1995.07.10 Dictionary of Terms from the Bus/Vanagon List -------------------------------------- ** Bus Terminology ** -------------------------------------- ADVENTURE- A company in the United States that made camper conversion WAGEN vans from VW buses up into the 1980's. located in Ft. Bragg, California. AMBULANCE Special model of the bus, based on the Standard bus, first avilable in 1951. The most notable feature was the smaller engine lid than the previous Barndoors, and a rear hatch hinged at the bottom, which allowed stretchers to be loaded into the interior of the bus. The gas tank and spare tire were moved in order to accomodate the rear hatch. BARNDOOR Busses made before mid-1955, whose major characteristics are the oversized engine lid and the lack of a rear cargo hatch. These also did not have the ventilation eyebrow above the windshield/windscreen. BAY WINDOW another name for the buses made from 1968-1979. So called for the large single-piece windshield. same as the "bread loaf". BRICK 1. Vanagon model Transporters. 2. any VW Bus or Transporter BREAD LOAF usually refers to the buses made from 1968-1979, due to the resemblance of the body shape to that of a loaf of bread same as the "bay window". BULLI the German nickname for the original VW buses. loosely or BULLY translated, it means "work horse" or "oxen" (some sort of strong animal used for pulling heavy loads). BUS 1. any Volkswagen Transporter of any model and any year. 2. specifically those VW transporters from 1968 to 1979, distinquished by a large one-piece windshield and rounded body contours. all had double-jointed independent rear suspension. also called T2 Transporter. CAMPER a model of bus that contained interior features such as a bed, stove, cabinets, and in some versions, a refrigerator. some versions had a pop-up roof to allow extra room, ventilation, and sleeping room 'upstairs'. some of the many companies making Campers were Westfalia, Devon, Country Homes, and Dormobile. CAMPMOBILE another name for Camper versions of the VW Transporter. for whatever reasons, this term seems to have been dropped for the Vanagons, except in Canada. CREW CAB another name for Double-Cab pickup trucks. CV-JOINT one of the small circular devices at an end of an axle on or CONSTANT a bus. Buses, Vanagons, and Eurovans have four of these, VELOCITY while the Syncro Vanagons have a total of eight. These JOINT are necessary to allow the axle to move up and down while still turning to propel the car. the joints need to be keep greased to function properly. when they are worn, they make a knocking-noise that strikes fear into the hearts of bus owners everywhere. Microbuses do not have CV joints, but use a 'swing-axle' and reduction gear box instead. DEHLER a german company that made camping and custom conversions of the VW bus. DELUXE A model of early buses that had the highest level of interior features and trim levels. Usually with the small sight-seeing windows in the roof and either 21 or 23 side windows. Also a HUGE fabric sunroof was available as an option. Distinguished by four (4) side windows behind the front doors (including those cargo door windows), polished aluminum side and bumper molding, chrome front VW emblem and speedometer trim ring. Also came with "jailbar" rear cargo area window protectors. DEVON an English company that made camping conversion VW buses. DOPPLE- the German name for Double-Cab Pickup Truck. KABINE DORMOBILE another company that made camping conversions of VW buses. DOUBLE-CAB the VW Pickup Truck characterized by seating for six and three doors. a 1/2-ton vehicle. EUROVAN any of the Volkswagen Transporters from 1992 to present. some were sold in Europe in 1991. generally characterized by their engine located in the front of the vehicle, driving the front wheels, and their very rounded shape and huge rear hatch. GENERATION a term used to distinguish the several body types of the Volkswagen Transporter as it matured and evolved over the years. currently, there are four (4) generations of the Transporter line: 1st Generation, or T1, is 1949-1967, or Microbuses. 2nd Generation, or T2, is 1968-1979, or Bread Loafs. 3rd Generation, or T3, is 1980-1991, or Vanagons. 