I suspect part of the problem is the quality of new heads. One rebuilder I
know won't use AMC heads. He scrounges around until he can find a set of
good used German heads and rebuilds those.

But as for the gauge, it seems like something is missing. After all, Every
water-cooled vehicle I've ever driven had either a temp gauge or an idiot
light. Any vehicle is capable of overheating in the right conditions, and
A/C vehicles more so than W/C.

If engineers never made gaffes, you would never have vehicle recalls.

Nathaniel

On 1/25/07 3:47 PM, "Greg Potts" <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA> wrote:

> Hi Nathan,
>
> Hi Nathan,
>
> VW had a warranty program in place during the aircooled era. If a
> gauge had been a cost-effective method to prevent engine failure then
> I am certain the German engineers at the factory would have added it.
>
> The factory didn't install gauges because when the bus was new it
> didn't need them. There are two reasons for that:
>
> 1. People were more willing to slow down. A lot of new cars weren't
> very powerful back then. 200HP+ in a sedan was the exception, not the
> rule back in those days. People didn't change cars as often, either;
> which means that more than half the vehicles on the road were older
> and slower than the bus. Traffic was kinder and gentler, in other words.
>
> 2. Fuel has changed. There are additives in gasoline and refining
> practices that make it quite different from what it used to be. None
> of the major oil companies will admit that their fuel is any
> different, but the empirical evidence speaks for itself, and I have
> heard of "off-the-record" conversations with chemists that bear this
> out.
>
> Driving inside the performance envelope of a vehicle makes good sense
> to me. Don't overload it, and don't exceed the recommended speed
> limit in the manual. But I don't think that arbitrarily reducing the
> performance envelope will extend its lifespan.  (Other than
> consumable items like tires and brakes).
>
> Maintain the vehicle according to the proper schedule and it will
> deliver the specified performance. That's what it was built for.
>
>
> Happy Trails,
>
> Greg Potts
> 1973/74/77/79 Westfakia "Bob The Tomato
> www.pottsfamily.ca
>
>
>
> On 25-Jan-07, at 4:27 PM, Nathaniel Poole wrote:
>
>> Go to http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?
>> p=2024533#2024533 near
>> the bottom of the thread there is a description. Only works on the
>> flats of
>> course...
>>
>> And my comments reflected more a philosophy than anything really
>> empirical.
>> But it makes sense when you are running an underpowered vehicle of
>> that age
>> that babying it will make it last longer than running the edge. And
>> the fact
>> that they were never designed for speed in the first place should
>> make one
>> cautious. I suspect that the the reason the road behind aircooled
>> buses is
>> littered with blown heads is that folks have forgotten this point,
>> and try
>> to drive like everyone else. And the fact that VW foolishly never
>> installed
>> temp gauges on their AC buses. That's an absolute must, IMO.