Has anybody out there installed one of those new zero mile type 1 vw mexico factory long blocks you see advertised on the back page of VWMA. Are they OK or are they rubbish??

Yes I had one in my Manx, just pulled it out today to go into my notch. I've had no trouble with it, it arrived with a bent mounting stud and a slightly dented oilcooler.
But I think it had been out of the box and then repacked without the proper padding then sent to me. Easily fixed but was a bit pissed off that I had to.
They have a cast crank and come without a distributor drive shaft. I've driven it from Mackay to Mt isa and Mackay to Townsville (x3) with no problems.

they're ok if you keep them stock..........

have fitted two of them myself

one of them had a oil pressure problem , in the end the center drive shalf that sits in the cam gear was actually loose in the oil pump gear itself

second motor has been problem free

probably a isolated incident , as i have not heard of a second one

I had one in my manx. I only got a year out of it before i had 2 burnt out valves. Everything was adjusted right they just wore out. But hey it never leaked a drop of oil! Mine didn't cope well when i put kadrons on it. Some people swear by them and some people swear about them! I may have just got a friday afternoon special.

Do these have hydraulic lifters???

nah dont think they do
just long reach plugs
everyone i speak to says there a good motor if u leave them stock
altho judys bug has one with extractors and a weber progressive and is going well

No