John, this is a fantastic post and great good info about aftermarket
electronic speedos !
thanks !
ah..........somebody who knows something - how nice !!

and............a 160 mph speedo won't look odd at all in a vanagon with
a proper 300 hp Turbo Soobie 2.5 WRX engine in it !
(or SVX 3.3 engine, of course. )
scott
turbovans

John Bange wrote:
>> you could add one of the vss units that we use in the subaru conversion for
>> vanagons. smallcar is selling one at www.smallcar.com or build your own.
>>
>
> Allow me to second the recommendation of the Small Car VSS unit:
> <http://www.smallcar.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=78>
> When I installed my aftermarket electronic cruise control unit, I
> struggled with all manner of home-made and generic aftermarket
> solutions, including paying $30 for the "kit" sold by the cruise
> control manufacturer, which amounted to a pickup coil, a metal
> mounting strap, four grooved magnets, and a LOOONG cable tie (to hold
> the magnets on the transmission CV joint). None of them worked worth a
> darn. The Small Car unit went right on and worked perfectly, and it's
> only $50. It should be fine for any generic speedometer application.
>
>
>> you
>> will need to know how many pulses per revolution your speedo wants though,
>> maybe its not the same.
>>
>
> Aftermarket electronic speedos are generally fully programmable. Once
> it's in programming mode, you either enter pulses per mile manually,
> or you press a button, drive exactly one measured mile, then press it
> again. Now it knows EXACTLY how many pulses per mile. You can even
> recalibrate if you change tire diameters. Very handy. I have one from
> my brother's wrecked 280Z racer. I was going to put it in my Vanagon,
> but I think I'd feel silly with a speedo that went up to 160 MPH...
>
> --
> John Bange
> '90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
> '90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"
>
>
>