I've experienced the same thing.  almost got hit a couple of times becuase
of it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "VWNut Hawk" <vwnut@HAWKCOMPUTING.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 8:33 PM
Subject: Re: Another new owner question...

> This is not normal.  I'd check the temperature sensor and connector.
> Normal operation for Vangons is good reliable running and reasonable
> power.
>
>
> >>> Lawrence Cortright <cortrigl@ERAU.EDU> 7/9/2003 7:11:47 PM >>>
> Hi All,
>
> I have an 87 GL Wolfsburg, my first water-cooled VW so I am not really
> familiar with their behavior.  The PO had the engine rebuilt about
> 20,000 miles ago.  I've noticed that the vehicle tends to hesitate
> (sometimes very dramatically) when accelerating from a complete stop.
> The catch is, it seems to only happen when the engine hasn't reached a
> good and hot temperature (at least quarter-way on the temp gauge).  Is
> this normal for this vehicle or am I facing some kind of problem?  Could
> it be a function of the grade of gasoline I'm using?  I've tried 87, 88,
> and 89 octane, it seems to respond just the slightest bit better to the
> higher grades.
>
> Thanks,
> Larry Cortright
> 87 Vanagon GL
>