Thank you to everyone for all the helpful suggestions. This is really turning into a big project. Added to my list below I now also have this to do:

Headlight Relays
Box flap seals and body gasket
Sound-deadening material
Fix any seam rust (not sure the best way to go about this, POR-15?)
Tighten 12v outlet (mine is loose)
Check wiper shafts
Washer jet tubes
Lube brake pedal & control cables
Check ground star block (if rusted, replacement available from?)
Relocate power window switches (GoWesty has a kit. Not sure if I want to do this or not. Do most people ditch the factory switches? My drivers side is inoperable but I haven't diagnosed it yet.)
Have wife ready to help lift dash off.

I might have to wait a little while to get started so I can source all the parts and make sure the weather will be warm enough and tornado free as I imagine this will take me 2-3 weekends to complete.

Nathan
 
On 02/23/14, Nathan Wood<dart330@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
 
Hello list,

I have been away from the Vanagon community for some time. I joined back in
2001 when I picked up an 85 Westy. Since then I also had an 87 Syncro and
an 82 Westy all of which I had to sell due to 2 job relocations.

Things have settled down and I recently picked up a 90 Carat Automatic for
a project vehicle. I believe I am the 3rd owner. The last one purchased it
in 1998 and only drove it 7k miles in 14 years. It is pretty much bone
stock with 125k miles, even has the factory radio. My plan is to simply fix
all the little broken stuff and do as much preventative maintenance as
possible so we can take it camping and hit the VW shows. This is my first
automatic, so that in itself is a bit of a new adventure.

So far I have done the tires (proper Hankooks), shocks (Bilstein HD), rear
hatch struts, and am fixing all the various lights that aren't working due
to burnt out bulbs or rusted out housings. I have it at the local shop
right now getting the ATF & diff fluids changed along with the Foreign Auto
Supply transmission cooler being installed.

The next big thing for me to tackle is the dash removal as the front blower
fan is inoperable. This is a first for me, as I never had this problem on
my previous Vanagons. I have read through the step-by-step on Ben's website
and I don't think I will have too much trouble.

My question is what is the exhaustive list of things that need to be
replaced while the dash is out? So far I have:

Blower Fan
Heater Core
Heater Core Valve
Heater Box Clips
Ignition Switch
Brake Master Cylinder (no clutch MC since it is an auto)
Wiper Motor

Is there anything else I should tackle if I plan to drive this for the next
5-10 years? I don't want to have to do this more than once.

Thanks for the help! It is great to be driving a Vanagon once again.

Nathan,
Now in OKC.