I�ve recently resumed active daily reading of the Vanagon postings, after a
long period of overwork, and I find fascinating the discussions of how the
fuel crisis is (or not) going to impact our ability to continue to enjoy our
vehicles. I was reflecting on this myself recently during a two-week camping
trip from Calgary to the west coast of Vancouver Island. The mileage I get
on my 87 Westy used to be very attractive! But less so now that it costs me
$65+ to fill my tank. It certainly made me a bit less prodigal than I
normally am in my tooling about once reaching my final destination.

I�m wondering whether replacing the engine with something more fuel
efficient might not be the answer. Has anyone tried this? Even if your
intention was not at the time to go for fuel efficiency, did you replace
your engine with something that ended up being more fuel efficient? What was
the replacement engine? Who did the work (I will definitely NOT be doing
mine)? Was it hard to find someone to do this? Hard to find the engine? And
how are you enjoying the results? Are you glad you did it? What are the
advantages, disadvantages?

Katherine & Vanita (87 Westy)