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I've read some of the comments in this thread with interest. Being the owner of a 142, a 164 and a '79 Mercedes turbodiesel (and the former owner of a Converse-kit 245 5.0 conversion), I've sniffed around the edges of a project like this myself -- principally I wanted to stuff a Nissan six-cylinder diesel into a 164.
First, doing any swap -- even with a kit available -- can never be justified in money terms. For example, even Ross Converse readily admits that you can get a used or rebuilt PRV or Volvo/VW diesel/turbodiesel to replace your tired bastard-Volvo powerplant for less (or at worse about the same) than the final cost of putting in a V8. My ex-diesel 245 came with a stack of receipts totalling almost US$6.5k, and that was with the owner doing some of the work. Granted he may have got a bit skinned on some of the stuff, but even if you knock off a quarter or third of the amount, that's a pile of cash. By the way, that did not include any suspension upgrades (hint: BADLY needed).
Second, you have to be prepared to live with what you end up with. Diesels are noisy and they vibrate, to a greater or lesser extent depending on the make and model, and if you get a used engine with a compression inbalance or injection pump fault it's likely to shake as well. When carmakers do their design work to incorporate an engine into a chassis they work out the buzzes and drones and rattles from the drivetrain and exhaust -- dump a diesel into a chassis designed for a gas engine and that carcophany of shakes, rattles and roll lands on your plate to troubleshoot. To give you a mild example: some Mercedes diesels experience chronic exhaust drone/boom bad enough to make your ears want to pop in the back seat, just from installing aftermarket exhaust parts.
Third, any halfwit can work on a B20. Even me, some of the time. Good diesel mechanics aren't falling out of the trees, at least around here. Diesels may look like wonderful, vintage-Swiss-watchlike beasts to you when you're troubleshooting an ignition fault in a rainstorm on your gas engine, but they are not maintenance free and in the case of Mercedes and BMW (as suggested by another respondent), they cost a LOT if major repairs are needed. Speaking for Mercedes I can attest that they are well built and durable engines, but....
Fourth, concerning the TDI VW engines... I agree that these are neat, torquey and great performers, but remember that they incorporate electronic engine controls about as complicated as their gasoline counterparts. Why, apart from Kyoto, would you start retrofitting engine management electronics into a 100 series chassis? And finally, the TDI routine timing belt changes (every 60-80k kms) are EXPENSIVE -- dealer $900 and independent shops around $600, from what I am told -- and can only be attempted by a very knowledgeable DIY'er. Get it wrong and you cook your motor, and even the dealers around here have cooked a couple of customers' cars.
Just my $0.02 and a whole pile more :-)
Steve
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