What makes a VW uniquely sound like a VW (esp. in older models)? Is it the 
muffler (I don't think so) or is it the way the engine fires (I don't
know)?

Anyway, my wife had the driving shift on a long drive last month and
then the exhaust started to smoke a lot. I the engine started to sputter
some so I told her to slow down (from freeway speed = 70 mph). The back 
was loaded up real good so and it was night time so I didn't get a chance
to check what was wrong (we were in the middle of the desert between Phoenix
and LA).

The next time I checked the engine, I found this (excuse the ignorance) 
metal tube dislodged from where it poked at the engine (it had a black
plastic cap on it with a rubber hose connected to somewhere near the 
fuel injector area... a type of vacuum hose). Anyway, I figured that when
this tube come out of its hole, engine oil started to spray all around
the engine compartment... thus the apparent oily smoke. I put the things
back into place, but my engine poerformance has not been the same since.
I changed the rotor/cap, cleaned as much as I could, and checked the rest
of the vacuum hoses. Now the engine sounds like a 1970's VW Bug with that
loud chirping sound. I sprayed the fan belt with a non-slip compund and 
the loud chirping is still there. Any ideas as to what had happened to
my engine on the 1982 Westy?

---roy