There's an '86 Vanagon GL for sale in my area.  I haven't seen it yet
but it sounds like what I'm looking for except for one thing -- it's an
automatic.  The seller (a used car dealer of VW's, Audi's and Porsche's)
said a conversion would probably cost less than $500.  This sounds awfully
low to me, is he pulling my leg?

Thanks.

FWIW, the description is:
 89K miles, AC, Body VG, front tires good, he will replace rear tires,
 30-day, 1K mile warranty.  asking $3995.

Tom Ervolina
IBM Research
Yorktown Heights, NY