Hi.  I'm considering buying a bus for camping / touring and have a few
questions about what would be most suitable for me.  I want to go with
aircooled since I already have a Karmann Ghia and can manage basic
maintenance etc, but it may be that a later vanagon would be better for me.
I've never owned a VW bus, and don't know a lot about their highway
performance, so I hope you can help me decide what might work for me.  So,
the options (as I see them):

Option 1:  '71 westfalia with 1600 DP motor.  What modifications should I
go for to improve performance, reliablility or maintenance?  I'm keen on
hydraulic valve lifters and a full-flow oil filter, but aren't these
modifications getting you pretty close to the later (type 4) setup anyway?

Option 2:  '67 or earlier camper.  With this I can choose any motor that
will fit (at least this is how I understand Californian smog laws - please
tell me if I'm wrong on this).  Maybe a 1776 motor (modified as above)
would make highway driving and mountains less of a problem, but what is the
life expectancy of this setup?  Would altering the gearing setup (e.g. with
Berg 5-speed) be a good idea for this or for option 1?

Option 3:  Later westfalia (air or water cooled).  I know very little about
these, but am very willing to learn.

So, any ideas on all this????

Thanks,
Ross