Adding a passenger-side grab handle |
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by Jeff
Are your smaller passengers clawing at the seat trying to get into your Vanagon?
For some reason (probably cost savings) VW only included one grab handle in most Vanagons. (Syncros have one each for the driver and the passenger, probably for use while the van is at a 45° angle.) It seems that some vans have a driver-only grab handle, and others have one only for the passengers.
Luckily, it's a fairly easy fix to install one. The handle easily reverses to go on either side of the van. You can get a handle from either a VW parts department, or from a junked Vanagon. Go get yourself a handle. I'll wait here.
(Note that the following instructions are for installing a passenger-side handle. If you're installing a drivers' side handle, try to do the translation in your head. You still need to watch out for wires!)
Whoops
My first attempt at installing the handle didn't go well. I carefully measured the holes on the driver's side & marked the passenger side so that the new handle would be identically placed. I purchased the right-sized bit to match the drivers' side holes. After measuring twice more, I was ready to drill.
The flying sparks gave away the presense of wires in the pillar. I discovered to my chagrin that the wires for the dome light run up through the passenger front pillar, and that I had severed them. My neighbors were amused at my patience in redoing the wiring.
The right way
The right way to install the handle is to drill a small pilot hole using a block of wood or other drill stop. The goal is to have the bit just barely penetrate into the pillar. If you drill into the pillar, you risk hitting and possibly damaging the wires (as I did). Once you've penetrated the surface of the pillar, use a wire coat hanger to move the wires out of the way while you use the same method to drill the other hole -- first with the pilot drill and then the correct size bit. With the correct size bit also use a drill stop. You can use the newly drilled bottom hole to move the wires aside while you drill the top hole, and vice versa. While you're drilling, be very careful and work slowly. Rewiring is much slower than being careful and doing it right.
If you have any questions, I'll try to help.
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Jeff in El Cerrito, CA
It was pretty easy to install a grab handle on the driver's windshield pillar to match the right front one. To recycle a handle assembly from the right side of a parts car, I seem to remember shaving the mounting bases a bit so they would orient correctly on the opposite, left side. I removed my right side handle to actual find hole size and position. BUT... for some reason the sheet metal mounting screws contacted the inside of the outer sheet metal and almost made holes! Two of them caused the paint to chip on the outside of the pillar. Next time I'd try grinding off a bit of the tips of the screws to make them shorter and installing a washer under the screwhead if needed. Anyways, I like having the handle for boarding on a hill and it's not much to peek around while driving. (Lots of SUV's have them there, too.)
