No, the default position is "full cooling air to the engine" which is what
you want if you have no thermostat.  And California Imports is "out of
stock" on these thermostats, as they always are.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jake Beaulieu" <jake_beaulieu@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 6:27 AM
Subject: Re: 1980 Thermostat

> The thermostat on my 1982 Westy is shot.  I removed it and simply let the
cooling flaps spring back to their default position.  Stan, if I read your
e-mail correctly it looks like you feel that it is better not to have the
airflaps at the default position.  I sorda suspected this myself.  It looks
like at the default position the cooling flaps pretty well close off the oil
cooler duct.  What position do you tie off your cooling flaps at?
> By the way. I just received the catalog from California Imports
(www.cip1.com) and they have a limited number of thermostats for the 1980-83
air cooled vanagons.  They are pricey, about $60 if memory serves correctly.