Date: Wed, 04 Jan 95 16:18:08 CST
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject: another edition of the dictionary ...
ok, gang ... see what you think is missing (needs to be added) or is just
flat wrong (needs to be fixed).
Dictionary of Terms from the Bus/Vanagon List
<all years are by definition for U.S. Models. European, Canadian, and
Australian years and models may vary slightly>
--------------------------------------
** Bus Terminology **
--------------------------------------
BAY WINDOW another name for the buses made from 1968-1979. so called for
the large single-piece windshield.
BRICK 1. Vanagon model Transporters. 2. any VW Bus or Transporter
BREAD LOAF usually refers to the buses made from 1968-1979, due to
the resemblance of the body shape to that of a loaf of bread
BULLI the German nickname for the original VW buses. loosely
translated, it means "work horse" or "oxen" (some sort of
strong animal used for pulling heavy loads.
BUS 1. any Volkswagen Transporter of any model and any year.
2. specifically those VW transporters from 1968 to 1979,
distinquished by a large one-piece windshield and rounded
body contours. all had 'swing-axles'. also called T2
Transporters.
CAMPER a model of bus that contained interior features such as a
bed, stove, cabinets, and in some versions, a refrigerator.
some versions had a pop-up roof to allow extra room,
ventilation, and sleeping room 'upstairs'. some of the
many companies making Campers were Westfalia, Devon,
and Country Homes.
CAMPMOBILE another name for Camper versions of the VW Transporter. for
whatever reasons, this term seems to have been dropped for
the Vanagons, except in Canada.
CREW CAB another name for Double-Cab pickup trucks.
CV-JOINT one of the small circular devices at an end of an axle on
a bus. Microbuses have only two of these, Buses, Vanagons,
and Eurovans have four, while Syncros have eight. these
are necessary to allow the axle to move up and down while
still turning to propel the car. the joints need to be
keep greased to function properly. when they are worn, they
make a knocking-noise that strikes fear into the hearts of
bus owners everywhere.
DEVON an English company that made camping conversion VW buses.
DOPPLE- the German name for Double-Cab Pickup Truck.
KABINE
DORMOBILE another company that made camping conversions of VW buses.
DOUBLE-CAB the VW Pickup Truck characterized by seating for six and
three doors. a 1/2-ton vehicle.
EUROVAN any of the Volkswagen Transporters from 1992 to present.
some were sold in Europe in 1991. generally characterized
by their engine located in the front of the vehicle,
driving the front wheels, and their very rounded shape and
huge rear hatch.
KOMBI generally accepted to mean a mid-range trim model of a
Volkswagen Transporter. that is, NOT a utility/commercial
truck, and yet NOT a Deluxe model with all the bells and
whistles of luxury and convenience. usually, a Kombi has
windows along the side, seats, and some side paneling.
MICROBUS any Volkswagen Transporter from 1949 to 1967,
characterized by a split (two-piece) windshield and rounded
body contours. all were powered by beetle Type 1 engines
and all had 'reduction gears' on the half-axles. known also
as T1 Transporters.
PANEL a model of bus that has no side windows behind the front
doors. usually a commercial model.
PICKUP a model of bus that had a flat load bed with no fixed roof
over the rear half of the vehicle. see Single-Cab and
Double-Cab. optional canvas tents were available to cover
the rear flat bed area.
PRITSCHEN- another name for the Single-Cab pickup truck.
WAGEN
SAFARI a type of front windshield that tilts outward for additional
WINDOWS ventilation. found only on Microbuses, and usually only on
on those in equatorial/tropic countries.
SAMBA usually refers to the Microbus Deluxe Station Wagen, with
21 or 23 Windows and a Sunroof.
SINGLE-CAB the 3/4-ton version of the VW Pickup Truck. seating for
three people.
SPLIT the Microbus, made from 1949 to 1967. also called a
Split-Window.
SYNCRO the four-wheel drive version of the Vanagon, made between
1986 and 1991. using a viscous coupling arrangement, the
front wheels could be made to automatically provide pulling
power (at any time the rear wheels began to slip or spin).
TRANSPORTER any of Volkswagen smaller trucks and vans. known as Type 2,
they evolved through four (4) 'generations': T1, T2, T3, and
T4. but the entire line of vehicles has always been called
'Type 2'.
TRANNY 1. an affectionate name for Transporter. 2. an American
slang term for Transmission.
