Date:         Sat, 6 Apr 2002 01:31:34 -0600
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Organization: not likely
Subject:      Re: Speaking of modifications...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> I would love to hear what different Vanagon owners
> have done to thier van with regards to personal
> modifications.  It's true what one lister mentioned,
> there are mods that I find, that I would have never
> thought of.

here's some stuff i did ...

this is old stuff, but maybe there's enough new folks that it might
prove useful. this is stuff i've done to my bus(es) over the years.
--------------------------------------------
leather steering wheel cover
dash-lights-reflection-on-windshield.
wheel wells (syncro mud flaps)
extra lights (front fog and driving, rear fog and backup)
             extra courtesy lights
brake lights
grab handles
Gene Berg short shift (non-syncro)
power radio antenna
extra storage boxes
drink holders
cb radio
trash can
fire extinguisher
tool box
lug nut wrench
window tint
cv-joints
rear window Vanguard
Zemco driving computer
odds and ends
--------------------------------------------
leather steering wheel cover:
the best i have found is the Wheelskin brand, and you can get it in a
BX style which is thicker and for larger thickness wheels. be sure to
specify the steering wheel diameter (as well as the year and model of
car). why put one on the bus? cause (IMHO) it makes the steering wheel
much more pleasant to hold on to, both in summer (it doesn't get as
hot as the plastic) and in winter (you almost don't need gloves).
costs about $30 including shipping, but after having gone through
several other wal-mart and generic types, it is worth it. the cheapest
place i found was http://www.autotoystore.com/ ...
if you really want to go crazy, the covers come in all sorts of crazy
colors. i just got black for mine.
and what is really neat is to put TWO of them on there. i had an old
one
that was getting cracked from age, so i got a new one ... decided to
NOT
remove the old one, just put the new one over it. it worked! now i
have a
really thick steering wheel, very comfortable. but i'd recommend
getting a
cheaper first cover ... like wal-mart ($10. but get the one that sews
up, not
the wrap-around kind).

--------------------------------------------
dash-lights-reflection-on-windshield:
perhaps because of my height (head to butt), i kept noticing that
when i had the dash lights turned up bright, i could see them
reflecting in the front windshield. didn't like this, so i got some
body-side-molding from an auto trim shop ... the stick-on type, about
three inches wide ...and glued it to the front edge of the instrument
'pod' top. i got the wide kind so it would have enough overlap to stay
in place ... you really need to add only about 3/4 inch to eliminate
the reflection. works pretty good and doesn't look too terribly tacky.

now all i have to do is figure out a way to eliminate the same sort of
reflection in the drivers side window. so far, the only way is to turn
the dash lights down much dimmer ... which i don't like.  i have heard
of some stuff from 3M that sort of 'polarizes' the light ... lets you
see it from only straight above, not to the side angles ... but when i
called about it, they told me it was $50 per square foot! well, i
won't need but one square foot ... but they don't sell direct. great.
haven't found anybody who sells it retail yet.
-----------------------------------------
wheel wells: got the Syncro little mud flap/flare thingies and put
them onto my non-Syncro bus. eh? looks ok, but a real bitch to install
...
with no instructions, of course. don't think it's worth the money.
those little things are $25 each x 4 wheels!
-------------------------------
extra lights:  driving lights and fog lights, of course ... with a
twist. i used aircraft circuit breakers, rather than inline fuses.
seemed like a good idea at the time; wouldn't do it again, though,
because of the expense. J.C.Whitney has a neat little power setup ...
one big wire (to the battery) and a five-fuse block at the other end.
costs about $25. i also put another clear fog light on the rear
bumper (just inside of the normal taillights on the right/passenger
side) to use as a backup light. controlled it from a on-off switch
on the dash. Much, much better than the normal puny backup lights.
i also installed a red rear fog light on the drivers side (for that
someday when the Great Mother-of-all-Fog might possibly descend upon
the road ... only used it once in six years!).

