Hi Dave,

Welcome to the Vanagon territory.

A couple of thoughts hereafter:

>Now, this thing has no A/C, but does have dual heaters.  I disconnected the
>rear heater when I did the other cooling system repairs, as the "T"s in the
>lines were also rusted.  However, I cannot for the life of me figure out how
>to turn off the front heater.  No matter what I do, there's still heat coming
>out of somewhere, be it the floor, the defroster, where ever.  I have no
>owners manual with this thing, and I can't seem to decypher the alien
>pictograms on the control panel.  Some help on this one would be nice...it's
>too hot for heat.

See http://www.vanagain.com/heaterv1.htm

>Issue 3:  This thing handles like a pig.  I am used to track-worthy Rabbits,
>and highly modified A2 Jettas that go around turns hard enough to throw
>things around the cabin with deadly force.  I know better than to expect this
>thing to do the same, but there's got to be a way to make it better.  Does
>anyone make swaybars for these things?  I'd rather not lower it, but I'm sure
>that's an option as well.  Bilsteins are an absolute must, and will be coming
>soon.  ;-)

Bilsteins: half the people say yes, half the people say no....
Then you can get lowering springs (OEM Boge) from http://www.busdepot.com
And make sure the stabilizer links are not broken (a common occurence)

>OK, now, I need some things for this Van.  For starters, I need a jack and a
>toolset.  Anyone know where I can get those second hand?

You want original?  Look into http://www.ebay.com. That's were I obtained 
my second hand jack (Bilstein). They do pop up from time to time.  For the 
toolset, you can get a nice little one from http://www.motorworks.com/vw/.

Jack and tool set are still available from the dealer, but expensive, as 
you know. They ARE listed in ETKA (Group 0)

>Also, this thing
>needs some different wheels.  The stock 14" steel wheels are not cutting it
>for me.  I am a huge fan of steel wheels, especially on a vehicle like this,
>and my intentions for it's use.  I'd like to do some 15" steel wheels, and in
>fact, I have a set from a '99 Passat.  They are the correct bolt pattern,
>however, the hubs on the van are too large for the wheels.  I thought about
>grinding them out a bit(there's not too much of a difference), but they'd be
>a pain to balance.  So, does anyone have some wheels out there they'd like to
>come off of for a reasonable price?

I understand that your Passat wheels are not strong enough for our trucks, 
that's the word on the street.  You can get 'official' 15" steel wheels for 
the Vanagon from http://www.tiico.com.

Yours,

�ric
[text/html]