74 VW MicroBus type II conversion?

I've got a 74 VW MicroBus type II with a type 4 engine, and was wondering if someone knew of a way to convert it to TDI, or even just a diesel engine made for that type of Bus. It's a great car, but 17mpg just won't cut it. =(

Check out http://www.hasenwerk.ca/ This guy is a one man show in Quesnel, BC, about a 9 hr drive from Seattle. He does excellent work but charges an arm and a leg to cover his extensive R&D. I have a '83 Vanagon Westy and have been thinking about converting to TDI for quite some time. The main issue I have is that my wasserboxer is better then new due to major work on it 15,000 kms ago and the conversion to a TDI would be about $15,000 at least. For the amount of driving and camping in my Westy (Mint condition but only worth $10 grand) I cannot justify making the switch. I don't want the van to be my daily driver either.
The main issue you will have is that you have an air cooled van and would require extensive modding to turn it into a water cooled rig (rad and cutting to front end). Also, Vanagon Syncro's are easiest to convert because of ground clearance. Unless I encroach into my lower sleeping area, the ALH TDI would rest very low to the ground.
If you wanted to stick with a gasser, again you will need to convert your bus to water cooled. You could go with Subaru pancake engines or regular VW 2L 16v or 2.0 T engines.
Good luck!

Thanks for the info!

this dates back a little in 1985, had an 83 VW van diesel blew up 2 engines trying to get to Denver in the Mts. changed out the engine for a junkyard Isusu diesel 1.8L and added a small turbo. vehicle run way better after that. mated the Isuzu to the vanagon trans with a homemade plate and a pilot extension, stock throwout bearing. had a custom radiator made, all worked great with more power, never did figure out milage but fuel was so cheap it didnt matter! Thx Ron

OH YEAH!! that Isuzu was a tough motor, lightyears better than VW at least back then! just happen to think back had to raise the rear floor about 2", used plywood and covered it with carpet. THX Ron

The watercooled vanagons are better candidates for a TDI conversion and I feel a better vehicle having owned both. As mentioned, the cooling system would be one of the larger hurdles. If you can weld and fabricate anything is possible. I toyed with the idea of putting a diesel in my 68. I ended up selling the 68 camper and replaced it with the vanagon camper. Go to the Samba. Use the search and you can find some interesting conversion projects on type II's http://www.thesamba.com/vw/ It took six years in my spare time to complete my TDI conversion. Well worth it.

The cooling system isn't that big a deal granted there are a couple of sensors and crap to hook up but if ya don't mind a little ghetto goodness you can put a cooling system in pretty cheap. The van i'm working on right now is a 74 with a ahu in it. The wiring is by far the hard part. As far as the cooling system goes a radiator was mounted on the front of the van.(turned the bike rack into a radiator hahaha ghetto) and for the piping all ya need is some metal galvanized fence posts (for those chain link fences) to stretch from the front to the back. The ahu is really efficient and not prone to overheat so I don't even have a fan for the radiator since its just hanging on the front of the bus anyway. Never had it overheat...but totally have to turn the bus of if your stuck in say seattle traffic in the middle of the summer. Oh and of course it's essential to have your coolant reservoir mounted to the same height as say the top of the radiator. Don't forget a little leaker valve for air bubble issues. Should be on the upper radiator hose. Well there's my two cents.