installed a second courtesy light over the passenger seat. it seems
that there is already a hole for it.  you have to feel around on the
headliner. what you will feel is a little black plastic cover. i made
a cut in the center of that cover ... then i could reach my fingers
through the slit and pry the cover out.  that allowed me to finish the
cut in kind of a  >--< fashion, and i got some headliner glue and
glued the headliner into/onto the edges of that hole.  take the light
fixture out of the one over the drivers seat to see what it should
look like. then, a duplicate fixture can be installed into the hole
over the passenger side.  the wires are not too terribly hard to feed
down the a-pillar ... they come out behind the 'glove compartment'.
then "all you have to do ..." is run the wires over to the drivers
side and connect them.  i also spliced the ground wire into the
passengers door button.

also got a little light fixture from a camper and installed a courtesy
light over the sliding door. works great when you're loading or
unloading groceries, or searching in the toolbox at night. only
thing was, i had to make the backside of that fixture ... it was open
on 'top' and i feared the heat from the bulb would melt the
headliner vinyl. so i glued some sheet styrene plastic together
and made the other half of the 'box' (bottom half being the fixture).
the fixture is just a black plastic lamp holder (same lamp as the
front courtesy light, by the driver), available from vw dealer parts
depts. it's on the camper section of the fiche.
--------------------------
high-mounted brake lights:  i installed a Hella brake light kit in the
rear window. i don't think they make this particular kit anymore. but
i ran the wires up from the brake lights by drilling a small hole in
the sheet metal (behind the air conditioner housing ... in an 88 bus),
then snaked the wire through the headliner and into the little rubber
grommet that contains the rear window defroster wires.  i then drilled
another small hole several inches to the side of the grommet (for the
brake light wire) ... in the rear hatch lid, and snaked the brake
light wire through this.  on each of the holes i drilled, i installed
a little rubber grommet ... to keep the wires from chaffing.

i did all this on both sides of the bus ... so each brake light (old
and new) combination is independent of each other.  it was a bit of a
pain to snake the wires around, and feed and pull them through the
rubber grommets, but i think it was worth it ... looks good, and you
can't see the wires except where it comes out of the rear hatch lid.

when i first put the brake lights in the rear window, it really made a
difference with tailgaters.  once i had applied the brakes ... for any
reason ... drivers behind me tended to back off quite a bit. smile :)
i suppose it was because the lights were/are rather bright.

i am thinking about trying to put some sort of high mounted turn
signal up with the brake lights.  that way, the second car behind me
can also tell that i am wanting to turn.
---------------------------
grab handles: this is a bit more tricky.  i wanted a pull-up handle
(like is already on the passenger side) for the driver ... on the
a-pillar. well, it turns out you have to be real careful when you
drill holes into the drivers a-pillar: there is a big bundle of wires
running inside. so what you do is this:  take the grab handle
completely off the passenger side, so there is nothing but holes in
the metal visible. the last little plastic 'packing' comes out if you
wiggle it front to back while pulling on it. don't pry it with
anything
... you will scratch the paint. now get some wide masking tape and
smooth it down on the a-pillar, covering the holes where the handle
was. mark where the holes are (for the grab handle) and also mark
where the edge of the a-pillar is (the corner edge ... the a-pillar
cross section is kind of a square). also measure down from the edge
of the headliner to the topmost hole ... to help make sure that the
two handles are pretty much the same distance down from the roof.

now peel of the masking tape, invert it and move it over to the
drivers side. measure that same arbitrary distance from the headliner,
mark it on the a-pillar, and put the edge of the hole mark here,
aligning the edge marks with the a-pillar 'corner' again. check it out
as to distance from the roof, see if the holes look 'right' as to the
amount of metal between the holes and the windshield seal.  then drill
a small hole into the top most hole ... DO NOT LET THE DRILL BIT GO
DEEP INTO THE HOLE. drill slowly if you can. using a coat hanger
(or some such), poke around in this hole to push the wire bundle back
out of the way. now drill the other hole. be careful.  when you get
all the little holes drilled, you should be able to see the bundle of
wires ... push it out of the way while you re-drill the holes with
the proper size bigger bit ... 1/2 inch. messy, cause there will be
shavings all over the console pod and steering column, etc. i used a
large magnet to clean up afterward ... a sheet or some such cover
would probably be a better idea.

when you get all the holes drilled, you might want to put some paint
on the edges of the new holes ... just for rusts sake. let it dry,
then put the new 'packing' in (hint: since the other one is
disassembled,
you forgot which way the things went. there IS a top one and a bottom
one. the smaller end goes up on the top, and down on the bottom). then
just put on the new handle and screws ... and you can go back and
put on the old one, too.

