bizarre diesel biuldup

[dustdevil]

Hi all:
     New to this board, but not to VW diesel travails, er, joys, excuse me.
Have researched the matter thoroughly, in my desire for a sweet non-TDI, non-electronic turbodiesel, and discovered that a 1715cc diesel was installed on German-market Type 4 vans (known here as the Vanagon). It differed from the 1.6l only in bore dim, 79.5mm vs. 76.5. While these KY code engines and their componenents show up on eBay Germany, the critical item (the block!!) would be prohibitively expensive to ship. How to get a 79.5mm bore in an old school "short" block? I have heard the gasser G60 block (81mm bore) differed from the NA 1.8l in nickel content, shades of the 1.6TD vs. the NA 1.6l. Plus, it comes complete with piston squirters (bonus!). Would it be possible to bore one of these G60 blocks for sleeve installation, install sleeves, and rebore to fit the relatively cheaply shipped Euro-spec 1.7l diesel pistons? G60 blocks seem to be going for fire sale prices these days. This might be a cheaper upgrade than a 1.9TDI and all its associated plumbing & electronics, as well as easier to locate than the elusive 1.6TD. They may be plentiful in some areas, but out here in the middle of "flyover country" they're practically non-existant. The U.S. Rabbit pickup had a nifty 1.7l gasser, and I thought it would be nice to create a turbodiesel the same size. Any expert opinions from this august body of RKIs would be greatly appreciated.

[janb]

really it is hard to beat the brand spanking new 1.9's @ USD $1800 for long block;  http://www.overlandparts.com/dealerlist.htm
can buy in NA or TD version, and with 1.6 configured heads
(maybe you can get a used 1.9TD cheap, Canada prices seem very high for used TD's. in US can find running 1.6 TDs in $500 - $800 range)

You can end up spending a lot of time and $$ dinking around, and not have a better, more robust solution.  The 1.9 can follow you, car to car, for your entire life, since it is easy to swap.  You could spend extra time, doing propane injection, pump enhancements and the like