Hi Dave,

Are you running on the correct rated tires?  If the PO had installed 
Car Tires, the sidewalls will flex too much and the effect of 
crosswinds and over-steer will be quite noticeable. Upgrading to 
proper-spec tires with dual-ply sidewalls will improve handling 
dramatically and improve perceptions of safety as well.

Others on this list will advise swapping thw 14" rims for something 
larger and running low-profile tires... the important thing is to get 
the wallow out of the sidewalls.

Vanagon.com has a page that shows the results of a Vanagon hitting a 
Volvo head-on... that might impress your wife:
http://www.vanagon.com/info/safety/volvo-crash/

My kids have grown up in our Baywindow westy, and that's a lot less 
advanced than the Vanagon. We love it anyway.

Happy trails,

Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1973/74/79 Westfakia Conversion **Bob the Tomato**  LY3H
1977 Sunroof Automatic L63H/L90D
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
http://www.busesofthecorn.com

On 16-Dec-04, at 10:20 AM, Dave Chameides wrote:

> Hey All,
> So now that I�ve got the van all fixed up and have put time and money 
> into
> it, my wife is telling me that she is concerned that the van is unsafe 
> for
> our kids to ride in it.  Now before I go on I should note that it�s 
> and 83
> diesel 1.6 and I have personally checked all seatbelts and seat 
> tracks, etc.
> to assure her (and me) that it�s safe.  She�s mainly worried about 
> tipping
> over.  Any thoughts on any studies on this so I can allay her fears?
>
> Dave
>
>