making some progress in getting the old 83 diesel out of the driveway
again - wife has been complaining that it has been scaring all the birds
away when we go up to the Montezuma National refuge - i wrestled the 
panel off under the engine (hour and a half of wrestling with sheet 
metal screws) and found the header pipe had about a six inch gash in
it (actually its a drop pipe between the manifold and the muffler)

thought about just wrapping it but recycled inc in Auburn hills sold me
one for $50 - gas burners note - with a $130 muffler the whole diesel
exhaust costs only $180!! I bought the beast in 1988 and put the first 
replacement muffler on it in 1993 - i think (but can prove) that the
muffler was original equipment from 83!  Our local VW guru has told me
this is very likely - the diesel Vanagon has a very short exhaust system
so it heats quickly and thus lasts forever.

Btw just got Recycled Incs catalog - new for 94-95 - very informative-
they sell lots of new and recycled stuff (for purists, junkyard parts)

The thingi like about having such a source is that i can 'take chances'
knowing exactly what it might cost me ... for example, i snapped off a
bleed screw on my Quantum front caliper - i could feel it wasnt coming
and was going to snap - quick check of the catalog showed they would sell
me a replacement (recycled)  for $17 - so that was the worst case - this gave me the confidence to snap it off in once clean, professional motion ....

on the hand, when i did the same on an 86 maxima the caliper was $270 -
with that knowledge on hand i would have been a d*** sight more careful.

Anyone else out there have a five speed on their vanagon? With my whopping 
48 HP its really nice to have an extra gear for hilly Ithaca.