Date:         Tue, 16 Dec 2003 09:28:44 -0500
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: 4 headlite grille?
In-Reply-To:  <Law14-F94Aer3FH5CJJ0004f4b1@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> Seen a few pics of vanagons with 4 headlights---2 big lights and 2
little
> lights. I thought it would look sharp on my van---especial;ly after I
paint
>  it this springAre these foreign issue or can I find them on vanagons
>  manufactured for this country?

> Those are the South African Headlight setup. Offered a year
> or so ago by some crazed idiot in Santa Cruz who went through
> an additional year of hell to import them for a bunch of list members.
>
> I have no idea if one of the list vendors offers these, but
> that is where I would start.


I stock these. Mine include the actual correct VW inner lights, not the
generic aftermarket offroad lights included with some kits offered
elsewhere (often for more than my price). This is a very important
difference.  I have had many people who bought kits with the cheapo
inner lights elsewhere ask me about selling them a set of inner lights
because they were so unhappy with the generic ones, but I only buy
enough lights to supply with our grill kits. The reason some companies
supply the generic inner lights is that the genuine VW ones are very
expensive (so including them cuts into their profit).

I sell the kits in two versions. One kit includes the grill, emblem, and
inner lights, but not outer lights. This is best if you have a pre-1986
Vanagon, as you can use your existing outer lights.  My part # 1495A,
$289.95 for the whole kit. Link:
http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=1495A

The second kit adds a pair of off-brand H4 outer lights. This is useful
for '86-91 Vanagon owners (who will not have round outer lights to
re-use), or for pre-86 owners who would like to upgrade their stock
sealed-beam outer lights to H4's at the same time. My part # 1495,
$319.95.. Even the off-brand H4's are an improvement over the stock
sealed-beams, but some people would rather spring for Hella or Bosch
H4's (which we do sell); if so, buy the first kit and order the H4's
separately. However, I should  probably note that H4 headlights (of any
brand) are not "street legal" in the U.S., and are sold "for offroad use
only," so the other option is to stick with standard sealed-beam outer
lights (which are a common item found at any auto parts store).  Link to
this kit: http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=1495

You can wire the inner lights in one of several ways. The simplest (and
most common) way is to simply connect them to your existing wiring.
Better is to buy a standard relay (any part store will have them) and
give the lights a direct 12 volt feed for added brightness (fused, of
course), using the existing headlight wiring as a trigger for the relay.
A third option is to get a dash switch that will turn the inner lights
on and off manually (this can be used in conjunction with a relay). We
sell a matching switch, our part # ZVW123251.  If you have an '86-up
(with square headlights), you will also need a pair of headlight buckets
from a pre-1986 VW Bus or Vanagon to hold the outer lights; this can be
relatively easily found at a junkyard since it was used on so many years
and is not a common failure item (hence not quickly stripped off of
junkyard busses). One piece of good news for '86-up owners is that you
may be able to get a pretty good price on Ebay for your old rectangular
lights and grill, which will defray the cost of the upgrade, as the
stock '86-91 parts are rather expensive items if purchased new (much
more expensive than the cost of either 4-headlight grill kit).

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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