What's your favorite Westy/Vanagon mod?

[lilweasel]

Aux. Heater - saved my girlfriends and my life at least once
Awning
Bridgestone tires

Soon to be subaru conversion

[Squidfish]

1. Audi 2.6 5 cylinder SA swap (love pulling on H2's on the freeway)
2. 15" inch steel SA rims w/ 215 75 15 AT tires
3. Fog Lights (bosch) and custom flat black eyelids
4. Painted bumpers, grills, vents flat black w/ new caps/hardware
5. Custom Poly Spacers to raise back-end to proper ride height
6. New Pop Top Seal
7. Gas Tank Re-Sealed
8. 86-91 Tach Cluster with our speedo/odo in it
9. Limo Tint (want to do the front windows, dang CA)
10. Little custom things done to the interior (lights, inverter, battery, rubber mats, seat covers, steering wheel wrap, lighter adaptor, new dash mat)
10. Kayak box that holds our new TomCat inflatable kayak for road trips (fits nice in the luggage rack)
11. Pull up bar that keeps the fold up table quiet when driving...priceless
12. Finally...the new Microbus and 2.6i emblems from SA on the back
I love the Veedubs so much, it gets too spoiled.
_________________
1985.5 - Vanagon Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg Edition - LH8U - "Penny"
- 2.6i 5-Cylinder 10v (2004)

[jalopyjockey]

heres one im working on right now...ive gotten tired of looking at the ratty ole cabinets in the back in my rearview and have opted to build two new cabinets that will sit on either side of the centered mattress pad(theyre half the width of the original one and will come to just under the window in height). im thinking itll make engine access easier, let more light in, put some weight on the passenger side, make my tools easier to access, and hey why not...ill post some pics when im done

[Raynor Shine]

Recaros

[bljones]

the 8" x3/4" pvc conduit rear-hatch strut assist fix. cheap, easy, practical.
_________________
OG JHC
Author of Original Rant #1
"It stingd itself to dead... now that is control on you"

2%

[msinabottle]

Let's see... I suppose it would be Winston's interior lighting, the LED arrays, the rear flourescent, the extra dome light. That lets me read inside him, undress and know where I'm putting things, and generally relax.

But... He didn't originally have rotating seats, the previous owner put those in, and I love those... My radio has rear speakers, and I added an RCA in jack so I can hook it to a laptop for DVD's or a CD-MP3 player. That's going to be very nice. And it and all the lights run off the auxiliary battery, which will be very useful indeed. And that auxiliary battery charges very nicely by the use of the Yandina VSR (Voltage-sensitive Relay), which no one else has installed, that I know of.

I guess I'll go with the Yandina. Read my post, 'Winston Gets Wired.'

Best!

[brooklynvan]

Just added the extra Driver's side grab handle yesterday.
it's nice to have.

if you're thinking of doing it make sure you're careful of the dome light wires that run up the column.

[vwjedi]

I ask again, where do you guys get these driver side handles? I know just getting a passenger side and flipping it won't work so what gives?
_________________
1987 Wolfsburg T25 still riding out. A bunch of other VW's passed on...

[brooklynvan]

I'm pretty sure mine was a passenger side that I flipped.

It came out of an 85 or 86 syncro junker that a friend had, and may have been a driver's side OEM but I don't think so.... I've had it in a box for a while and got it with a bunch of other parts and I can't recall which side it was from.

[backcountrymedic]

Jedi-

I got mine off ebay. In great shape, and cheap too. You can get them from GoWesty, but they're a bit pricey. You need the attachment wedges too. And as said before... be careful of the wire harness that runs up the inside of the A post!

http://www.gowesty.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Scre...gory_Code=

Have you seen the new Kelty Carport Deluxe? Just saw a pic the other day. Includes poles to lift the whole system into the air, and new full-length side panels with windows.

-Jared
_________________
No need to bear the weight of your worries, you let them all fall away...

Sector 9 longboard
Kona Kikapu Deluxe MTB
Novarra Big Buzz
Electra Cruiser
'01 Toyota Tacoma 4x4

[Tomswesty]

Ok here goes:

1. Suby 2.2 L engine
2. 15" GW Wheels and tires
3. Biltstein shocks
4. 800W Powerconverter
5. Half pint microwave
6. Leather Steering wheel cover
7. Headlight upgrade
8. Wet Okole Seat Covers
9. 3rd Stop Light in back (saved me from getting rear ended)
10. Norcold frig
11. Sound dampening

Would like to get:

New sound system
Window seals to keep the noise down

[slowesty]

1. rear shoulder seatbelts for the kiddies (made the wife happy too)
2. headlight upgrade
3. Airlift in the rear springs
4. trailer hitch
5. 14" Alloy wheels w/ bfg's
6. Yakima racks
7. Memory foam sleeping pads

Would like...

