I put an S&S Header ( http://www.ssheaders.com or list vendors)
system on my '87 Vanagon (different from your exhaust) when it was
time to replace the whole thing.

I wrote this up a year or two ago, so you can probably search for it
in the archives.

In a nutshell, it's a cheaper alternative to the factory exhaust and
it appears to be a bit freer flowing than the stock.  My seat-of-the-
pants dynamometer told me we had a bit more power than before the
change and I head less trouble staying in 4th gear on hills.

As far as quality, it's not as thick as the stock exhaust and you can
expect that it won't last as long.  Then again, it's cheap, and I
figure I can slap on another one for <$300.  You need to reuse your
existing cat, so don't trash that.  Aside from the environmental
effect, you need a spot for your O2 sensor, not to mention that the
brackets on the S&S won't bolt up right if you don't have the cat (or
similar length spacer) installed.  List vendors have cats for $100 or
so.

While others had reported problems with the slip fits on the exhaust,
I had no such problems.  I did have to "encourage" one of the slips
fits with a rubber mallet, but it was no big deal.

A minor note: if you have a tow-hook mounted trailer hitch, the S&S
tailpipe will interfere and you'll need to hack about 1-2" off the
end of the tail pipe.  Again, no big deal.

If you're going for the long haul, you may want to consider a longer
lasting original exhaust (available at a discount over dealer prices
at list vendors, e.g. BusDepot) and/or the Stebro stainless exhausts.
 I have no experience with these, so YMMV.

-Karl

Karl & Kristina Bloss - Hurricane, WV
'85 Westfalia Camper "Fred"
'93 Eurovan MV "Amelie"
WV VW Club:  http://WVVW.ORG
"Bound to cover just a little more ground..."