On Tue, 22 Nov 94 16:42:59 CST Eric Walter Dahlstrom said:
>        I would be interested to know if there are any factory 6cyl
>vanagons running around the US.

the only 'factory' 6-cyl vans were produced by a company called Oettinger
or sometimes known as OKRASA. they built what was supposed a vw-designed-but-
decided-not-to-produce 6-cyl flat engine version of the 4-cyl water-boxer.
it sold in germany for mucho-bucks (like $35,000 us). but it would haul-boogy
down the road. :)

all other 6-cyl vangaons/buses that i've ever heard about have been porsche
engines. by the by, the 911 engines fit easier into the bread-loaf buses than
they do into the vanagons. the big problem on bread-loafs is fitting the 911
oil tank. according to the articles i've seen, anyway. MSDS up in N.CAL has
a complete kit for this, bus or vanagon, ... all you need is a 911 engine. :)

>        Does any one know the specs for such a van?  Or even for a retro fit?

i have the Oettinger catalogs for these buses, so tell me which specs you
want. they made lots of engine conversions for the buses ... but the engine
wasn't exactly all that they did.

>        BTW, The real reason for this post;  How much improvement does
>the short shift give?  And wouldn't that simply beat the syncros?  (maby

the berg short-shift is more of a convenience item ... it makes the 2nd-3rd
shift about 25 or 30 percent shorter. i don't know about quicker ... i'm a
lazy shifter, but it means you don't have to move your arm nearly as far.
for me, it's very worth the $20. :)

joel