Date: Thu, 05 Sep 1996 13:52:29 EST
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "William R. Kennedy, NJIT CIAT, 201-596-5648" <kennedy@admin.njit.edu>
Subject: Vanagon parts in Germany - long
>From: ADMIN::KENNEDY "William R. Kennedy, NJIT CIAT, 201-596-5648" 5-SEP-1996 13:48:13.78
To: KENNEDY
CC: KENNEDY
Subj: Vanagon parts in Germany (long)
Just back from two weeks in Germany, with my Vanagon enthusiasm
much refreshed, and with some parts ideas that may be of
interest to Vanagon owners. We visited Darmstadt (where we
lived when I was in the Army 25 years ago), Heidelberg,
Rothenburg, castle alley along the Rhine, and Berlin, but the
rest of this note will try to concentrate on VW content.
We rented a very game little VW Polo, with the 1.4 liter engine
that seems to be the universal engine size for these little
cars. Acceleration's nothing amazing, but the gas mileage is.
I did 103 mph on the autobahn briefly, just to say I had. At
almost 4500rpm the engine was working hard and so was I. My
head is calibrated for 70 or 75mph, and at 100mph the closing
rates are hard to estimate. When you pull to the right for
faster traffic (and at 100mph on the autobahn there is some)
behind a truck or car-pulled trailer doing 55, your closing rate
is something serious. Things I'm comfortable doing at 75 (drink
a sip of Diet Coke; change stations on the radio) are not on my
list at 100.
There are Vanagons in Germany! There are few aircooled VWs of
any sort on the road, but there are lots of waterpumpers of
every sort: high-roofed campers; racy late-model multivans with
spoilers and aluminum wheels; tuff-looking German army Syncros
in camoflage paint; panels and pritchen-wagen, both single- and
doppel-cabine, standard and wide-bed; working vans of the Post
Office, police, fire departments, and train lines. (Post Office
yellow is the most popular color for ratty old campers, as many
are built out of ex-Post Office panel-trucks.) I even saw an
armored car Eurovan. The T4s are also very numerous, but
nowhere near as pretty as a Vanagon. I stopped at the VW dealer
and bought a MULTIVAN and a TRANSPORTER placquet; now I have to
decide which to install on the 81. CARAVELLE would have been
more correct, but I don't picture my Vgon as a sailing vessel.
I picked up the latest issues of all the VW magazines, and will
summarize the used VW classifieds situation in a future posting.
I also stopped at two shops that specialize in Vanagon
enhancements.
ONTOUR, in Giessen, is a young couple who offer a line of parts
and accessories for Vanagons and T4s. They can also get used
parts. They have really neat Vanagons as samples of their
wares. One had an Audi 5-cylinder engine (using a different
adapter kit from Winkler's -- see below) and a Mercedes electric
moonroof. Ontour sells the Projektzwo line of fiberglas and the
leading aluminum wheels. They have nice-quality 3-piece front
carpet sets for DM69. I would picture using them for an order
large enough to justify the shipping costs, including some used
parts that are hard to find over here, like the late-model body
cladding and power mirrors.
Dirk Kloess
Lindenstrasse 49
35389 Giessen-Luetzellinden
Germany
phone or fax at 06403-75338
Axel Winkler has a somewhat larger organization and a 180-page
catalog to die for. His focus is on bigger engines, and it's
his kit that Helmut Ziedler is using to Audi5ify his Vanagon.
The kits for the Audi 5 (gas or diesel) and for the Ford V6 are
available complete or piece by piece. Not cheap, but where else
are you going to find this stuff? For instance, the exhaust
system that hooks up to the Audi manifold and takes the exhaust
forward and dumps it in front of the driver's side rear wheel is
DM860. You could fabricate it, but Winkler's works and it's
done.
Winkler has the Projektzwo line, too, plus other stuff I've
never seen in the US: Air-intake scoops, DM180. Front or rear
outside spare-tire mounts. Front, side, and rear grill-guards
and bumpers made out of 43 or 60mm pipe. Probably 20 different
models of wheels to fit the Vanagon, in sizes up to 10x17inch.
Two different center consoles, one that takes up the
walk-through, one that leaves it mostly open. An overhead
console, DM295, that fits above the sunvisors with space for
treble speakers and some gauges. An overlay that covers the
whole dash except for the existing instrument binnacle, with
trays on top and space for gauges on the front, DM350. Sliding
rear side windows, DM381. 7 different highroofs, in heights
from 500 to 780mm above the drip-rail, from DM1000 to DM1500.
Camper parts. Four-wheel disk brake setup DM3600. 85 liter
fuel tank to replace the stock 60liter tank, DM860. Is this
heaven or what?
Winkler's demo-mobile is a hurt-your-eyes yellow doka
(double-cab) with fiberglas extensions not just bolted on but
formed onto the body all around, wide tires on 16-inch wheels,
sport seats and leather console, sunroof, and the obligatory
Audi 5.
A. Winkler
Schuechtermannstrasse 7
44628 Herne 1
Germany
Fax 02323-82374
What I need is a bunch of money, an empty shipping container,
and two months to hit a bunch of VW meets in Germany during the
summer. There is one meet just for VWs with "fremdenmotoren" --
"strange motors", and although Porsche-powered Vanagons like
mine are rare because of the cost of the engine, there were
several in the Kloess' photo-album of past meets. That album
was a treasure in itself because in every picture of an amazing
Vanagon, there were six more amazing Vanagons in the background!
I will definitely be putting together at least a small order for
one or both of these vendors, and I am interested in hearing if
anyone else thinks a joint order might save some translatlantic
shipping costs. Also interested in hearing of US sources for
any of the pieces I mentioned.
No matter how you slice it, it is reassuring to know that the
quantity of Vanagons on the road will justify a continuing
supply of parts well into the future. Just wish more of them
were over here.
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