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Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:18 am

So for you late bay owners - are there any parts that you fear won't be available much longer or in the "somewhat" near future?

What are they and what are you stockpiling just in case?

Part 2, if you could go back in time and get a select few original VW bay parts and transport :shock: them to today, what would you get? Whole Type 4 longblocks don't count, neither does a new bus :lol:

Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:29 am

I'd get that stupid molded hose that goes from the air cleaner to the decel valve!

Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:32 am

Some thermostats

Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:44 am

Gasoline

Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:45 am

I'm not sure what I expect will become extinct soon.... high quality rubber parts for all applications?

I'd grab a fresh set of PDSIT's and associated linkage/accessories.

Next item would be a set of bumper gaurds.

Last would be any other the optional accessories. jail bars, chrome trims, and a full sunroof setup, hardware included.

I like this game!

Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:38 am

boge or bilstein steering damper NEW. cofap dampers suck

german rear wheel cylinders NEW . they are not obsolete yet, but the price is now 110 dollars each from WW :shock: the price 3 years ago was 35 dollars. and the gov't tries to tell us inflation is only 2 3/4% :roll:

oh yeah- the felt board for a 71 deluxe luggage compartment. no one sells felt like that anymore, so you cant fake it on a quality resto.

Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:41 pm

While I no longer own a bay, and will be on the prowl again for one next year, I've probably put about 100+ hours in the past month, reading and researching, both on thesamba, ratwell, and dozens of other sites and documents.

The items that I see repeatedly coming up NLA or reputed to be in short supply are:

Stock Exhaust components.
FI Decel valve
front torsion arm seals
late bay wiring harness
late bay sliding door roller assemblies
seals for late automatic trans

I have been surprised that there is so little in terms of compatible parts coming up from Brazil, however. I'd love to put sliding side windows on my bay when I get it...but not at $500 a pop, which is what Bus Depot would have to charge to cover VWdB's price.

Having spent 8 years performing a complete restoration on a 1972 Super Beetle (there are more 1 and 2 year parts than you might imagine!!) I was constantly hamstrung between choosing a part that I could buy 'now' that would fit and was WRONG for the model year (e.g. not a restoration) or grinding my teeth and digging through greasy boxes as swap meets looking for OG that could be refinished, refurbished, or repaired.

It seems like the Bay bus is further down the extinction road even than the Beetle, if your goal is complete accuracy. I don't intend to restore a Bay, I intend to use and adapt it to my needs, while respecting it's authenticity where ever possible...and financially practical.

The components that concern me most are ones like the Decel valve which is unique the the model and engine and wear out. You might get to a point where you're putting crappy reject third party ball joints on your Bus to get it through safety inspection (a big deal, here in NJ) and those Ball Joints will only last you 20,000 miles. Its another when you can't get the decel valve that will let your engine run at all...smogged or not.

I'm thinking the first components I buy for my bay (after a complete fuel, vac and vapor line replacement) will be used spares for all of the NLA parts...

Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:36 pm

decel valve to air cleaner hose
PCV valve on FI buses - repeat - repeat
Dash
Defrost cable late bay
Sunroof plastic
real hubcaps
mid FI carbon canister and not just the late style
reasonably priced FI wiring harness
NEW factory calculated FI AFM
New OG T4 cases
New OG T4 Heads
OG plastic donut in trans - not just steel ones or cheap plastic ones.
Factory microfiche with all OG part numbers and pictorials
OG factory seat springs to replace old worn ones that feel soft
OG late steering box
OG shuttlecocks etc in shift tube - not cheap repros
late clutch arm return spring

Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:57 pm

the rubber 90* bend for the breather line at the top of the gas tank on a '72. NLA and when you fill up too much it sloshes around, spilling gas all over the place ! :shock:

Sunroof cables and both 1.7 and 2.0 heads

Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:50 pm

2x sunroof plastic for Bus!!!!

Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:54 pm

NEW fuel tanks for Bays....early and late alike

Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:06 pm

SGKent wrote:
Factory microfiche with all OG part numbers and pictorials

Good One Merlin, can't tell you how many times having something like that would of been EXTREMELY helpful. The early bay owners are lucky as you can usually still find some of the old VW "blue" parts books, but for us late bay owners, the few online resources leave something to be desired.

You got me wondering now - Karl was always good about posting up part diagrams.... I wonder what's in his stock? Part 2, if anyone has one and digitized it and placed online, heck you could even charge a annual membership fee to gain access to it. I won't tell VW if you don't.

Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:25 pm

38A generator/regulator/pulley/backingplate

FI double relay?

Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:16 am

Chris Vellat wrote: ....backing plate

You talking about brake backing plates? I saw new VW OG break baking plates this morning while shopping. I think it was Bus Depot. If memory serves me right (and that's a 50/50 risk) they were spendy, like $40+ but I was glad to see them still available.

I just ordered complete new back break components (all pieces = Pagid pads, german calibers, complete hardware kit, with all springs, clips & pins, new lines, etc...) except the backing plates. Gonna assess if mine can be refurbed into almost "like new" condition. ....and of course all this rabble is about late bays, I have no idea about availability on earlier bays/splits.

I throw in some of my wish list
* OG black coil
* OG Bosche distributer
* All VW window rubber and body seals
* Several sets of heads
* Late bay gas tank
* FI components (ALL)
* fuel pump - still available but WOW have they gone up in $
* Spare set of new engine tin
* ditto for exhaust & OG Heat Exchanger components
* Bn4 or Bn6 spare
* STEERING BOX!
* etc.....

Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:54 am

ddwbeagles wrote: Chris Vellat wrote: ....backing plate

You talking about brake backing plates? I saw new VW OG break baking plates this morning while shopping. I think it was Bus Depot. If memory serves me right (and that's a 50/50 risk) they were spendy, like $40+ but I was glad to see them still available...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=849994

Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:42 am

dansvans wrote:

german rear wheel cylinders NEW . they are not obsolete yet, but the price is now 110 dollars each from WW :shock: the price 3 years ago was 35 dollars. and the gov't tries to tell us inflation is only 2 3/4% :roll:

Sorry for OT, but - Part of the reason for that is because the dollar has plummeted in value too. In 2002, a product that would cost Americans 100 dollars to buy in the currency in my country, would cost 160 dollar today - price tag still being the same.

Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:06 am

i'm going to stock up on search buttons
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=352790

Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:26 am

Please use the thread above