Or better yet, install an inline four or inline five engine!  :)

At 20:52 24/06/1999 -0500, Marshall Ruskin wrote:
>Sorry to "rain on your parade" - I have the same heater......
>
>It basically heats the oil that sits in the bottom of the pan, or so it
>seems. Doesn't heat up the block. It does not do a good enough job to enable
>good starting in our winters.
>
>We have really really cold winters in Winnipeg!
>
>What would be better is a heater that would fit into the frost plugs of the
>block - that's how normally a block heater works - keeps the coolant warm.
>My 84 Westy doesn't have frost plugs! - give me a break (pun)!
>
>An reasonable alternative to the aforementioned pan heater is a heater that
>gets inserted into a rad hose. (thermostat controlled) They really work!
>Pretty expensive here ($30 - $40 CDN) for such things - but are readily
>available.
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>Marshall Ruskin
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Fitz-Randolph, Douglas <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>Date: Thursday, June 24, 1999 5:42 PM
>Subject: Syncro Engine Block Heater Mystery Solved!! (long story, happy en
>ding)
>
>
>>I realize this isn't really the season when people think about stuff like
>>this, but I was sooo excited I had to tell someone who *might* care...
>>
>>After some particularly cold weather back in February, I started trying to
>>find out about getting a block heater for my '90 syncro who does lots of
>>nasty things on very cold mornings. Went to the VW dealer - they had one -
>a
>>little metal "brick" that bolted onto the bottom of the engine case. It was
>>part# ZVP 289 104 and, according to the book, fit all Vanagons, EXCEPT the
>>syncro. Nothing at all was available for the syncro - Bummer! Then I ran
>>across Harry Yates' website when he was selling his syncro Westie - and he
>>had a block heater listed as one of the options. I e-mailed him, and he was
>>good enough to go out and look under his van to get the part numbers. He
>>gave me the following: "CSA Model OP-8 LR 20976 Made in Canada". I couldn't
>>find any reference to that part anywhere, and it appeared to be a non-VW
>>part. Where to find one? Who knows. Oh well.
>>
>>I then posted a question about the topic on the westfalia.org forum. Mike
>>Soehnlein (Capt. Mike) responded that he had fit the non-syncro VW part
>(ZVP
>>289 104) on his syncro, but in looking at it, it looked like he had to bend
>>the part a bit and drop the skid frame to get it in. Hmmm...
>>
>>Shortly thereafter, I posted a question to the Vanagon list - several
>people
>>replied - I believe they were all from Canada - with the same info as
>Harry:
>>"Model OP-8 etc." It was beginning to look like this was a Canada-only
>part.
>>David Hayward even had the original part number from his invoice - it was
>A
>>009 203 H. I called the dealer in BC he recommended, as well as a few other
>>Canadian dealers - no luck. The  A 009 203 H  number was obsolete and had
>>been replaced with the ZVP 289 104 number. Oh well, I thought, they must
>>have found a new supplier for the part when they changed the number, and
>the
>>new model doesn't fit the syncro.
>>
>>About a month ago, I was ordering some parts from Bus Depot - Ron had the
>>ZVP 289 104 block heater for not too much $, so I figured I'd give it a
>shot
>>and see just how much I'd have to bend it to make it fit. When I placed the
>>order, Ron (correctly) told me that this part won't fit the syncro models.
>>"I know", I said.
>>
>>Well, when the order arrived on my front porch, I went right for the block
>>heater. It was in a nice, sturdy little box clearly labeled ZVP 289 104. I
>>opened the box and pulled out the shiny little thing and lo and behold -
>>what was stamped on it but "CSA Model OP-8 LR 20976 Made in Canada"! They
>>were the same part all along!! (And the "CSA" was that electrical
>>certification symbol you see on all kinds of electrical items (a circle
>with
>>the SA inside of the C), and the "LR 20976" must be the certificate number,
>>cause my coffee maker's got an "LR number" too!)
>>
>>It fit my syncro just fine - I didn't even have to drop the skid frame. It
>>was as simple as removing one nut and one bolt, bending one of the little
>>tabs slightly to clear the stud on the engine case, then replacing the nut
>>and bolt. I used a bunch of zip-ties to safely route the cord up to the
>>license plate door and voila! One engine block heater installed, probably
>>about 40 minutes work!
>>
>>I wish all Vanagon stories had such a happy ending! Thanks to all who
>>contributed.
>>
>>Doug Fitz-Randolph
>>Yarmouth, ME
>>dfrandolph@talkam.net
>>'90 Syncro
>>
>
>

--   David Marshall - Vanagon List Admin - Quesnel, BC, Canada   --
--    78 VW Rabbit, 80 VW Caddy, 84 VW Westie, 85 VW Cabriolet   --
--       87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 2.0L VW Syncro Double Cab      --
-- David's Volkswagen Home Page        http://www.volkswagen.org --
-- Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning  http://www.fastforward.ca --
-- david@volkswagen.org (pmail) or vanagon@volkswagen.org (list) --