>I just pulled the injectors out of my Isuzu Impulse Turbo.

What the heck is an impulse? Not a tough-looking 2-door offroad 4WD?
(Mu in Japan)?

>I'm still scratching my head on the rubber head gasket.  I've never
>heard of that before but it looks like they just took an air cooled
>block and designed a water cooled system for it.

That's exactly what they did. The Beetle & Vanagon crankshaft is even
interchangable!

>All in all, I would rather put $10K, $15K or even $20k into my
>Vanagon and have something near new, then go out and buy a new
>vehicle.

Same here (though a new or recent Toyota Hiace would sorely tempt
me). And the van really is relatively easy to tailor for your own
needs, both regarding drivetrain and interior. The vehicle which is
all things to all people! To me it's treasure.
--
Regards
Andrew