Date:         Thu, 30 May 1996 11:21:04 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         steveh@pauli.emu.com (Steve Hoge)
Subject:      Carat/Multivan Rear Seat Compatibility?

Hi all - 

A couple of months ago I bought a folding table assembly from a wrecked 
Carat/Multivan with the idea of installing it in my '89 Syncro GL.  It came 
with the driver's side interior paneling of molded plastic, which contains a 
"well" that the table folds down into and become flush with the panel.  Very 
cool, as those of you who have one know.

HOWEVER...I've been through all kinds of hell installing this thing; first off,
the panel/table assembly alignment was tricky, but better craftsmanship on the 
2nd try did the trick.  Removing my rear Weekender bed/seat was required to 
get the new paneling in, and reinstalling that turned out to be a heinously 
tight fit because the new interior panel sits out farther from the interior 
frame members than the old paneling.  This reduced the clearance (side to side 
width of the passenger compartment) by more than an inch, which required 
flexing the panel outwards and performing some creative work with the Sawz-All 
to get the seat to fit back in.

Now, unfortunately, when the table is folded down in its assembly - even with 
the paneling entirely removed - there is insufficient clearance between 
the left edge of the seat and the rear edge of the table to get the seat 
folded out into a bed.  Arghh!!  When the table is popped open it's no problem,
but when folded down the seat bangs into it.

This leads me to believe that the equivalent Weekender bed in a Carat/Multivan
is at least an inch narrower than a normal GL Weekender.  Is this true?  The 
guy who sold me the table also has the rear seat FRAME from the same wreck but 
not the foam/upholstery seat and back :-(.  It doesn't seem like I could mount 
my old seat on a compatible frame and still have sufficient clearance, but 
somebody out there may know better.

If I'd spent more than the $100 this guy was asking for the table assembly I'd
be really pissed, but so far it's only my time spent struggling to get this  
thing fitted in, removing and installing the rear seat repeatedly, etc.  Any
bright ideas out there from the crowd at large?

Steve Hoge
'77 Auto Loaf
'89 Syncro GL