>According to Ron's chart, however, it is a 1990 since it
>as the "L" designation for the year of manufacture. The
>California title also states that it is a 1990. But the
>date of manufacture on the door jam sticker states "mfg.
>by Volkswagen AG West Germany 5/89." The line below it
>states "incomplete manufacture 6/89." According to the VIN
>code, the van was manufactured in Austria and was number
>209 to come off the line.

>Is it an '89 or a '90?

Steve,
it's both, depending of the point of view.
The  "L" in your VIN shows, it's definitly a 1990 model.
But Volkswagen startet the new model-year always around
August of the year, that means, the EVs, that are made
today (Nov. 97) are all '98 models.
Your number #209 is a very early one, so I think this has
been of the first maybe 5 days of the 1990 model, produced
in 1989 (mine is a "K" '89 model, first registrated in
oktober '88 #around 17000).
All synchros were made in Austria by Steyer.
A friend, who is working at Hannover plant told me, that
the first cars of the new model-year are produced very
early in the year, some for testing, some for PR, some for
type-aproval. Maybe, you've got one of these. In that
borderlined days of model years, they sometimes even mix
parts of different years, that could explain your mirrors.

Have fun with it,
best wishes
Michael Meier

Braunschweig, Germany