Advice and hints please on supplies & replacement parts to get ahead of
doing a dash removal ...

Our 81 vanagon had smelly little visitors living behind the dash this spring
-- unfortunately the van sat too long under the trees with a duff tranny.
There seems to be nothing damaged, or at least nothing failing to work, but
the smell, oh dear ... the smell is astonishingly potent. So the weekend
after next is targeted for a dash removal and thorough washdown. Ben's great
page ( http://www.benplace.com/dash.htm) makes it look achievable for me,
but please tell me on what parts I should get ahead of time. Ben says to
replace the ignition switch -- where do I get a replacement? How about the
brake master cylinder too? It's an automatic, so no clutch cylinder.

The "heater" in the front has never warmed, let alone heated, for the years
since we got the van, but the hot-air outlet between/behind the front seats
works well. (81 = aircooled engine.) The heater fan works fine, but blows
only cold, so presumably there's a blockage somewhere in the front part of
the airduct, either above the spare wheel or perhaps in the inlet into the
heater. I tried to pull the airduct away from the heater, from below, but it
really didn't want to come off. Is there a special knack, after releasing
the hose clamp?  Bentley says the heater gaskets are glued to the chamber
"with D 17" -- is that obtainable, or is there an alternative? Get new
gaskets?

The wipers are s-l-o-w. Is a new wiper motor the answer? Or does the whole
wiper mechanism get aged?  The van doesn't have any significant rust, but
maybe there are rubber parts that swell and should be replaced?

Thanks for any thoughts, suggestions, musings and advice
Alan