On Thu, 7 Apr 94 09:10:27 CDT Jerry Huff said:
>The front grill on my '84 Vanagon has two pressed board panels attached to
>the back side, one on either side of the radiator.  One of those panels has
>fallen off and the other is a rapid state of deterioration.  Are those panels
>just for show or do they perform some sort of complex air flow dynamics that
>escapes my comprehension?  I would like to remove them both if they are not
>necessary.  If they are needed, does anyone have any experience with replacing
>them?

i once mounted some extra turn signals in my grill (1980 bus. don't recommend
it necessarily. worked fine. looked a little funny when they blinked: you
couldn't see them as well as i had thought).

anyway, while i was poking around with the grill, i wondered the same thing
about those panels (into which i was mounting the turn signals). the only
thing i could figure was that they prevented a 'ram-air' effect into the
fresh air vent that is behind the middle of that grill. i.e., the panels
keep 60 mph air from being rammed up the fresh air vent ... and that keeps the
whistling (from the vent) down to a minimum.

joel