Date:         Sat, 08 Feb 1997 11:51:31
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         EXPRES@gnn.com (Ron Salmon)
Subject:      PopTop Seals are In!  (*A few extra are still avail.*)

The poptop seals came last night!  

	Finally seeing them "for real", I'm more than satisfied with the fit 
and quality (especially for the cheap price!). The finish is smooth, not 
quite as smooth as the OEM seal, but much closer than any of the other 
aftermarket ones, which all have a "bumpy" finish.  
	As you may recall, at the last minute I decided to pay a bit extra 
for a 1/8" taller seal, after learning that WCM's spec was taller than the 
Whitney/BusBoys/McMasterCarr seal. I'm glad I did, after trying one myself 
this morning. On my poptop, when you remove the original seal, the area 
that was hidden by the original seal is a different shade (less weathered?) 
than the rest of the poptop. This new seal just barely covers that entire 
area. If I'd ordered the smaller Whitney-sized seal it would have left a 
visible line where the original poptop seal had been.
     The original VW seal does not have an "insulation bulb" on the inside, 
just a small (maybe 1/8") lip at the inside bottom. The Whitney/etc seal 
has an insulation bulb near the middle inside of the seal. The one I got 
(again, based on WCM's spec) places it near the bottom instead, roughly 
where that little OEM "lip" would have been, supposedly for a tighter seal. 
My one complaint is that the luggage rack seal (for those '74-up Westies 
that use one) lacks the "insulation bulb" (unlike the WCM seal). The 
explanation is that it is unneccessary to insulate that section, since it 
does not open up into the interior.  I suppose I'll buy that, especially 
since the original VW seal didn't use a bulb either, although I wonder why 
WCM's does (unless it was just for the simplicity of using the same part 
number for both seals).

Anyway, I'm going to start boxing them up over the weekend and send them 
out sometime next week, so you can judge for yourselves. I'd like your 
feedback, because I could get these again (albeit at a bit higher cost, 
since it would be in smaller quantity). 

If you want one, and didn't order one at the time, let me know. I did order 
a *few* extra in case of stragglers. Price is $38 plus UPS for the complete 
set. (This compared to about $120 for a WCM set). Fits all years. See the 
archives or e-mail me for more info. If you went in on the deal but haven't 
sent money yet, please do, as I had to pay COD. (Got majorly ripped on 
shipping, by the way.  The supplier advised using common carrier rather 
than UPS because of the number of boxes, saying it would be cheaper. In 
fact, it was almost double UPS's rate!  Last time I take somebody's word 
for that! Be warned!) 

Thanks,
Ron Salmon