Date:         Fri, 15 Aug 1997 00:10:01 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Linda Bartnik" <lbart@preferred.com>
Subject:      gauges in hand, installation to come....

Hey all,
Whooo boy, is this gauge thing dragging on and on or what? :-)

Well, today I received via Priority Mail ("it'll be there in 2 or 3 days,
maybe, if we feel like it") from Bus Depot my oil temp gauge, oil pressure
gauge, oil pressure sender, oil temp sender, and Westfalia label kit.

Some of you may remember Ron advertising the Westy labels, I bought the kit
so now my Westy looks more official -- put the stickers on tonight.

The pack includes the stickers that go on the utility covers for the city
water and tank water connection, a sticker for the electrical connection
and a sticker telling you to only put potable water in the onboard water
tank.  There is also a sticker reminding you to keep the sink drain cap on
at all times and two stickers about filling propane, and another one that
goes by the gas filler.  Ron also supplies a key telling you where the
stickers go on the van.  

I ordered the gauges and senders from Ron because his prices were Damn
Good.  I'm very happy with the service I received from Bus Depot and I
recommend B.D. to other listmembers.  Ron manages to get some good deals.  

It's nice to see that VDO is now including legibly written instructions (in
English, even) with their gauges.  That's a big change from the last time I
ordered a VDO gauge.

Well, Ron, due to the nature of his arrangement with his VDO supplier, was
not able to get me all the VDO stuff I needed, namely a suitable gauge pod
for the Vanagon dash (which I was tipped off to by David Schwarze), the
Type 4 engine oil pressure adapter hose, and two wiring kits (I find the
VDO wiring kits to be most convenient, and worth the extra cost to me).  I
ordered those items from Jim Thompson at Old Volks Home, and it all arrived
a few days ago, minus the oil pressure adapter which is on backorder and is
probably being held up due to the UPS strike.  Bastards (sorry, pissed at
UPS and the friggin union).  I'd also recommend Jim to other listmembers,
his service was friendly and prompt and he was even able to special order
the VDO dashpod that I wanted.   More on that below...

So the only things I lack now are a drilled sump plate (which is being
generously supplied by a fellow listmember, and is probably in the mail
right now) and the oil pressure adapter hose.  I'm hoping on the sump plate
being here soon, as I'd like to get that part installed before I go back to
school, it matters not when I get the oil pressure hose as I can install
that anytime.

Anyway, the gauge pod I got is a two-gauge model designed to mount on a
flat surface, and tilt the gauge faces up about 45 degrees.  Well, when you
mount this on a slanted surface (Vanagon dash) the gauge faces are almost
vertical, so this is about perfect for the dash.  The only problem comes in
the layout of the pod.  I had assumed it would be side-by-side like their
other gauge pods, but it's more like a one-on-top-of-the-other arrangement.
 So I "modified" the pod by cutting it in between the two gauge holes, then
setting them side by side on the dash.  One required a little trimming, but
it looks as if both will fit over the speaker holes on the dash and still
let me keep my ashtray.  I'm happy with that.  I will still have to cut the
dash (due to the nature of the pod) but I was going to do that anyway.  I
will probably get the gauges installed finally this weekend.

In other news, I was finally able to get heater cables for my '81, one side
had been backordered for quite a while.  I got them from Kyle Wade at Volks
Cafe, and I also recommend him to listmembers, Kyle's a real good guy.  I
installed them without too much problem (removing the instrument cluster
makes this job a snap) and then promptly bent the right one at the first
slide of the heater lever -- DOH!! :-( .  I suppose I will be in the market
for another right side cable sometime soon :-( .

Anyway, sorry this is so damn long, I just wanted to post a note on my
progress and let you folks know about some first-class vendors on the list.
 

Sean