Neil N asked:

"I'm sure I can make this fit, but rather than repair the body and/or
alter a perfectly good grill.....

are there different sized lower grills for different years?

Is there a difference in the nose of the Vanagon between the
"Transporter" model and the Westy?"

Until this morning I was inclined to say that all the Vanagons I have seen have the same size opening but there are wider grills (mostly aftermarket stuff).  This morning I was in the hotel shuttle van at the Istanbul when a nice looking round headlight panel van went whizzing by in the opposite direction - I immediately thought of Chris.  I only had a second to look at it and it was raining but the lower grill looked distinctly smaller than my '85.  Could be that the white body color emphasised the space between the grill and the corner lights but it sure looked different.

That's five Vanagons in three days and half a world from home.  That's about the same Vanagon density as the Pacific Northwest.

Chuck