You just gave me an idea!!  We were going to cut down the cupboard to the
side of the bed and add a pad on top there in order to gain more
shoulder-to-shoulder room when sleeping.  By raising the bed, the same can
be accomplished without modifying the cabinets!  madeline (previous syncro
westy owner - gravitated over to the EV / Winnie side, then EV Westy side,
now back home with '90 Syncro Westie and happy again!!)

-----Original Message-----
From: EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Monday, May 24, 1999 4:59 AM
Subject: Re: Is lifting a Westie bed really this simple?

>   Dave,
>    Westy, or Weekender, increasing the bed height may not be a
>bad idea. But I  would lift the bed, 4"-5" inches if I would lift
>it at all. This would make the room under the bed on both sides
>of the engine compartment useable. I would build drawers that can
>be opened from the rear, with the hatch opened. 4" under the
>rear seat would add a considerable amount of room. This would also
>give plenty of room to mount speaker in the rear seat kick panel.
>The only problems I forsee is the height Of sleeping(head room)
>really should not matter once unconscience! The rear seat 4"
>higher should not make much difference unless your feet don't
>reach the floor.
>            Eric                   86-VW4x4
>            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
>            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler
>
>
>On Sun, 23 May 1999, David Marshall wrote:
>
>> I think I married the princess who could feel the pea under 12
mattresses.
>> I've basically have been told no way in h___ can I put a 5cm bump in the
>> engine under the Westfalia bed with the upcoming inline four engine swap.
>> This leaves me with two choices:
>>
>> - lower the engine and transmission by 2" - not that big of a deal, this
>> can be done with some simple spacers - but I would loose 2" of ground
>> clearance.
>> - raise the Westfalia bed / seat up by two inches.
>>
>> Why hasn't anyone ever lifted their bed on their Westfalia?  It doesn't
>> look that hard to do.  Looking at how the seat is fastened in it is quite
>> simple - or am I missing something.
>>
>> To lift the rear seat up two inches would require some 2x4" pieces of
wood
>> to go on the floor to raise the bench part up.  The "L" brackets on the
>> bench that are bolted to the floor would need longer bolts and they could
>> go through the 2x4s for added stability.  The rear heater would stay
where
>> it is - bolted on the floor. This would leave a 2" gap on the top of the
>> vent leaving the first real "cosmetic" problem.   The next problem to
>> overcome would be the two metal brackets on the engine hump.  A 2x2"
piece
>> of metal tubing would make this a quick fix.  The last problem would be
how
>> the rear of the seat would rest when in the reclined position.  I think
the
>> simplest way to eliminate this problem would be some 2x4" pieces of wood
>> and some plywood - creating a false floor that could be packed with
>> insulation to reduce engine noise and heat or some storage compartments
for
>> things like booster cables or other seldom used knickknacks.
>>
>> Is there anything that I am missing or is it really this "simple"?
>>
>>
>> --   David Marshall - Vanagon List Admin - Quesnel, BC, Canada   --
>> --    78 VW Rabbit, 80 VW Caddy, 84 VW Westie, 85 VW Cabriolet   --
>> --       87 Audi 5000 Quattro, 88 2.0L VW Syncro Double Cab      --
>> -- David's Volkswagen Home Page        http://www.volkswagen.org --
>> -- Fast Forward Autobahn Sport Tuning  http://www.fastforward.ca --
>> -- david@volkswagen.org (pmail) or vanagon@volkswagen.org (list) --
>>