I read with great interest Onebigduke@aol.com experience with his 78 Vanagon.

It raised a number of questions in my mind as he went off on Mark Stephens
engines, especially since I know a number of people who have his engines and
they run great.

1. What is the normal operating temperature for a 1978 Van? Does VW have a
specification for it?

2. What do you think is wrong with the engine that is causing it to
overheat? From what I know, the only thing in the longblock itself that
could cause it to overheat is too much compression.

3. What is your compression? I understand that Mark Stephens provides a tape
of your test-run with the compression on it.

4. Would an additional oil cooler solve the problem? Could your climate be a
contributing factor? Is all your cooling tin and the engine seal in place? I
can't think of any other causes of overheating.

Looking forward to your response.

RAS