Date:         Thu, 02 May 1996 10:12:49 EST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "William R. Kennedy, NJIT CIAT, 201-596-5648" <kennedy@admin.njit.edu>
Subject:      RE: '81 Westy:???

Mizamook asks what's the best cruising speed for a Vanagon, and whether
to cobble up a 120v airconditioner.  It depends, and no.

Condition of the engine determines how fast you should cruise.  You should
learn or buy a consistent way to determine how hot the engine is, and
drive at a speed that doesn't make the engine too hot.  Depending on the
engine (and the heat of the day, and the slope of the road) this may be
75 or 30.  I'm not sure how Saint Muir's dipstick rule translates to the
Vanagon engine; maybe you should be able to grasp the dipstick's tube without
its searing a line on your palm.  (Dipstick rule is that the engine is
happy if when you stop at a rest area you can comfortably hold the dipstick,
but that's for a short dipstick in a Type 1, not Ouruboros, the Vanagon
dipstick that encircles the world.  Temp gauge is really worth the trouble,
that's why it's such a lively thread on the list.)

Re: airconditioning, even the stock airconditioning has a tough time on a 
hot day (in the opinion of the airco owner I know), so anything less will
be like cooling your house by leaving the refrigerator door open.  On my
Vanagon (nonWesty) I put in a sunroof, which is no airconditioner but is
a well-spent $85.  With the roof open the car stays a little cooler in the
parking lot, and the roof is quieter by far than the windows for a given
level of airflow.  ICE has an aftermarket Vanagon airconditioning setup,
optionally with front and rear condensers.  The directions make it look
like a major project: step 1, take out the whole dashboard, wall to wall.
But it supposedly cools better than the stock system and is set up for
R134.  $1500 or so.

Cooler full of cold Diet Pepsi isn't doing it for you?

B.
Wm Kennedy
kennedy@admin.njit.edu