Date:         Sun, 30 Apr 1995 00:31:59 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Schwarze <schwarze@superc.nosc.mil>
Subject:      '73 Safare Update - Junkyard report

Well, this morning I set off to the junkyards in search of the little
metal cage, which seems to be called a "shift linkage coupling".  Went
to my favorite pick-yer-own junkyard and promptly found a 79 with one
that looked to be in good condition.  Grabbed it and went on to give the
rest of the van section the once-over.  Saw some interesting rigs,
including a Vanagon with a gas engine (slanted, like the Audi?), a late
70's loaf camper with a pop top that popped STRAIGHT UP (couldn't find
the manufacturer, but it was missing the normal Westfalia plate), and, and,
and, a SAFARE CUSTOM CAMPER!  I almost couldn't believe it.  Looking at
the plate, I saw that it was #794 (mine is #6 hundred something), made in
1974.
	
This camper had a lot of differences from mine (but I bet it's like 
Patrick's):

No pop top or bubble top!
Icebox instead of fridge
No stove or propane tank
Interior in good condition

Other than that, it was the same as mine, except with a green theme.  It's
the first Safare I've seen in Green - up till now I only knew about blue
and yellow.  Anyway, the cabinets in this camper were in great shape!  Not
falling apart like mine.  Unfortunately, I had already ripped out most of
my interior, so I had no use for most of it, but, I did take two cabinet
doors and one of the bench seats in the back.  I will use the doors on the
new cabinets I built for a touch of the old Safare.  The bench will
directly replace mine, just cause it is in so much better condition.  I'm
debating whether or not to go back tomorrow and get the other bench (which
was damaged, but still nicer than mine) and the drawer (also nicer than
mine, and I could use it in the new cabinets too).  

After paying for all of this stuff, I went back inside for a look at the
foreign cars.  Still looking for 914s so I can get a couple of those
trick plates with the oil temp sender fitting.  But, there was not a single
914 in the place.

I decided that since I was in the area anyway, and since I was already
dirty, I would walk around one of the other pick-yer-part junkyards a
few blocks away, just to see if there were any 914s and maybe a bus with
something I needed.  Inside, I found only two busses - both were stripped.
Walking through the foreign cars I stopped at a Porsche 924, thinking it
might have a nice tachometer I could use.  Sure enough, it had a 4" VDO
tach just begging to be restored to life.  It came out easily, but there
were more wires than I expected coming out the back (3, plus lights).  I
have no idea how to wire this thing.  Anyone have any suggestions?  
Being so large, I will have to mount it separately underneath the dash,
but it sure looks cool, especially the 6500 RPM redline.  :)

While I'm sitting in the drivers seat taking out the tach, I notice that
the seats really are pretty nice.  Black vinyl, thick side bolsters, nice
and low profile, hmmm...  The drivers seat has a split seam in the bottom
but otherwise they are perfect.  I decide to see how much they are, and
if under $30 each, I will buy them for the bus.  I walk up to the front,
and find out seats are on sale this week, $21.95 each!  That settles it.
I bought them and the tach, but alas, there were no 914s at this yard
either (Sorry Dave!).

Some of you may recall that I just got done replacing my stock seats with
seats from a 73 Capri that I had lying around taking up space.  These
seats were comfortable, but they were big, and when you sit in them you
are maybe 2" higher up than with the stock seats.  This was a problem
because it made it harder to reach the gearshift, and cuts down your view
out of the top of the windows.  I found I had to duck down to see things
sometimes - not good for a vehicle that will be used for sightseeing.

I cleaned up the seats, but only got the drivers installed tonight.  I'll
have to do the passenger seat tomorrow.  I'm really happy with the result -
the seats look like they were made for the van, and I think I actually sit
a little lower than I did on the stock seats (but I removed the sliding
rails from under the seats, which lowered them an additional inch).  The
seatbacks have a continuously adjustible angle, and can be flipped 
forward (for what, I don't know).

-David

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David Schwarze                     '73 VW Safare Custom Camper  (Da Boat)
SAIC Comsystems, San Diego Calif.  '73 Capri GT 2800            (Da Beast)
e-mail:  schwarze@nosc.mil         '87 Mustang Lx 5.0           (Da Sleeper)
http://papaya.nosc.mil/~schwarze   '93 Weber WG-50              (Da Piano)
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