I think what is killing us, Phillippe, is that we desire the extra ground
clearance of the 16" vans. Can you tell us how much more ground clearance
there is over the 14" vans? 

Also, we are trying to figure out what the largest size tires that can fit,
and then to calculate what gear ratios to change to here in North America. 

All North American Syncros come with a gear ratio of 4.86 but a check of a
microfiche I got from Germany shows that all these different ratios are
available: 

>>37/6	6.17 
>>35/6	5.83 	
>>38/7	5.43 		
>>34/7	4.86 (DEFAULT USA) 
>>32/7	4.57 

Our idea is to order 6.17s from Germany and then see if we can fit the tires
in that go with this size. If not, then modify the vans to be more like 16"
models so that those tires will fit. If the tires still do not fit, then try
5.83 or 5.43.

I believe there are a couple of 5.43 transmissions in storage in California
but none are yet in use in any Syncros in North America, so far as we can tell.

====================================

I agree that custom skid plates are not too hard to manufacture. I added a
lot of T-6 6061 aluminum alloy plates to the bottom of my van so I can smash
it down on rocks and not hurt it.
======================================

You must travel to 

http://halfdan.med.umn.edu:8853/misc/archives/vanagon.html

and search on the "archives" of the mail messages and search on the text
string: 

syncro
____________________________________
Derek Drew                              New York, NY
drew@interport.net
DerekDrew@aol.com (backup; rarely checked)
'90 Syncro Westfalia... 
...seen off-road at http://www.anet-dfw.com/~ddes/vw/drew/index.html