Page 123 of Camper Products by Go Westy

www.gowesty.com call toll free 1.888.469.3789 local/international 805.528.7888 125 why, in 1988, did VW put a rubber seal at this body gap, thus blocking all airflow through it? The flow through ventilation scheme completely changed and improved in 1988. This change coincided with the introduction of the switch from chrome (or black) steel bumpers to the fiberglass gbig bumpersh and the accompanying front spoiler. In 1988 the rear-most side windows have an added vent along the rear edge. It was necessary to shorten the glass in order to make room for this vent as the opening in the body stayed the same. These vents are air EXIT vents. Interestingly, the little grills on the front door panels remained, but if you remove them you will see the passageway behind them is sealed, and there is no blue slide lever. The seal at the door gap area was put there probably for reduced noise. I installed these seals on my 1987 Vanagon, and added the rear vents too. It actually lowered the wind noise a little, and the rear vents improved air flow inside the vehicle, especially for the rear passengers. And now I have the best of both worlds: improved flow-through ventilation and cool air from the dash vents! You can say you knew me when I was nobodyc Air Conditioning in Vanagons: OK, so what about AC. Factory installed air conditioning in Vanagons is a completely separate system than the fresh air system. All air-conditioned air is RECIRCULATED air. That is, all the air that is cooled is air that is scooped up from inside the vehicle, cooled, and re-circulated back inside the vehicle. It does not work like most other vehicles where one can choose OUTSIDE or INSIDE air to be cooled. There were two different factory installed AC systems for non pop-top Vanagons, and two for pop-tops. Vano non pop-top factory A/C 1980-1984: On early non pop top Vanagons up to about 1984, the air conditioning ducting was a plastic monstrosity that came up the driverfs side of the vehicle just behind the driverfs front door, and up over the across the ceiling to the passenger side. The evaporator (the heat exchanger that converts warm air to cold) was inside this section. Right above the isle way there was a gTh, and ducting ran forward between the driver and passenger to windshield to another gTh, and then side to side. This system worked OK. 1985-1991: Starting in 1985, the evaporator was moved all the way to the back, running side to side just in front of the rear window. A duct similar to the early systems ran side to side up front above the rear-view mirror where the A/C control knobs were located. A long duct ran down the middle of the ceiling back to the evaporator housing. This system was awesome, and kept the interior of even dark colored Vanagons cool, even in ambient temperatures of well over 100 deg F. Pop-top Vanagon factory A/C 1984-1986: On these year models, the air conditioning evaporator was located inside what would normally be the rear cabinet above the rear seat. Instead of the little cabinet door that flips down there was a grill assembly installed. This system did not work very well. 1987-1991: Factory A/C was improved in 1987, which coincided with the switch in the campers from a tan colored interior to gray. On 87-91 pop-top Vanagons without A/C, the rear cabinet was the same shape and size as the 80- 86. With factory A/C, the entire rear cabinet assembly changed. Whereas the pre-87 system was basically a converted cabinet, the new system had an additional duct assembly that came right up to the edge of the rear ceiling, thus getting much closer to the front passengers. This system also used a larger evaporator and evaporator fans, a larger condenser with a more powerful radiator fan, and a larger A/C compressor (7cylinder instead of 5 cylinder). This system worked OK, but still was nothing to write home about. The people in the back seat would be deafened from the roar of the more powerful evaporator fans, and frozen solid from the increased airflow. The folks in the front seat by comparison would be barely comfortable. However, this system when operating properly will keep the interior cool, and is fine for two people traveling in the FRONT seats. Vanagon aftermarket or gDealer Installedh A/C There was another A/C system available for the THE GOWESTY LIBRARY

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