I got an 82 AC and yes I believe that cooler you think you saw must be the Air conditioner condenser, else that would be a long oil line to cool off.
 

 

 

> Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 00:21:26 -0400
> From: jfpoolio@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Re: Oil cooler in 1980-1982 aircooled buses?
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> As stated you can run fine without any secondary/external oil cooler on an
> AC Vanagon. If you do add an external oil cooler you will need to put a
> thermostat in the oil flow circuit so that you don't over-cool the oil at
> times. As you probably know you can only run with the stock cooling setup
> if the engine is setup properly, in good tune and the cooling system is all
> intact/operational.
> 
> I wouldn't drive an AC Vanagon without an oil temp guage and cylinder head
> temp guage though. The two temps aren't always closely linked and poor
> Ignition/Fuel tuning etc. can spike head temps under load etc. while you can
> conversely push oil temps up in some conditions with a well tuned engine
> without seeing head temps spike. If nothing else the temp guages are one of
> your best overall indicators of engine problems. If you notice the temps
> running slightly high you can find/fix the issue before a dropped valve or
> thrown rod lets you know that there is an issue.
> 
> My oil cooler only seems to come into play during the hot summer months when
> I'm travelling in the humid/hot Southeast at highway speeds, or when I'm
> climbing long mountain roads. I have a fan on the oil cooler that I can
> turn on manually and if the oil gets up around 220 I run the fan which will
> drop temps back down some and keep them from going higher which they will do
> on an AC engine.
> 
> I also would not run oil lines all the way forward, though if you did it
> properly and flushed the old oil out with changes the extra oil might be a
> benefit in some climates/situations. This could open up a lot of issues
> though. My oil cooler is near the engine/tranny inside the passenger wheel
> well. It is a close/protected spot with decent enough ventilation. I think
> the fan is necessary where my cooler is located though due to limited
> ventilation at speed and almost no ventilation when moving slow. It may not
> do much, but turning the fan on makes me feel better when I exit the
> interstate into stop and go traffic.
> 
> Bus Boys has a good oil cooler setup that you can purchase with
> lines/thermostat etc. Boston Bob pointed me in that direction when I got an
> engine from him and it has worked as expected.
> 
> Jonathan Poole
> '83 AC Westy