn't mean that the
1.8T is a good choice for a Vanagon, unless someone has a custom ECU
chip that programs it for more torque in the low RPM range. And it
should be noted that Turbos, in general need a certain minimum RPM to
get the turbos up to speed and to really contribute power to the
equation.