Has anybody found an alternate source for the rubber engine seals for Vanagon
cooling tin? You know, the pice of rubber pinchweld that goes all round the tin
to seal it to the body?

I've got an '82, and the seal is crispy in parts, flexible in others. I'd like
to replace it, but it really burns me up to have to pay more than $7/foot for
something that should come off a spool at a hardware store for more like
$1/foot. The stuff is just weatherstripping! (I realize that functionally, it
is much more important, but in reality, it is a very simple piece of hardware
which should be cheap!)

gary (aka: the cheapskate) 

Oh, yeah!  I made my own seals for around where the heater pipes go through
the sheet metal.  I used fuel line, which I slit lengthwise to slip over the
tin, and formed it around the inside of the hole in the sheet metal.  This
makes a tight seal, which won't come off, and it actually looks pretty good!
They didn't sell the original seals at my favorite VW store, and I already am
disgusted with the dealer parts department (I must hate all car dealers, I
guess)...