4th Generation, or T4, is 1992-...., or Eurovans. this is the current generation or body type for the Transporter linage. KOMBI generally accepted to mean a mid-range trim model of a Volkswagen Transporter. that is, NOT a utility/commercial truck, and yet NOT a Deluxe model with all the bells and whistles of luxury and convenience. usually, a Kombi has windows along the side, seats, and some side paneling. Kombis also had fibreboard overhead instead of a headliner. MICROBUS any Volkswagen Transporter from 1949 to 1967, characterized by a split (two-piece) windshield and rounded body contours. all were powered by beetle Type 1 engines and all had 'reduction gears' on the half-axles. known also as T1 Transporters. OWL another name for the Microbus, 1949-1967. PANEL a model of bus that has no side windows behind the front doors. usually a commercial model. may or may not have a rear hatch window. can have a partition between the front seats and rear cargo area. PICKUP a model of bus that had a flat load bed with no fixed roof over the rear half of the vehicle. see Single-Cab and Double-Cab. optional canvas tents were available to cover the rear flat bed area. PRITSCHEN- another name for the Single-Cab pickup truck. WAGEN SAFARE a model of the camper conversion vans made by Adventurewagen SAFARI a type of front windshield that tilts outward for additional WINDOWS ventilation. found only on Microbuses, and usually only on on those in equatorial/tropic countries. SAMBA usually refers to the Microbus Deluxe Station Wagen, with 21 or 23 Windows and a Sunroof. SINGLE-CAB the 3/4-ton version of the VW Pickup Truck. seating for three people. SPLIT the Microbus, made from 1949 to 1967. also called a Split-Window. STANDARD Upper mid-range model of the Bus with nicer interior components than the Kombi, but without the extra trappings of the Deluxe model. Standards have headliners, while Kombis and Panels did not. Distinguished by three (3) windows in the side behind the front doors (including the cargo door windows). SWING-AXLE a type of rear axle that is 'fixed' at the wheel (that is, it is not able to flex up or down), but is able to move up and down at the transmission end. It required the rear wheels to move in an arc, rather than vertically, when hitting bumps. in some cars (beetles and corvairs and some early porsches), it could cause the wheel to tuck under the car during high speed cornering. SYNCRO the four-wheel drive version of the Vanagon, made between 1986 and 1991. using a viscous coupling arrangement, the front wheels could be made to automatically provide pulling power (at any time the rear wheels began to slip or spin). TRANSPORTER any of Volkswagen smaller trucks and vans. known as Type 2, they evolved through four (4) 'generations': T1, T2, T3, and T4. but the entire line of vehicles has always been called 'Type 2'. TRANNY 1. an affectionate name for Transporter. 2. an American slang term for Transmission. TYPE 2 Any Volkswagen Transporter. since the Beetle was the first car produced by VW, it became known within the company as the Type 1. the bus or transporter was the second type vehicle produced, so it became known as the Type 2. The Squareback/Fastback was the Type 3, and the 411/412 was the Type 4 (which had the same engine as the 1972-1982 Type 2's (buses). T1 The first "generation" of Transporters, from 1949-1967. note that this is NOT Type 1, but just T1 (for Transporter 1). strictly speaking, it should be Type 2,T1. known as the Station Wagon or Microbus. T2 The 2nd "generation" of Transporters, from 1968-1979, known as the Station Wagon or Bus. T3 The 3rd "generation" of Transporters, from 1980-1991, known in north america as "Vanagon", and elsewhere as "Caravelle" or just "Transporter". T4 The 4th "generation" of Transporters, from 1992-????, known in north america as "Eurovan", and elsewhere as "Caravelle" or just "Transporter". VANAGON any Volkswagen Transporter from 1980-1991, distinguished by squarer body contours and extremely large windows and windshield. also known as T3 Transporters, or Caravelle. WEDGE another name, usually British, for the Vanagon body series. WESTFALIA one of many Camper versions made from a basic VW Transporter or WESTY usually the only Camper version imported into the U.S. by VW and sold at their dealers. -------------------------------------- ** Slang ** Abbreviations & Acronyms -------------------------------------- BTW By the Way DPO Dreaded Previous Owner (the sorry so-and-so who owned and mistreated YOUR bus before you bought it). FLAG Friendly Local Auto Garage FLAPS Friendly Local Auto Parts Store/Supplier/Source FLARS Friendly Local Auto Repair