Date:         Tue, 28 Sep 1999 01:34:18 -0500
Reply-To:     Budd Premack <bpremack@WAVETECH.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Budd Premack <bpremack@WAVETECH.NET>
Subject:      Re: miserable a/c...'84 Westy
Comments: To: Piper109@AOL.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

There was a Westy (from Florida) at BBTA this past Labor Day with standard
Westy a/c which had been modified so that the a/c ducting from a late model
(86-91) non-Westy had been grafted onto it.  The Westy rear a/c housing had
a custom piece of duct (triangular, tapering towards the front) that
collected all of the air and was fitted to the standard non-Westy center
duct piece.

This center piece of ducting was removable so that it would not interfere
with the use of the opened poptop.  With the top down, the center duct
connected to the standard non-Westy front duct pieces, which run forward
between the front seats and then split and run along the ceiling next to the
windshield.  All of the standard vents that occur in the non-Westy ducts are
completely functional, which means that front seats, middle, and rear seat
areas all have fully adustable venting.  With the top down, it was hard to
distinguish this set-up from the standard non-Westy version.

It was a wonderful piece of re-engineering.  The only difficult part was the
custom crafted rear triangular section.  As I recall, the center section was
held in place by a sliding bolt secured to the rear custom ductwork, and
there must have been a little custom work on the rubber molding at the
joint.  The center section, when removed for camping, stored neatly on the
top of the dash.

It seemed to me that the connections between the removable center section
and the adjacent duct pieces could be done in many similar ways, depending
upon available hardware and the creativity of the installer.  Obviously,
standard Vanagon ducts would need to be obtained, but salvage yards and this
List are sources for needed parts.

Will the creator of this modification please step forward and claim credit?
Alternately, does anyone else remember his name and/or e-mail?


Budd Premack
86 Syncro, 73 Super
Minneapolis, MN (Land of Sky Blue Waters)