Hi everyone.

I'm a newbie to this list, so forgive me if I'm missing anything or posting
inappropriately.

I just bought my first van about 2 weeks ago... Needless to say, I love this
thing.  It's an '85 water cooled Westy with the full camper package.  I've
already given it a full tune-up and made it pass smog (California) pretty
much by myself, which I'm really proud of.  I've never had a car that is so
easy to work on - it's amazing, and ton's a of fun.  In 2 weeks, I've driven
1800 miles, including one 1200 mile trip from San Francisco to Death valley
that had 6 5000 ft elevation changes and 200 miles of dirt road.  2 weeks
and she's passed through some major abuse.  I love it.

So there are still a bunch of minor little parts that I noticed are
missing/damaged, and I really want to get this into mint or near mint
condition.  This, I imagine will be an ongoing process, and I appreciate all
your help in advance. So here goes.

#1)  The muffler - I noticed is loose, and just hanging by the bolts that
connect it to the converter.  I noticed some brackets above it that look
like they are missing something.  Are there supposed to be brackets holding
it.  I can't seem to find them in any of my books.  If so - does anyone know
where I can get them cheap?

#2)  The place where I put water in (The reservoir, not the water hookup)
has a broken housing.  The plastic piece with the connector to the hose.  I
found a replacement part, but the guy wanted 65 bucks, and it looked like a
new design that wasn't necessarily as good as the old.  Again - anybody know
where I can find one cheap?

While I'm at it.....

#3)  Anybody know where I can get the little plastic trim screws that hold
the black plastic trim to the bumper?  Mine have broken, and epoxy doesn't
seem to hold the bumper for too long.

#4)  I've read a few things about the octane fuel, one that says you can use
87, and one that says you need to use 91.  I know about the two different
types of octane ratings, but I thought the older engines need the highest
octane possible since  octane when these came out was much higher in
general.

Thanks to all who read this and humor a newbie.

-eric
--
Eric Spletzer

"I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% the way I react
to it." -- Charles Swindoll