In a message dated 3/4/04 7:53:54 AM Eastern Standard Time,
Greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA writes:

> I got a call from my Dad yesterday, he's on his way back from a
> vacation in Florida and has broken the outside handle from the sliding
> door in his 81 westy.
>
>

as you proabably know, the '80-'84 vanagon outside sliding door handles are
No Longer Available new..    and the used ones are getting harder to find.   i
dont have any FS, i just have one spare i keep under my drivers seat that im
keeping for myself..      the 85-91 outside slider doorhandle can be modified
to fit, you just have to cut the tip off with a hacksaw where it curves inward
towards the body.. but using a 85-91 handle on a 80-84 makes the door alot
harder to open since its shorter and you dont get as much leverage, as the 80-84
slider doors are not as easy to slide as the 85 up.   my point is - if you see
a 80-84 ext. slider doorhandle at a junkard or on ebay, GRAB IT!.  they are
getting scarce..

chris