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Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:19 pm

It runs fine, has 32k miles. I have no real excuse to exchange it other than I want more power. Other reasons are my tranny has to come out and the engine has 2 broken exhaust studs.... so all this stuff coming out of the car makes it really hard to put back in amongst this hankering for 160+ hp that has afflicted me.

So.... Can anyone offer an opinion on how much this engine kit might be sold/offerred for? I can't see on the Tiico site how much a new Tiico kit goes for. A new Bostig kit is $8k. 2.5L Subaru will run upwards of $11k installed.

At 118hp it has quite a bit more pep than a WBX and with only 32K miles it has plenty of value, I hear that these I-4 jetta motors run past 200k miles easily.

TIA, Tom

Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:50 am

Try "Tristar Eric" he has a complete Subie conversion for $2200.00 that he pulled out of one of his trucks.
He is King at installing them and is not far from you.

Stacy

Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:40 am

Youre probably not going to be able to get too much for it. The guys from Bostig are trying to sell a 1.8L jetta conversion that they have for $1600, but it includes the transmission too. They've had it for awhile it was initially put up at $1800. I guess there was no interest at that price.

Have you thought of using the Tiico upgraded ECU? Bumps the power up to 135hp not quite what your looking for but a lot cheaper than any conversion, or new motor. Another route for you could be the VW 1.8 or 2.0 turbo motors.

Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:53 pm

Thanks very much for the help, even if the answer is not what I was hoping for. But I am not surprised either.

The average Vanagon owner (who does not have a trustworthy WBX mechanic close at hand) would be so much better off with this motor than almost any other option.

It's strange that the value is so low but it seems to be like this:

WBX fans don't want it because it's not pure. The engine-swapper-types don't want it because it's nothing special. And the remainder don't want it because a motor sitting on the ground is of no use to them.

Wed Apr 02, 2008 11:46 am

I recentley asked TiiCo for a price; here (in part) is their reply:"The retail price for your 1991 Vanagon is USD $4895.00 plus freight from Cameron Park, CA. Freight can be quoted by supplying your postal code. This price is an exchange price requiring your old engine be returned to TiiCo at our expense. " This is , of course, for the upgraded motor.

Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:16 pm

I would say in the ballpark of $1200-1500. only reason is I have seen 2.5 subie conversion used run a tad more than that.

Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:07 pm

yeah, $1000-1200 seems about right. maybe a little more because it will include everything to re-install, but you may want to fix the exhaust studs, so the new owner doesnt have to fix anything. It might make it worth a little more.