i also added another handle to the sliding door: i got one of the
handle to match the one on the b-pillar (in front of the sliding door)
... and put it on the door itself, but i didn't use the little plastic
'packing' that adapts the handle to the curvature of the b-pillar.
i just added the handle to the front 'pillar' of the sliding door,
up high enough to miss the body handle (so you don't mash your hand)
... works great for the middle or rear seat person to close the
sliding door. now they have something to grab hold of.

i also added two more of these type grab handles in the low overhead
side above the rear seat ... like the one that is over the left middle
seat. i figured that the rear seat people needed some Oh-My-God bars
also :) the handles also come in very handy for hanging things on.
i stretched a clothes hanger bar between then, and secured it with a
long bungie cord (stretched from one side to the other, and kinda
wrapped around the pole

i also put the camper hanger straps (which, by the way, are exactly
the same ones as used to be in the beetles!) in place of the little
round coat hanger 'knobs) ... the little black things on the c-pillar
(behind the sliding door, and in the same place on the opposite side
of the bus) mostly, i did this cause i wound up using the overhead
grab handles to hold the clothes bar.
-----------------------
Gene Berg Vanagon Short Shifter Kit: non-syncro transmission (don't
know if it will work on syncro) $25. well worth the money. just be
sure to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ... i.e., mark stuff before you take
it off. i did it right on three buses, then got cocky ... and screwed
up. took me about two weeks of moving the shifter plate around to get
it right. be sure to measure the shifter lever shaft BEFORE you order.
the kit comes in either 12mm or 14mm sizes, and they'll need to know
which one you need. part number is GB6785 (for my 88 bus).
-------------------------------
power radio antenna:  started with an ad in a magazine for Fuba
antennas. 1-800-637-0222 for info. turned out to be a place called
Antenna World. they sell wholesale only. so i had to get my local
parts place to special order it.  the part you want (might want to
phone again to double check) is SJ-3FB Antenna (black), and D-57
Head Kit 57 degrees (to accommodate the angle of the Vanagon front).
when it came in, it was less than the fellow had told me to expect:
he said about $80 for the antenna ... it was $60. only modification
i had to make on the car was to file out a little notch on the side
of the hole in the sheet metal (behind the headlight) to accommodate
a little bump on the side of the antenna. then 'just' wire it up and
connect to radio. i put a on-off switch on the dash (down under the
'lip') so now i can raise or lower it when i want ... like for car
washes or leaving it parked for a while. note: all this assumes that
your antenna is the standard vw and is mounted on the front of the
car. mine was on the drivers side, but i can't see why this same
antenna would not work on the passengers side. you could also do
without the D-57 Head Kit if your vanagon has a factory antenna
already. i just used the vw parts off the old antenna.
--------------------------------
extra storage boxes:  i needed some extra little
get-things-up-off-the-floor storage boxes, and finally found a
place for them: right in front of the seat affixed to that little
metal rim ... in front of the under-seat storage. i used ordinary
ice cube bins (from Wal-mart) and just fixed them on with a couple
of stove bolts.  now i have a neat place for road maps, ice scraper,
etc.  don't look all that great, but i couldn't find them in black
... had to take pale blue.

