Hey all,
Well, I finally figured out for sure the climate controls on my '81
Vanagon.

I know now that the 3-speed fan definitely DOES NOT help with the heat.
It is for fresh air only.  I found this out for sure last night while
messing around/driving around.  

BTW when this Vanagon gets on the highway, it gets freakin' HOT in
there!  I like that blower on the alternator!  

My problem is that I can't get the fresh air to shut off.  I can close
the rear vents and close the dash vents and no air comes out of those,
but fresh air that's leaking in does come out of the two dashboard
defroster vents when I'm driving down the road.  Obviously, this is a
problem as it hurts heating efficiency if it has to compete with cold
air and it really hurts defroster efficiency when the heated air is
mixed with the outside cold air.  

So, what I want to know is how easy it is to adjust the main fresh air
flaps. Hell, I also want to know WHERE THEY ARE!  This was easy work on
my '78, reach up under the dash and turn the little adjuster but on the
'81 I've got these funky cables and who knows what?  So, do I just
adjust the cable or do I do it the easy way and put duct tape over the
fresh air intake behind the grille? :)

Thanks for any and all replies,
Sean