One of the benefits of the Vanagon Westy is the passenger’s seat that swivels. Many people who have regular Vanagons would like that same functionality, and it’s not terribly difficult to accomplish. The entire project will set you back roughly $200, but will gain you maximum usable space in your van. One user from The Samba documented the process he went through to get his swivel seat installed. Click through to see how he did it.
Samba user orin salah installed this new swivel in his van.
He had to drill a couple of holes and cut back some of the battery compartment to make it work.
Here you can see the battery compartment cover, which I have laid out for cutting. The swivel covers the entire area from the front to the rear of the existing rails. If one did not cut back the cover it would be impossible to open or close once the swivel was installed. You can see a couple of existing holes on the rails as well. I found that the two forward holes were already big enough for the smaller bolts that came with the kit, but I had to enlarge the rear holes in addition to adding two more holes. One interesting thing is that the bolts which came with the swivel were a tad too long and I had to drill not only through the rail but through the bottom of the fender as well. Here is a shot of the finished rails.
Once installed the seat moves freely and you can still access the battery compartment.
The finished product gives you maximum usable space in your van. The seat will seat about 1.5 inches higher, but it’s hardly noticeable. Orin also created a cubby below the seat for storage. Hit the source link below to see how he did it.
