Date:         Fri, 01 Mar 1996 12:46:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      RE: Vanagon shock specifications


>in the Gabriel catalog the correct application for a vanagon (i don't
>remember the year range it covered, but it is at least for an '87):
>
>Front   89867
>Rear    89864
>
>neither of these is routinely carried, so... the hunt begins for a
>replacement.

Sears carries shocks made by Gabriel. I bought four for the 1980 V6anagon,
and they bolted right on. Don't know if they are identical to what an
actual Gabriel catalog might call out, or if they are specially made
for Sears, or...???

I paid $16.99 each for them. Fronts are different from the backs, of course,
but same price for all four. The local Sears (UTC in LaJolla, CA) didn't
have them in stock (is this what you meant by "not routinely carried"?),
and it took about a week for UPS to deliver them to my door, for whick
Sears picked up the shipping.

They are a soft shock, there's still a little nose dive in the car when you
hit the brakes, though much less than before. If I had it to do over, I
might go for KYBs or Bilsteins, or some such harder shock, to cut down
the nosedive a little. But these seem to be a decent, ordinary-use
shock to me, especially for the price.

My $.02...

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Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com       '80 V6anagon w/Chevy 2800
                                  '66 Mustang Coupevertible, for sale

Check out the cars at http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html
  *** NOW *** New pictures of the V6anagon engine installation, and
     before&after pictures of the Coupevertible at haircut time!
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