Date:         Mon, 10 May 1999 10:25:15 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject:      Mudflaps, Trailer Hitches, Stainless Mufflers ARE HERE!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

My long awaiting shipment of European and South African Vanagon goodies
finally cleared customs and reached my door, a mere two months late. :-)
But I think it was worth the wait.  I have really, really nice trailer
hitches, genuine VW mudflaps, stainless steel 2.1L mufflers, and more.
Here's the scoop:

MUDFLAPS:  These are genuine Volkswagen issue, made in South Africa
specifically for the Vanagon.  They look similar to the ones found on the
Westfalias here in the states, except that they have the VW emblem embossed
on them, are made of a slightly different material (more "plasticy", less
"rubbery"), and clamp on with provided hardware rather than using drilled
holes like the U.S. ones do.  Shape/fit/looks wise they're quite similar to
the VW ones sold in the States.  One difference, though:  while the ones
sold here run $89 each, these are $89.95 for a set of four!  Since some of
you have been waiting very patiently for these, I will offer an additional
$10 list member discount, bringing the price down to $79.95 plus shipping,
for the first week.  After the close of business on Friday, the price will
go up to $89.95, which is still a great deal. I expect to be completely sold
out of these relatively quickly, given the pent-up demand. (Note:  If you
order via the website, it will come up at $89.95 even now.  Don't worry,
just note in the "additional information" section on the order form that
you're a list member and we'll deduct the $10 manually if you order by
Friday.)

TRAILER HITCHES:  These were a real find!  They are also genuine
Volkswagen/South Africa, and are heavier duty than anything I've ever seen
here in the U.S.  The whole setup simply replaces your stock bumper mounts,
then tucks inside your bumper (which bolts to it using the stock bumper
mount holes).  If you look at your stock bumper mounts you'll see that they
insert directly into two steel "tubes" that are part of the Vanagon frame.
This hitch goes right into the frame the same way, except that it extends
much deeper into the frame tubes than the bumper bracket did. It bolts to
the frame using the same bolt holes that your stock bumper brackets used.
The frame of the tow hitch hides inside the cavity of your rear bumper.  Two
sets of bumper brackets are included that attach your bumper to it, one for
the metal bumper and one for the plastic "wolfsburg" bumper.  In both cases
you will have to notch the bottom of the bumper (where you can't see it) in
order to make it clear the hitch mount (something you have to do on the
light-duty U.S. Vanagon hitches I've seen as well).  It initially looked to
me like you'd have to drill a hole in the included bracket for use with the
metal vanagon bumper, but my associates at Just Kampers in the UK, who have
been selling these for a while, tell me I must have looked at it wrong and
that you don't need to drill a hole.  Once installed, the hitch is nearly
invisible except for the roughly 6" rectangular mount that the hitch ball
attaches to, which sits below the bumper (almost flush with it).  It is
painted black but could also be painted to match your Vanagon.  These
bumpers use the European style mount for the tow ball, which is different
from the tow balls used here.  A 2" ball is included.  Only the way the ball
mounts to the hitch is different; the way the trailer attaches to it is the
same as on a US tow ball.  These hitches don't have a load rating like the
U.S. ones do, so all warnings about using common sense apply.  But looking
at this one compared to the standard aftermarket U.S. made hitch on my '89
Westy (which is rated at 1500 lbs and 150 lb tongue weight), this hitch is
TREMENDOUSLY more substantial.  I suspect that the limiting factor here will
be how much you can safely tow with your Vanagon, not the hitch. Remember,
these are actually Volkswagen tested and approved for use on the Vanagon,
unlike any hitch sold in the U.S. before.  I haven't seen a nicer Vanagon
hitch.  And they're reasonable, at $149.95 listmember price, including tow
ball and hardware.  (Again, it comes up for more on the website, but if you
notate your list membership you'll get the list member price.)

STAINLESS STEEL MUFFLERS ('86-up):  I got these from the South African
supplier who sells them to Dansk, Bosal, and other manufacturers (plus, I
understand, to Volkswagen dealers in South Africa). Apparantly they have for
some time made both a standard and a stainless version of this muffler, but
the stainless version was not being imported to the U.S.(until now!).  For
those of you who have read the positive comments on the list about the Bosal
muffler I've been selling, this is the same heavy-duty muffler, but with a
stainless steel case.  The fittings and the heat shield are not stainless
steel, just the muffler body itself. The whole thing is gray painted, and at
first I wondered it it was indeed stainless (having expected it to be
unpainted), but again, I queried my friends at Just Kampers, who don't sell
this particular US-spec muffler but have sold others from the same factory.
They told me that they were equally surprised when they got their first
mufflers from this supplier and they were painted, but they confirmed
through a water test that they were stainless and subsequently learned that
this factory gray paints all of their mufflers, stainless or not, as a
matter of course.  I scratched the paint off of one and started my own
"water test," and so far, sure enough, no rust (although it hasn't been very
long yet).  The good news is that by importing directly I was able to cut
out the middleman and get some really good pricing.  So I can offer these
for the SAME $109.95 price that I was selling the standard ones for, while
they last.  Similarly, if you order my exhaust kit ($469.95 for 2.1L,
$549.95 for Syncro, including all pipes and gaskets but not the $99-extra
cat), I will include the stainless muffler for the same price while they
last.  Once they're gone, it will be back to the standard muffler for
$109.95, so get 'em while they're here!

Other goodies that came back in:
   Pocket Mechanic repair manuals for the Vanagon ($16.95, available for gas
or diesel)
   Complete lock sets for '85 up Vanagons (all handles & cylinders, keyed to
match, $89.95).
   Complete front heater assemblies (includes front blower, core, valve,
plastic housing, ducting, etc.)  For right-hand-drive vans; not sure if the
housing is the same or not, but the core, blower, etc. are.  $229.95 (which
is less than the price of the front heater core alone).
     I've also got a handful of those trick Syncro air filters left (which
fit all Vanagons '86-up) for $16.95.  Probably will be out of them after
this week.
    And I still have a few of the brand new aftermarket British rear-facing
jumpseats that I detailed to the list before, at $169.95.  (See my previous
post for complete description of these really trick folding seats, which
mount behind the drivers seat.)

There are others, but these are what come to mind offhand.  They'll all be
on the Bargains Page, http://busdepot.com/ASP/SearchSpecials.asp , within a
couple of hours.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  http://www.busdepot.com
  (215) 234-VWVW