VANAGON any Volkswagen Transporter from 1980-1991, distinguished
by squarer body contours and extremely large windows and
windshield. also known as T3 Transporters, or Caravelle.
WESTY or
WESTFALIA one of many Camper versions made from a basic VW Transporter
usually the only Camper version imported into the U.S. by
VW and sold at their dealers.
--------------------------------------
** Slang ** Abbreviations & Acronyms
--------------------------------------
BTW By the Way
DPO Dreaded Previous Owner (the sorry so-and-so who owned and
mistreated YOUR bus before you bought it).
FLAG Friendly Local Auto Garage
FLAPS Friendly Local Auto Parts Store/Supplier/Source
FLARS Friendly Local Auto Repair Shop
FLATS Friendly Local Auto Tire Store
FUBAR Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition
FYI For Your Information
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
NOS New Original Stock (not rebuilt, and not manufactured by some
non-OEM company).
OE Original Equipment
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
SNAFU Situation Normal: All Fouled Up
TIA Thanks in Advance
TTFN Ta-Ta For Now (So Long until later)
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary
--------------------------------------
** Technical Terms ** (real ones)
--------------------------------------
ABS Anti-Locking Braking System. a computerized method of helping
to prevent wheel skid/lock-up during braking. it does NOT
prevent spins, NOR does it allow you to stop in a shorter
distance. it DOES allow you to steer the car while braking
as hard as possible. available as an option on some Vanagons
and Eurovans in Europe during the late 1980's-1990's.
AFM Air Flow Meter. the silver box next to the air cleaner box
on the fuel injection model buses. it measured the volume
of air entering the intake system, and allowed the computer
to adjust the amount of gasoline required.
CAT Catalytic Converter. a large, usually round cannister in the
exhaust system. it helps convert emission gases into more
harmless, less noxious vapors.
CCA Cold Cranking Amps. a bogus number printed on the sides of
automobile batteries to confuse the buyers. generally, the
bigger this number is, the easier the battery will crank
your car when everything is frozen. assuming everything is
in perfect operating condition, of course.
DIGIFANT a form of fuel injection found on VW vanagons/transporters
from 1986 and later. a later variation of Digijet. also
reported to be a slightly less complicated version of the
Bosch Motronic fuel injection used on BMW's and Porsches.
DIGIJET a form of fuel injection found on VW vanagon/transporters
from 1983.5 to 1985. characterized by a digital 'map' of
the 'proper' fuel quantity vs engine rpm and temperature.
DOT Department of Transportation. an agency of the U.S. Federal
Government that has authority over some aspects of auto-
mobile construction, especially in the safety-related areas.
ECU Electronic Control Unit. generally refers to the 'computer'
that controls the fuel injection system.
EFI Electronic Fuel Injection. computerized metering and
squirting of fuel, replacing the carburetor systems.
introduced into the buses in the mid-70's.
EGR Exhaust Gas Recirculation. one of the emission control
techniques, in which gases are sucked from the exhausht
pipes (before the muffler) and re-circulated through the
intake manifold (to be 'burned' again). the high heat
associated with exhaust gases required expensive metals
... so replacing/repairing this system can be costly.
EPA Environmental Protection Agency. another agency of the U.S.
Federal Government that gets involved in automobile
construction, especially in the engine emissions area.
KPH Kilometers per Hour. speed measured in the metric system.
L/100km Liters per 100 Kilometers. a measurement of fuel economy in
the metric system. note that this is exactly backwards from
the American system of miles/gallon. the metric measurement
denotes the amount of fuel required to go a certain distance
roughly, 10 L/100km = 23 mpg.
LED Light Emitting Diode. those little red/green/yellow 'lights'
that almost never burn out. sort of solid plastic light
bulbs. and they use very very little amounts of electricity.
LPG Liquid Propane Gas. the stuff that the stove and refrigerator
use for fuel in the campers.
MPG Miles per gallon. the American measurement of fuel economy,
denoting the distance traveled for a certain amount of fuel.
roughly, 20 mpg = 12 L/100km.
MPH Miles per hour. the American measurement of speed.
PCV Positive Crankcase Ventilation. a method of reducing the
pressure inside the engine crankcase (the middle part where
things are whirling around, but nothing is exploding).
TUV an agency of the German Federal Government. sort of a
combination of DOT and EPA, as well as being responsible
for inspecting cars before they are allowed to be driven.
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