[s-cars] thinkin about V8s and the future of the I5

[Mike Fitton]

Let me preface this by saying that my engine has 220k miles and seems to 
be running very well.  I keep my engine on a rigorous maintenance 
schedule and see no cause for alarm.  However, no engine lasts forever...

So I'm thinking about what to do when the AAN eventually needs serious 
work.  I made a quickie list for a replacement I5 list based on a 7A 
block.  It comes to about $7000.   It includes a lot more than a simple 
rebuild (end result is an 8krpm 2.3L), and it's certainly far from 
complete.  But at that kind of cost, I'm forced to think about a V8 swap.

Since our cars came in Europe with V8s, I'm guessing such a swap 
wouldn't be completely impossible.  I think it can be accomplished with 
a lot of Europe-only parts.  The question is how much.  Engine mounts 
are a given I suppose.  Looking at the ETKA they seem to be pretty 
different.  I'm also guessing a lot of the coolant hose and power 
steering line type stuff won't line up.  The real question for me 
appears to be on the electrical side of things.  Anyway, would all the 
conversion parts (aside from the engine) add up to, say, $3k or more?  
Or is this something that could be mounted up for like $1k?  Anyone else 
ever thought about it?  Is there some prohibitive deal-breaker?

The notion of a twin-turbo urRS6 somewhere down the line has also 
occured to me (I know, I can't pull that off for four figures).  I'm 
also aware that they're talking about a new I5t in the TT in a couple 
years that may or may not present us with some interesting options.  And 
all of this is assuming I don't take the easy way out and just buy an S8.

Okay, discuss.

-Cheers!
Mike