We don't get many air-cooled vanagons in these parts, so when I saw an 81
Westphalia parked out at the University I thought I'd check it out. Apart
from the body being in rough shape - here are some differences between the
two years: a) plastic intake air vents replaced steel vent on 81; b) dash
vent controls of three on the 81 instead of 4 on later years; c) the rear
bench seat ran the  width of the van and instead of there being the stash
boxes to the left of the rear seat there is a jump seat  just
in front and perpendicular to the
bench; d) the 81 seemed higher but that could be my imagination.

The owner also installed an electric oil heater which replaced the regular
sump
plate. It looked a lot like an upside down hot plate. Neat idea and easy
to install.

DC
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David Carment
School of International Affairs
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
voice - (613) 788-2600-6662
fax - (613) 788-2889
Email address: dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca
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