Suzuki: What engine will fit?, vw diesel, value judgement


Question
I have a 1988 suzuki sammy with the original 1.3 liter in it,which is kind of slow,will be ok for stock though.Anyway I also have another 88 sammy without a motor,but everythingelse is there.I seen and heard of other engine's being put in with adapter kit's I am sure.Thinking abiout a VW diesel engine,1.6 or V-6.What are you thought's on this process?Is it worth the effort?

Answer
I've seen good success with 1600 8 valve transplants, and the VW Diesel is highly thought of.  Whether it's worth it is a personal value judgement.  Rather than putting in a bigger motor, and subsequently compromizing the longevity of the rest of the drive train, I changed the T-case gearing, and the differential gearing, and put in lockers.  That permitted me to use 34" tires and do a wrangler spring over kit.  It has more clearance and articulation than a rubicon, and is generally capable of slightly more than a stock rubicon for a total investment of about one fourth as much.  BUT, it really won't go much faster than 60.  I still get about 27 highway, so that's a good set of compromises for my purposes.  It's all a matter of what you want and how bad you want it.  Go to izook.com and peruse the links to see what's available and for how much.
scotty