A few weeks ago I bought an 85 Vanagon GL. It had a blown head gasket but
was in good condition.

My mechanic got it back together and fixed the gasket. And I drove it for a
couple of days. The little red light on the temp gauge flashed sometimes and
the gauge read 3/4th of the way up. After a couple of days of driving, it
broke down; the new headgasket had blown from overheating apperantly.

Towed it back and the mechanic AGAIN replaced that head gasket. He said the
problem was in the thermostat. He purchased a new thermostat and I took it
out again today. After about 5 minutes of driving, it started overheating
again. We took it back to the shop and he welded the thermostat open, and
took it out, it seemed a little better, but then overheated badly and we
barely got it back (thank god the head gasket didn't blow again).

We are stumped about what's causing this. I've put a crapload of money into
this and am getting ready to set it ablaze to vent my frustrations (it's
left me stranded on a couple of occasions). Are there perhaps two
thermostats? Does the cooling system need to be bled or something? What does
the blinking light signify? Any information at all would be highly
appreciated.

-Ben