also: if your bus does NOT have the fold out glove compartment, you
can install a second map pocket on the passengers door.  i found it
helps a lot to make a cardboard template of the back of the map pocket
... to mark where to drill holes in the door liner.
-------------------------------------
drink holders: the best i have found are from Herringtons ...
1-800-622-5221 order number B832=white/vertical, B833=black/vertical.
they have one that fits horizontal surfaces, too, but i couldn't make
much use of it. now the gotcha: they are $9.95 EACH!  yeah, well, i
tried all the wal-mart and k-mart ones, but they just wouldn't hold a
big enough drink cup ... like they hand out at the Mickey D's and
such. so, after wasting money for several years, i broke down and
bought the good stuff. these holders expand to hold almost anything.
i put them in the back for the second and third seat people. in the
front, for the driver and passenger, i used some Rubber Maid K-mart
types that have a drink holder molded in with a ? holder ... sort of
a two-compartment job, with a rubber flap to fix the thing into the
window glass. i permanently fixed mine to the plastic heater cover
(in front of the gearshift) with some more stove bolts (short ones)
... one drink-holder-thing on each side of the gearshift (leaving
room for the gearshift to move around). not much of a reach down to
get/put a drink, and it doesn't interfere with my right leg when
driving.
----------------------------------------
cb radio: mounted to the side of the passengers wheelwell ... in the
little aisle between the front seats. still allows room for your feet
when going to the rear of the bus, and falls easily to hand without
looking away from the road.  i used a glass-mount antenna (like
cellular phones) on the front windshield (to get away from the engine
static) ... had to move it cause i forgot about the windshield wipers!
so it is off to the right side, about halfway between the rearview
mirror and the
right side of the windshield. only real problem is you have to have a
removable antenna (mine unscrews from an epoxied base), so you can
still go into garages and such. distance doesn't seem to be affected
much by this position, but i have noticed that i can talk farther to
truckers behind me, than to the ones in front ... makes sense: more
metal to the rear of the antenna.
the cb radio bracket is bolted through the storage box under the seat,
with another hole (with grommet) for the power cord ... access to the
battery is quite easy and there is even a little spade lug already on
the positive terminal.  you'll have to make one for the
negative/ground side. i put an inline fuse in the power lead.  the
antenna goes under the carpet, across the floor, and up the a-pillar
(doorpost) by the windshield (behind the dash) ... plenty of room.
i have seen others run the antenna wire back of the passenger seat and
up and out the passenger door to a roof/gutter mounted antenna ...
i didn't like that idea. i mounted the radio with the microphone
toward the rear so that i can easily reach it with my hand while
driving.
problems: don't mount the radio tooo high, or the passenger will keep
bumping the controls when they move around in the seat. don't mount
the radio tooo far toward the back of the seat or the passenger will
keep
bumping the controls when they lock/unlock their seat belts. it takes
a little playing around to get it in a good position. and besides, if
you ever want to sell the car, you can take the radio out and the
carpet stuff on the side of the seat-box/wheelwell covers the holes
nicely.
:)
--------------------------------
trash can: i found a black rubber tub-like tray at K-mart that is just
the right length, width, and height to fit under the middle seat ...
that's my trash can.  and when it's pulled out from under the seat
about a foot, i can pitch stuff into it from the drivers seat without
even looking. nice heavy duty plastic/rubber, so even liquids don't
get on
the carpet <i will never understand what idiot thought of putting
CARPET on the floor of a CAR ... of all the dirty places that need
rubber mats!)
------------------------------------
Fire extinguisher: best place i found was on the b-pillar, at the
front of the sliding door. there is a little corner there, behind the
passenger seat, that is out of everybody's way.
--------------------------------------
tool box: i have a two-drawer Sears that is rubber-bungie strapped to
the side of the middle seat (on the sliding door side). still leaves
plenty of room for people to get in and out.  also installed another
(camper)
courtesy light directly overhead, in the middle of the sliding door
opening, so i could see what i was doing ... also helps people see to
get in/out of the sliding door.
---------------------------------------
best lug nut wrench: sold at vw dealers (well, at least at my dealer
in atlanta): Votex Bolt Spanner 000-093-005B, $15. comes with
reversible
socket for 19mm and 17mm (for Mercedes). handle is extendable, and it
really helps loosening/tightening.
--------------------------------------
window tint: i found that it really, really helps keep the interior
cool ... but you have to get some that is not too dark ... so you can
see out at night. there is some on the market now that supposedly
blocks the UV and heat, but lets light in/out.  the old white-painted
tops on the buses helped too, i believe ... planning on having mine
painted before Real Summer gets here.  yeah, and i said the same thing
last year, too! i used the Gila brand from K-mart. they sell different
'grades' of the same brand. i used the 70 grade because i wanted to
continue using my radar detector (the 90 grade has metallized film
that effectively blocks a lot of the radar), but it doesn't reflect
heat as
well as the 90 grade i did the middle side sliding windows, rear side
windows, rear hatch window, and put an 8 inch strip across the top of
the windshield. if you decide to do the windshield strip, do it in
two pieces (with the split right behind the rear mirror) ... one piece
just won't curve right sliding side windows are kind of a pain because
of the little push-down button ... it's hard to cut the film
correctly. next time, i'm gonna make a cardboard template!
-----------------------------------
cv-joints:      be sure to re-grease your cv-joints ... put three
times as much grease as vw says.  i put one-half tube of Valvoline
Moly EP
wheel bearing/joint grease into each joint/boot. after doing this, i
haven't had a peep from the joints in 80,000 miles ... previously,
the buses would start knocking about 20,000-25,000 miles. current bus
has 74,000 miles and was re-greased at 500 miles.  i expect it to go
to 100,000 miles before i do anything else to the joints.  you do have
to inspect the rubber boots once in a while ... for cracks and tears.

