Haven't been here since August / September of = '98. At that time our '88 swallowed it's engine (sudden major headgasket failure = on startup that got enough coolant in the cylinder to fracture a = piston). Took us a year (mostly having nothing to do with the Vanagon) to decide = that we would not do a conversion, but stick with a rebuilt Waterboxer. In = the meantime, with our Vanagon in storage in the garage, I couldn't stand reading the mail from all of you other listees, so I dropped out. Got the rebuilt from Fast German Auto last summer. = Included performance upgrade of ratio rockers and the S&S header. The = rebuild was installed by me and my 11 year old son. We drove it from = August to December 25, 1999. We hit a deer coming back from Christmas at = my brother's house. Original estimate: $5,500 and the adjustor wanted = to total it. Chose a body shop that rebuilds show = quality splitties. I accepted a used door and radiator, and he limited his = labor cost. We're back in business.

Engine: Ratio Rockers, K&N Air Filter, = S&S Headers, 16V Scirocco catalyst (the BIG one), 2.25" Walker Super = Turbo muffler w/ stainless tailpipe (truly sounds nice, had a 16 year old = convinced it was a 911 engine!), Jacobs ignition amplifier, Bosch Platinum +4 plugs, = Spring on AFM advanced 4 notches (richer), ignition timing advanced 4-5 = deg. Everything else is new and/or very carefully set = up. Has amazing torque off of idle, it pulls **hard** to redline. I can = pull out and pass others at 70mph uphill!! Other stuff: stock springs = lowered approx. 1.5" by cutting and heating (don't ask, I know about butcher = jobs, this one's close), Bilsteins with lowered bottom mounts and polyurethane foam = bumpstops. Front and rear camber set to negative one degree. = Experimented with H&R springs. Clearly they were designed for = the aircooled Vanagon. The weight of the Waterboxer totally = overwhelms them. Did lots of other experiments too. Had great handling that = rode like a skateboard, then had a front end that porpoised so hard the = wheels came off the ground. A Vanagon sure is not like other cars. = Finally have gotten a good, tight ride and great handling. Still have = stock 14" alloys and "K-Mart" tires. Trying to figure out what to do with = this, although I do like the stock look. Headlights are euro square H4's = and H1's with xenon white bulbs (I can see! I can see!) Fogs = mounted upright on the bumper are Hella Rallye 1000's.