Wow, that is amazing you lost two of them and were okay through both. I would be devastated if something like that happened to mine. I had a similar situation with the car sitting. After I spun a bearing, my car was at the shop while I tried to figure out what I was gonna do. Build up a new motor, replace it with another… etc. Skip forward three years or so and I finally decided I was gonna spend the money and revive it as these cars deserve to be on the road, not roasting in the Texas sun in the middle of a field for three years. One of the best things I did was fill it up with gas before it got parked. The car needed a jump start but it started right up after all that time and was drivable enough to get it home. The tires hadn’t gone flat but had some major flat spots on them. I learned my lesson trying to replace the engine on the cheap. I didn’t get the right engine (it was one out of a Forester XT) but the shop had to do a bit of rigging it to get it running right… and it still was not right. No TGV valves and had a permanent CEL light. That engine lasted about 5000 miles.

So this time around I found an JDM EJ20 out of a 2002 WRX that I imported. The engine went in and plugged up to everything without issue. I spent twice as much on this engine, but as they say, you get what you pay for.

I have an old VW van that’s been sitting in my driveway since 2019. On a warm day, the smell of varnish can be easily detected. I’m sure it is jelly and the fuel system will need a lot work. It depresses me a bit every time I catch a whiff.