Hi all, I'm new to the list and have wanted to buy a Westy for about 10
years. Well, the time is soon to come but I need to know which years and
options I need to fit my specific needs.  I'm interested in getting a
Vanagon body Westy and swapping motors to a (oh my, shall I say it?) non
VW application. At present, I race an `84 Ford w/ turbo 2.3l motor. I've
been doing some research on the web and a lot of you have fantastic
sites on performing motor swaps in Vanagons. I'd like to put a Porsche
motor in but I'm under budget restrictions and currently have a complete
Ford 2.3 SVO motor w/ all electronics. This was a 170hp motor that would
work well in a Westy with some minor engineering changes. For the
purist, look at it this way: it's a German motor believe it or not!

I was originally thinking of doing a GTI motor swap, but I sold the Euro
GTI motor that I brought back from Germany (kicking myself for that) and
ran across Pat's web page at: http://home1.gte.net/pdooley/Vanagon.html.
I need to contact him to get some info on how his swap has gone. Is he
on the list by any chance?

1.. I need a Westy! What do I buy? I assume it has to be a Diesel or
Wasserboxter to get the radiator and water tubes in the vehicle. Are
there differences in the vehicle cooling systems between L4 & boxter
motors (other than motors, ie Rad sizes, coolant tube diameter etc)?
Would one be a better choice if given an option?

2.. Has anyone done a swap w/ an auto tranny? Is this even an option?

3.. What was the first year for the Wasserboxer? Do the earilier
diesel's use the same front end as the later boxters? Can you tell which
is which buy looking at the front end grill design?

4.. What was the first year for the non-woodgrain interior in a Westy?
Around `85? Just personal taste here, but I like the newer interiors.

5.. Do the liquid cooled vehicles have traditional "heater core" setups?
How does the heat get into the vehicle?

6.. Can the transmission be lowered, (if so how far?) while retaining
the original CVs shafts. Helmut Zeidler
<mailto:Helmut.Zeidler@ntc.nokia.com>'s Audi L5 conversion shows the
mounts moved down about an inch under the tranny.

7.. I'm interesting in mounting a turbo intercooler (OEM Ford) in the
hole behind where the plate (tag) goes. I want to duct in fresh air for
cooling the IC from the pass. Side of the vehicle. Maybe using an MR2
side cowl or something like that

8.. I've read about the diff in gearing between the the deisel and gas
motors. What is the going rate for a used gas tranny? This may deter me
from getting a deisel vehicle.

9.. I'm going to try and reach Pat with some of the specific 2.3
questions, but if anyone out there has experiance, PLEASE let me know.
Using the Esslinger adaptor plate, which flywheel & starter do you use
(VW I assume)? Does the input shaft have to be modified? Are spacers
needed? Can all the Ford assesories be used on the motor. Do they fit?

10.. Anyone have advise for creating the crossmember and motormounts?
Anything out there that's good to use as a base? Maybe audi parts? Do
off the shelf swap kits exsist for other engines for the Vanagon?

OK, I'm done for now. Thanks all! Hope to hear from you soon.
Mikey
Falls Church, VA