Date:         Tue, 20 Mar 2001 16:08:11 -0800
Reply-To:     Mark Drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Drillock <drillock@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: Golf II instruments fit Vanagon cluster? White
              faces?Backlighting?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

The cable may plug right in but the speedo will be off by about double.
The 2WD Vanagons need about 800 cable revs per mile. This is marked
right on the face of the speedos (805). The Golfs I've seen were marked
1500 and something. The 2WD Vanagon speedo cable is driven by the hub
for the left front wheel. The Golf speedo cable is driven by gears in
the tranny.

Syncro speedos are marked 1600 as the cable for these is driven by gears
in the front diff. You may be able to use the Golf speedo in a Syncro as
the number is somewhat closer.

Mark

Undetermined origin c/o LISTSERV administrator wrote:
>
> I believe, unless the Japanese market is very different, that the speedo
> cable should plug right in. All that cable does is count tire rotations.
> The only thing that would throw that off would be tire size differences
> between the 2 vehicles.
>
> As far as converting to Backlit guages, the only way I can see that working
> is to swap out the whole cluster for one from a car that had backlit
> gauges. The current gauge faces are just sheets of tin or aluminum or thin
> steel. the gauge innards were never meant to be backlit.
>
> Now that you have a gauge set up from a Golf II, you have a few options as
> far as the faces. Check out http://www.4130products.com/overlays/a2/ . I am
> still in the process of getting the white face gauges for the stock
> Vanagons, but I need to get a hold of a set of stock gauge faces to send to
> the guy so that templates can be made. If I had another vehicle, I could
> just use mine, but unfortunately, that van is my daily driver.
>
>                     andrew.grebneff@stonebow.o
>                     tago.ac.nz (Andrew                To:     sbirkner@earthlink.net
>                     Grebneff)                         cc:     <subaruvanagon@yahoogroups.com>, <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
>                                                       Subject:     Golf II instruments fit Vanagon cluster? White faces?
>                     03/20/2001 05:27 AM               Backlighting?
>
> I scored an instrument cluster from a Mk II Golf CL today, used import from
> Japan. It has a 220kmh (138mph) speedo and a 7000rpm tacho which
> incorporates fuel & temp gauges. Just about right for an SVX engined van,
> though 8000+ rpm would have been better.
>
> I remember being told that the Golf II tacho can be made to fit the Vanagon
> pod and look like it is made to fit there.
>
> BUT... can the speedo be done likewise? It is cable-driven, not electric,
> and can either be recalibrated to run from the Caravelle's drive cable
> (odometer will still be inaccurate however) or an inline gearbox can be
> fitted to the cable to correct it (best option). But will the speedo fit
> the cluster?
>
> What about the wiring? Anybody done this? The Golf instrument lighting is
> the same crude indirect setup as the Vanagon. No backlit faces here.
>
> Regarding Sean Birkner's idea of getting white faces done for listees'
> instruments, it should IN THEORY be easy to convert to backlighting. This
> would require fitting of (say Toyota) holders into the back of the
> instrument housings; cutting the holes should be easy as long as you know
> where and what shape exactly. Plug fittings in from behind and turn to
> secure. For this application the new white (or whatever color) faces should
> be uniformly translucent, to allow the light to shine through; tacho red
> (or green or whatever) zones should be translucent also. Lettering should
> be opaque, to show up at night. Bulb color can be owner's choice; could
> even, given enough room, install several different sets of light fittings
> with different colored bulbs, with a rotary or slide switch to select the
> different colors!
>
> Like Sean, I think blue in particular would be really neat (the Nissan
> Presea has intense blue backlit instruments, and they look amazing).
>
> Of course if there are shadow-producing obstructions within the
> instruments, the backlighting idea may be in trouble.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Andrew Grebneff
> 165 Evans St, Dunedin, New Zealand
> fax 64 (3) 479-7527
> <andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
> VW van (something for every man), Toyota diesel & seashell nut
> Macintosh 7500/200/64, 6116/60/24, LCIII, LC, Classic, Plus
> Even though Mac Users may be only 10% of the market,
>              always remember that we are the TOP 10%