Mac,
A heartbraking story.  I really feel for y'all.  It could have been me.  I
discovered fuel line leaks on top of the engine in my '86 Westy within a year
of buying it in 1993.  Stupid thing is I smelled gas fumes whenever I got out
and walked past the driver's side air intake near the rear of the van but
thought it was a rich mixture. This intake  seems to be a straight hole down
to the engine compartment that forces fresh air over the engine to aid in
cooling when tooling down the road.  I have since made it a habit of giving
this the old sniff test every time I shut down the engine get out.  I was
lucky I caught the problem before a disaster happened.
I am also in the process of mounting a fire extinguisher behind the driver's
seat.  This extinguisher will be mounted horizontally and will be  easily
accesible by my right hand while driving.  I plan on attaching the nozzle to
some rubber hose and running it into the engine compartment.  With this
configuration, I will be able to put out a fire immediately, not unlike ye
B-17 bomber pilots of yore.   Your post highlighted another inherent Vanagon
problem.  With the engine lid located inside, you have to open the rear hatch,
move the stuff that is always stored there, open the lid and hope it doesn't
blow up in your face.  Risky at best.  In addition to the extinguisher behind
the seat, I plan on having a back-up.  I am going to try to mount another
rubber hose in one of the rear wheel wells and run it into the engine
compartment, as well.  If the first extinguisher was to fail get the fire out
I will jam the nozzle of the second extinguisher into this hose and let her
rip.   I won't have to open the engine compartment until it is, hopefully,
fully extinguished.

For general CamperVan Karma purposes, the fire I speak of here is considered a
POSSIBILITY not an inevitability.  Whew!!!!!!!!!

Don't give up on Vanagons.  Even though I have had my troubles with the my
beloved Westy, I wouldn't trade it for anything.   I hope y'all find another
one soon.
Dan Hall
'86 Westy
Tuscaloosa, AL