Date:         Fri, 20 May 2005 09:04:36 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject:      Re: Rear Hatch Material
In-Reply-To:  <428DE9EA.9030806@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

Now you know what becomes of waste neutron star material. And that's on
the old hatches. The new ones are so dense that if you stand really
close to them you can see the back of your head, and there is a
different BD part for those, I seem to remember. Of course if you're
going to carry a bike rack you'll want the heavy ones, even on the
older models.

And IIRC the bus depot struts allow you to place the rear hatch at any
height and leave it there. This was a selling feature on my 90, the
video I got with the car explained that it helped handicapped drivers
operate the car because the lid would only open as high as they left
it, so that it could be reached from a wheel chair. Most aftermarket
spring shocks send the hatch sky-high with no intermediate choice of
height.

A downside: a hatch lid hovering midway between open and closed put a
gash in my brother-in-law's head when he walked into it one night.

Jim


On May 20, 2005, at 8:45 AM, John Rodgers wrote:

> Bus Depot use to carry some pretty hefty stuts for that hatch. Not to
> expensive as I recall - Back when I bought mine they were about $21/ea.
> Haven't checked lately so don't know current pricing, but check them
> out. Worth having.
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL driver
>
> Barry Muller wrote:
>
>> I've had my '91 Carat for about 3 years now.   The
>> whole time the struts have been shot and I've been
>> usiing the ViseGrip method of propping the hatch open.
>> Considering what I've put into the vehicle it's
>> embarrassing that I haven't replaced these two
>> relatively inexpensive itme (which I plan to do soon).
>>
>>
>> To my point: I'm amazed that those two spindly struts
>> can hold that hatch open!   The damn thing seems far
>> heavier than I'd ever guess.  I've often wondered if
>> it was constructed from depleted uranium!
>>
>> bem
>>
>>
>>
>>
>