Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2023 23:33:10 +0000
Reply-To: Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Part needed
In-Reply-To: <CAFnDXk3JjNvXTgrHUGd4G+w_20W9odqKd_Nq8T=eEWCtJnRBog@mail.gmail.com>
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So...injection molded quality ABS. What many if not all of the parts were made of on front dash area and interior. Some Wiki info: Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene - Wikipedia
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Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene - Wikip...
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It's complicated. Basically, the "butadiene" component is what gives it the toughness. Color is achieved by adding pigment pellets; to achieve the color, certain properties had to be compromised. Back in the early '80s, and depending on the product and application, plastics were not as nearly developed as they are now, especially with regard to UV light. And the design engineers produced stuff as best they could; meanwhile, the chemists and polymer engineers were busy doing more research, producing better formulations. For cars, typical "design life" was 10 years; for airplanes, typical design life was 30 years. But no way did the original engineers forsee 40 years for a Vanagon. (And why would you do it? Normally you don't buy a new car until old one breaks. Yes....a little bit of that "planned obsolescence" thing.) So, you gotta kind of roll with it; and brown spray paint on a black plastic ABS part is one way of doing that. Even consider insulation on wires; not ABS but some suitable plastic (PVC) to extrude around the copper. I know Toyota and Honda both got in trouble on this one; trying to make wire insulation more environmentally friendly; well...the mice ate that stuff up! Oh yeah...the "new car smell"? That is the plasticizers in the plastic resin evaporating; you will see "haze" on interior window glass for a few years....and then no more....most has vaporized.
On Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 03:49:46 PM PDT, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
Eric,
As one who has had many years of experience taking care of brown Vanagon
plastic--as you have--I have to wonder if there is something inherently
lacking in other plastic colors, at least from the 1980s, that is present
in black. Look at any black vanagon mirror. It's likely perfect after all
this time. Look at any brown vanagon mirror. You can't, because they didn't
last long enough. Might we still be better off painting black parts for
longevity? Or have things changed?
Jim
On Sun, Apr 16, 2023 at 5:52 AM Eric Caron <ericcaron96@comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi John,
>
> Vanagain has both the small and large part of the steering column
> new. I purchased one from Jim several years ago and now have patched
> together my old one as well to serve in my 84.
>
> One of these days I hope to grab one of Kens column covers! He has both
> black and brown as long as they last.
>
> Eric Caron
>
>
>
> > On Apr 15, 2023, at 9:24 PM, John Rodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > I need the plastic shield that goes under the steering column. Mine is
> > cracked beyond repair. Anyone got one of these they care to part with?
> > Don't know about size but my van is a '91 Carat.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > John
>
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