Shop FLATS Friendly Local Auto Tire Store FUBAR Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition FWIW For What It's Worth (same as BTW) FYI For Your Information IMHO In My Humble Opinion NOS New Original Stock (not rebuilt, and not manufactured by some non-OEM company). OE Original Equipment OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer SNAFU Situation Normal: All Fouled Up TIA Thanks in Advance TTFN Ta-Ta For Now (So Long until later) WRT With Respect To (in regard to ...) YMMV Your Mileage May Vary -------------------------------------- ** Technical Terms ** (real ones) -------------------------------------- ABS Anti-Locking Braking System. a computerized method of helping to prevent wheel skid/lock-up during braking. it does NOT prevent spins, NOR does it allow you to stop in a shorter distance. it DOES allow you to steer the car while braking as hard as possible. available as an option on some Vanagons and Eurovans in Europe during the late 1980's-1990's. AFM Air Flow Meter. the silver box next to the air cleaner box on the fuel injection model buses. it measured the volume of air entering the intake system, and allowed the computer to adjust the amount of gasoline required. CAT Catalytic Converter. a large, usually round cannister in the exhaust system. it helps convert emission gases into more harmless, less noxious vapors. CCA Cold Cranking Amps. a bogus number printed on the sides of automobile batteries to confuse the buyers. generally, the bigger this number is, the easier the battery will crank your car when everything is frozen. assuming everything is in perfect operating condition, of course. DIGIFANT a form of fuel injection found on VW vanagons/transporters from 1986 and later. a later variation of Digijet. also reported to be a slightly less complicated version of the Bosch Motronic fuel injection used on BMW's and Porsches. DIGIJET a form of fuel injection found on VW vanagon/transporters from 1983.5 to 1985. characterized by a digital 'map' of the 'proper' fuel quantity vs engine rpm and temperature. DOT Department of Transportation. an agency of the U.S. Federal Government that has authority over some aspects of auto- mobile construction, especially in the safety-related areas. ECU Electronic Control Unit. generally refers to the 'computer' that controls the fuel injection system. EFI Electronic Fuel Injection. computerized metering and squirting of fuel, replacing the carburetor systems. introduced into the buses in the mid-70's. EGR Exhaust Gas Recirculation. one of the emission control techniques, in which gases are sucked from the exhausht pipes (before the muffler) and re-circulated through the intake manifold (to be 'burned' again). the high heat associated with exhaust gases required expensive metals ... so replacing/repairing this system can be costly. EPA Environmental Protection Agency. another agency of the U.S. Federal Government that gets involved in automobile construction, especially in the engine emissions area. IRS Independent Rear Suspension. a form of rear suspension that allows the rear wheels to move vertically up and down, independently of each other, to compensate for bumps and road surfaces. uses a double-jointed rear axle, with cv-joints at each end. KPH Kilometers per Hour. speed measured in the metric system. L/100km Liters per 100 Kilometers. a measurement of fuel economy in the metric system. note that this is exactly backwards from the American system of miles/gallon. the metric measurement denotes the amount of fuel required to go a certain distance roughly, 10 L/100km = 23 mpg. LED Light Emitting Diode. those little red/green/yellow 'lights' that almost never burn out. sort of solid plastic light bulbs. and they use very very little amounts of electricity. LPG Liquid Propane Gas. the stuff that the stove and refrigerator use for fuel in the campers. MPG Miles per gallon. the American measurement of fuel economy, denoting the distance traveled for a certain amount of fuel. roughly, 20 mpg = 12 L/100km. MPH Miles per hour. the American measurement of speed. PCV Positive Crankcase Ventilation. a method of reducing the pressure inside the engine crankcase (the middle part where things are whirling around, but nothing is exploding). TUV an agency of the German Federal Government. sort of a combination of DOT and EPA, as well as being responsible for inspecting cars before they are allowed to be driven.