Pat Walsh catches me in the original Internet sin: answering a question with
my opinion rather than knowledge.  My impression was driven by my recollection
of Muir, rather than my remembrance of Type IIs past.  What I know for a fact
(speaking like a Witness in "Stranger in a Strange Land") is that my 81 Vanagon
is relatively easy to get engines in an out of because the transmission goes
up and down with the engine for many inches.  The front support is like a big
hinge.  Virtually all the weight of the engine is borne by the rear crossmem-
ber, which in turn bolts to the car with four little 8 or 10mm bolts.  It 
doesn't LOOK strong enough, but I guess they know what they're doing.  I've
never seen a Vanagon dragging its engine -- and hope never to.

Sorry for shooting off my big keyboard without knowing the fact.
B.