Date:         Fri, 20 Jan 95 11:58:35 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Rear View for runties

On Fri, 20 Jan 95 11:39:55 CST Al Knoll said:
>For us normally proportioned gnomes (66")  find that there is no way to adjust
>the hanging rearview mirror to give a view of the road contents farther back
>than say 50 feet.  If I tip it up I get a fine view of the AC housing bits.
>So for us normal folk, anyone over five-six is a mutant BTW, how did you solve
>the lookysee through the back window problem?
>For us short folks the snow is always just a little deeper.

i somewhat resent that "mutant" remark. however, i will not let it keep me
from performing my civic duty and giving aid and comfort to all the little
runts out there in vanagon-land. :)

a solution that has been used by folks with later-model westfalias (because of
the cabinets and a/c housing in the rear) is to remove the normal vw mirror
(or leave it, as you choose) and go to the local parts place, buy a generic
replacement windshield-mount mirror (like for an american car) and glue it
to the vanagon windshield in a place of your choosing.

one fellow in the VWCOA mounted his very low, down at dash level, but it
seemed to me that any passengers in the rear would negate any usefulness of
that position.

a word of caution: when choosing your new mirror's position on the windshield,
give a thought to your forward vision THROUGH the new mirror. i.e., don't put
it in such a position that you block your vision forward ... smashing into a
red-light runner cause you didn't see him might not be worth the extra rear-
ward vision. :(  so put it up or down just a little more.

since the same sort of limitation is present, even for us altitudinous-
advantaged folk, with the vanagon rear a/c housing, i've just learned to
kinda live with it and use my outside mirrors in the best tradition of
Italian Motor Racing: what's behind you ain't important! :)

joel