On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 18:03:59 -0500, Courtney Thomas
wrote:

Pardon my ignorance but...if the Universal is a Kubota under the hood,
is there a question of whether he can use Kubota parts ?

My impression is that the blocks are Kubota, but there are a number of
parts and design differences that distinguish, say, equivalent
Universal/Westerbeke and Beta diesels.

I have a neighbor that substituted a Universal, M4-30 I believe it's
called, for an Atomic Four, has had it a long time and is satisfied.

I'm not knocking the Universal A4 replacement...but the OP was
comparing diesels, and I have heard enough positive things about how
the Beta is designed for easy access that if I pitch my Atomic 4 for a
diesel, I would likely choose the Beta dimensional replacement over
the Universal.

One man's not particularly strongly held opinion, as I still run an A4
G. But as the years pass, a lot of A4 owners where I said (*still*
about 40%) are choosing to repower with diesel. This can be an
expensive and time-consuming choice, so the OP who wants a diesel
suggestion is avoiding at least that debate.

R.