In a message dated 98-07-15 Kennedy wrote:

<< One of the catalysts for my long
 dream of a Porsche=powered Vanagon was a conversion done by
 the Porsche factory, which I saw in the early eighties as it
 passed through NJ on its way to CA, to the dealer who had
 commissioned it.  It was a white Vanagon with grey interior,
 Porsche gauges, and a Porsche six which you would swear had
 been installed on a factory line.  Nothing about the engine
 looked at all out of place or cobbled-up. >>

I was at the Porsche factory for a couple of days sometime in the late 80s.
They had a Vanagon in Zuffenhausen which was converted at the factory to have
a six-cylinder 911 engine.  It had other changes as well, including upgraded
brakes.  It's performance was very impressive.  It was being used as a
general-purpose-and-run-errands vehicle, but I don't know what department it
was assigned to.

When I asked about the Vanagon I was told that the factory had done, as I
recall, about six of them.  They said a couple of them had gone to Porsche or
Piech family members, and a couple had gone to friends of the factory.  If
someone has a big interest in these vehicles, email me directly and I'll try
to learn more.

Jim Perrin