i also changed all my cv-joint bolts into the 12-point bolts (instead
of the 6-sided hex head that come standard). why? sheer paranoia. i
had some trouble with an old 73 bus (or was it the 80 vanagon?) ... in
that the hex-head bolts tended to 'round out'. so the Porsche mechanic
that
i have used several times over the years told me about the 12-point
'star-pattern' bolts that Porsche used/uses. i like them much better
... cause you get a much more positive 'feel' when tightening. only
trouble is, it really is wasted money ... cause i don't do that much
with the cv-joints (what, like, once every five years?) and i have to
make sure i carry around the little 12-point tool. eh? i still do it
on every bus i get ... some people, huh?
---------------------------------------------
rear window: 3M has a thing called Vangard. it is a fresnel
lens that allows you (in the driver's seat) to see things right at the
bumper. well, almost. you really can see things close up much better.
they come in three sizes:
part number: 07950  Vangard          8"x10"
             07951  Super Vangard   11"x14"
             07952  Vangard 2        6"x8"
costs about $10 for the middle size ... mine is the 6"x8" one ...
and i find i really can't do without it now. same with the little 3"
round fisheye stickon mirrors that i added to the big outside rearview
mirrors. on these, i found that the ones offered by NAPA are the best
for staying on, and also the best for clarity of image ... some of the
Wal-mart and local parts place generic ones are kinda distorted.
----------------------------------------
cruise control:  i installed a
Zemco ZT-4 driving computer in my bus ... lets me know exactly how
much gas i've used. also shows mph and miles per gallon (average, and
instantaneous). anyway, i had it on mpg while buzzing down the
highway, and pulled off onto an off-ramp, taking my foot off the gas
pedal in
the process. Boy! you should have seen the mpg! it got as high as 900+
mpg
before the display blanked out! all due to the fuel shutoff ... the
driving computer thought i was actually going at the same old speed,
but using NO gas at all. neat.
by the by, the address of the fellow who handles the Zemco line is
  Direct Buyer Service       (206) 944-5230
  P. O. Box 55303            check, money order, or COD
  Portland, OR 97238         (no credit cards)

update: 01/01/01. nobody seems to be able to get in touch with this
guy. if anyone does, would they please let me know?
------------------------------------------
odds and ends: i have a habit of re-arranging stuff in the bus to fit
my preconceived notions of how-a-car-should-be-built ... example: roll
the window glass all the way up, then remove the crank handles and
re-orient them such that they are pointing straight up. then screw
them back on.
just makes it easy for me to see if the passenger window is completely
closed ... just by looking at the position of the handle.

i also flipped the fresh air outlets in the dash ... just take them
out (there are four little tabs that have to be gently pried up ...
all at
the same time ... while you pull out), and flip left to right. why?
cause then the on-off knob is on the drivers left (not right as it
originally was) ... and i don't have to reach IN behind the steering
wheel to flip it off/on. i found that in the original position, i was
looking at the damn thing trying to find it. in the new position, i
don't have to look at it. i flipped the passenger side as well, just
to make
them the same ... passenger doesn't know the difference.  also fits in
with my philosophy of switches: Oben macht Offen ... Up means Open/On.
i rearranged all the courtesy lights to reflect this also ...
switch in up position turns on light. whatever. some people's kids,
right? flipping the passengers side also helps a little bit when the
driver wants to reach over and open that vent ... he doesn't have to
reach quite as far (well, four inches shorter anyway).