I am a friend of Tom's in nearby Hamilton and the list should know
about the excellent 84 Westy he has for sale.

There are pictures at http:///www.shopmiduss.com/westy/ which shows
his extended crank.  That sound perverted doesn't it?

Take a look, there are dozens of pictures of his van.  It is the
quietest Westy or Vanagon I have ever been in.

- Laurence

----------------------------------------
Laurence Smith
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
90 Westy (fanumbos)
87 GL / 91 Subie 2.2
----------------------------------------

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
> Of Budd Premack
> Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 4:58 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Window Crank Extenders - Cheap Solution
>
>
> Many of us have replaced our OE front door speakers with
> better quality units.  However, unless you get a flush
> mounted speaker, the OE window cranks scrape against the
> raised speaker covers.  One vendor sells plastic extenders
> that have the appropriate gear ridges to mate with the
> metal crank axle, but these are quite expensive.
>
> The serendipitous solution occured when I visited with
> fellow Listee Tom Shiels of Burlington, Ontario.  His 84
> Westy (now for sale, btw) had diferent window cranks that
> had plenty of clearance for thicker speakers.  They had
> come with the van when he obtained it, so he had given
> little thought to their significance.
>
> Upon examination, it became apparent that they were Ford
> products.  They were installed on the 86-96 (or
> thereabouts) Ford Taurus, Mercury Tempo, and possibly some
> other Ford models.  After a trip yesterday to my local
> U-Pull-It auto recycler, I can report the following.
>
> These cranks come in two similar styles, one with the screw
> hole covered (in a similar fashion to the Vanagon), and one
> with a designer-styled screw hole.  I say  designer-styled
> because this hole is slightly larger than that in the
> covered hole style.
>
> This small difference becomes significant when you insert
> the screw to atach the handle.  The OE Vanagon screw is too
> short for the new cranks.  I obtained replacement screws
> from the hardware store in size M5 x 16, 80 pitch, as the
> original Ford screws apparently are sized SAE instead of
> metric.  An alternative solution would be to ream out the
> plastic hole in the covered crank style, but that is more
> work.  Besides, the "designer" hole style is tinted a dark
> blue, which matched my interior better than the black of
> the covered cranks which I had also obrained.
>
> The net result is clearance of 7/8 inches (22 mm) between
> the new crank and the door panel, which is plenty of room
> for my speaker covers.  BTW, the Ford cranks cost me $ 1.50
> each and came in black, blue, grey, and red.  Other colors
> may be available, but I quit after searching several rows
> of old Fords.  If you don't want to peruse your local auto
> recyler, new window cranks are readily available for around
> $10 at your local FLAPS.  (Just search for Ford, instead of VW.)
>
> Happy as I am with this solution to an admittantly minor
> issue, I am concerned whether my van will still be admitted
> to the Busses Nowhere Near the Arch campout, as it no
> longer is strictly VW.  (Perhaps there is still time to
> request a variance.)
>
> Budd Premack
> 86 Syncro, 88 Wolfsburg
> Land of Sky-Blue Waters
> Minneapolis, MN