I'm not gonna re-read this whole thread, but I thought of it while I was
under the van awhile ago and took this pic:

http://picasaweb.google.com/garciasghostvw/EmergencyBrakeCoupling#

I dunno if my '87 is different from Rocky's ...what is it, an '84?, but it
looks to me like it's made to be angled somewhat, as Scott said.

Cya,
Robert