On 2/14/06, Daniel Stevens <dosteven@syr.edu> wrote:
>
> This was posted on the www.VWVORTEX.com van forums.
> http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1272460
>
> somebody trying to get a group purchase on the Berg short shift kit.. and
> an French hobbiest and mfg with a better offer.

Dan,

The so called "French" manufacturer is actually a Brit named Simon who lives
in the moved to the South of France (circa 2004). He goes by the name Si on
the club80-90 Forum, which is the UK version of the Vanagon List. Seems like
a good guy to deal with. Lots of the club8090 guys use his kits.

IIRC The plate for Si's kits are made of nylon instead of the cast aluminum
alloy used in the Berg kit. He sends you a drilling jig to relocate the
pivot point and two tall hex nuts with matching bolt. The nuts are screwed
down into the studs in your van. The bolts are then used to bolt the shifter
down instead of the original nuts. The plate raise the pivot (fulcrum)
point. Pretty simple if you have a well stocked hardware store nearby. You
can make the plates out of nylon cutting board or leftover pieces of solid
countertop material such as Corian (brand).

Of course he easiest way is to buy a kit. All the scrounging and engineering
are done for you.

BenT