spark plugs: well, i am in the throes of trying some bosch triple-prong
sparking plugs right now, and i THINK they are an improvement. the car
seems to idle smoother and pull off from a stop much better. i THINK. it's
really hard to 'quanitify' this.  but i did NOT do a tune-up, i just replaced
the plugs. they ARE more expensive, but not as much as split-fires and they
look like they should work much better than one electrode that was split by
a pair of nippers. :)  these are the numbers (also one by NGK):

Bosch W7DTC <3-pronged>    cost about $3.80 each
NGK   BP6ET <3-pronged>    cost about $3.50 each

flashing to pass: i'm pretty sure than my 1971 bus and my 1973 bus did NOT
have the flash to pass feature, and that it didn't show up until the
New Revised steering column and switches of the 1975 buses. but i am old, and
it was a very long time ago, and my little grey cells, they do not always
make me proud. :)

joel