1. bilsteins
2. new poptop canvas

[lovedavdubs]

Wood cup holder

Go westy 16s

1500 Watt inverter

Mini Nuker

Pioneer

Glow Gauges

_________________
82 Air-cooled Westy (Lola)...My other vehicle is a subway.

[tencentlife]

What I have that I do like:

1. My custom 2.2 motor. Vrrrmmmmm!! See ya!
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=100129&sid=b318c1ae6d01d8c1a010b78c9231aaf3

2. External oil cooler. Get one for your pancake, you silly people.
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=102662

3. Trasko oil filter
http://www.trasko-usa.com/

4. Oil pressure and temp gauges

5. 0.77 4th gear
6. Gene Berg short shift kit (yow! everyone should get this!)
7. 15x6 Audi Ronal 16-spoke wheels, 215/60 Goodyears
8. Front conversion wheelstuds
9. KYB Gas-a-justs
10. High-wattage headlights and relays
11. Headlight control relay to kill lights with key off
12. Alpine 80w x 4 audio amp, BA 6" in-door speakers with crossovers and 1" A-pillar-mounted tweeters
13. My Mexi-visor. It came with the car, but I love it.

What I want:
1. Auxiliary battery, an Odyssey with msinabottle's Yandina charge regulator
2. Some kinda inverter and edison's installed
3. Better overhead lighting
4. This cool dashtop console:
http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=4757900&showprevnext=1

5. To get my seat swivel bases installed (got 'em, now I got the glide guides, just gotta install them)
6. New windshield, new front door seals, various new little body panels, and PAINT! Oh yeah, bumpers, too.
7. Redtek AC refrigerant.

[riceye]

Check this out for the aux. battery:

http://www.batteriesplus.com/p-32629-12v-44ah-agm-vrla-cu-term.aspx

Used it to run laptop (for dvd's) and charge phones, etc. and interior lighting while camped at Oregon Inlet. Didn't demand too much, but the 350 watt inverter ran contiuously for 12 to 14 hours and didn't shut down on low power. Drove during the day (sightseeing, lunch, hikes), so it was always topped up.

Appears to be very similar to the Odyssey PC1200 sold by GoWesty for $170. This one was about $100.

It does fit, although a bit snug. I used a 10" long piece of 3/4" poly pipe with the stock hold-down, and it's not going anywhere. I covered the inside of both battery box covers with rubber roofing membrane, and retained the plastic positive post cover from the old battery as seen in the photo. I used stainless flathead (m6 i think) screws to secure the wires.

In the past I have added two fused pigtails for cig lighter socket accessories, and an 8 gauge pigtail for my inverter. Works well.

Salud!
Ric
_________________
'87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads

There's gonna be some changes made.

“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee

"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig

[tencentlife]

Huh, that's great, Ric. That appears to be a nearly exact copy of the Odyssey 1200 that GW offers. Now, I know I can get the 1200 cheaper than GW's price, but that Werker copy retails at $109 in my area, according to the BatteriesPlus website. Good deal!

I went into the BatteriesPlus store in Santa Fe recently to see what was available, but the lone guy there was so busy I couldn't wait long enough to ask any questions. I don't remember seeing that particular battery but now that I know about it I can go look again, and have them get me one if it isn't normally stocked.

Although looking at the other Odyssey models, the 1500 looks like it could fit well in a Vanagon on its side, and have 1.7 times the reserve capacity:
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1500.htm

But for the price, and as hard as I would need to use it, which isn't very hard at all, that Werker battery looks like a good deal. Thanks!

[Dogpilot]

I got the Oddessy 1200 at www.batteryweb.com for $125. I would personally opt for the actual battery than a copy for the $21 difference.

Two recent items I really liked:
1st is a T4 German Van steering wheel off eBay Germany @ 50€ + 40€ shipping. Basically it is the South African steering wheel, but for a whole lot less, add a wheelskin and it is almost the same.
2nd The Eurovan style faucet. It works like a faucet and also doubles as a showerhead. Comes with the mount and is pre-wired to actuate the pump. It varies from a stream to a shower by twisting the outer ring. I am going to add a big magnet to attach it out the side of the van for showers. 80€ out of Luxembourg and again 40€ for shipping.

_________________
Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[tencentlife]

[Dogpilot]

The only thing I may find dodgy about the copy, is the presence of the fill cap openings that have been plugged. The Oddessy has no fill caps, supposed to be a very different design than traditional lead acid. You are correct about short lived. They can last four years or one trip where you forget to shut something off. I did order a pile-o-stuff from them to get a discount and make the shipping even out. They had some odd batteries I needed as well. That and you can never have too many hi capacity AA NiMih.
_________________
Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[amishman]