Ha thanks for the link to the Great Vanagon race, very cool. Yeah from
the low top speeds it looks like the grade and altitude were
definitely taking their toll. Now someone just needs to take it one
step further and do a gumball style event in vanagons.

Glad to hear about the lightening the load and raising the rev limiter
taking care of business with the 2.2.   Ben what does the 2.5 SOHC
fully dressed weigh?

Oh and was it Don with the "no replacement for displacement" comment..
that's a huge pet peeve of mine. That's usually uttered in conjunction
with "where's my bud light?" or "I hate electricity"(actual quote from
a buddy of the mechanic that we used to have a shop next to, in
reference to carbs vs. fuel injection) or indeed "I love NASCAR".

There's always a replacement for displacement when you can control the
density of the charge. That phrase is going to fade away along with
FWD mythology and by brand car shoppers.

Jim Akiba