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do.dah
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2015
Posts: 794
Location: Washington
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 Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:44 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW to source USED |
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| TornadoVan wrote: |
| danfromsyr wrote: |
Rain-X (or off brand) and the rain-X fluid works wonders, I rarely use my wipers on my 80 and when I do it's almost always on the delay setting..
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Oh yeah. I use the full strength stuff once a month or so, and use the window cleaner with Rain-X built in whenever I clean my windshield. The problem with that is that stuff works better the more acute the windshield angle is. A Vanagon is almost a box so Rain-X doesn't work as well as on, say, a Citroen or an Olds Silhouette.
In High School, I had a friend that had a Datsun 510 that had a broken wiper motor. Being broke kids all the time back then, he simply Rain-X'ed that thing up once a week during winter, and forgot about it. Worked great. Faster you go, the better it works! |
While it MAY work better on a sharper angle, it works very well on a Vanagon.
I seldom hafta use my wipers on "constant" setting. I set my delay to the longest setting and the rain-x does it's magic.. |
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RainierSyncro
Samba Member
Joined: February 26, 2013
Posts: 812
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:50 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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"What ever happened to "Ben" who had a bunch of Vanagons in Black Diamond?"
I bought parts from him 8-9 years ago when he was in Kent. In his CL ads, he would have Auburn as a location and then somewhere else. Almost every time I stopped by he would never be there. He must have moved his operation multiple times. He had a ton of parts and sold me the nose section off a GL to replace a rusted one on my Syncro. As someone said before, it was best to buy in person. |
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TornadoVan
Samba Member
Joined: March 11, 2024
Posts: 40
Location: Bellingham, WA.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:13 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW to source USED |
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| danfromsyr wrote: |
Rain-X (or off brand) and the rain-X fluid works wonders, I rarely use my wipers on my 80 and when I do it's almost always on the delay setting..
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Oh yeah. I use the full strength stuff once a month or so, and use the window cleaner with Rain-X built in whenever I clean my windshield. The problem with that is that stuff works better the more acute the windshield angle is. A Vanagon is almost a box so Rain-X doesn't work as well as on, say, a Citroen or an Olds Silhouette.
In High School, I had a friend that had a Datsun 510 that had a broken wiper motor. Being broke kids all the time back then, he simply Rain-X'ed that thing up once a week during winter, and forgot about it. Worked great. Faster you go, the better it works! |
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danfromsyr
Samba Member
Joined: March 01, 2004
Posts: 15345
Location: Syracuse, NY
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 8:44 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW to source USED |
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one can always post a WTB line in their forum Signiture line and that will appear in every post that they post/reply.
it'll keep spreading the word..
but yes looking for some parts for these does take time..
and for the wipers effectiveness.
Rain-X (or off brand) and the rain-X fluid works wonders, I rarely use my wipers on my 80 and when I do it's almost always on the delay setting..
we get plenty of rain here in NY& New England.
as mentioned you likely need to service and exercise the pivot hinge point..
the pot metal base gets grabby to the thin metal arm. give them alot of exercise and flush with a light machine oil. *maybe after a paint touch up sets in.. but the OEM should be fine(ish)
| markswagen wrote: |
it should be allowed, but isn't, you have to put a wanted ad in the classifieds.
which is pointless IMHO, a parts asked for in here, has a lot better chance of being found, as someone who reads this thread, might just have what is needed, but that same person is not necessarily likely to go trolling through the classifieds on the off chance, that someone is looking for something that he may have in a box under 5 years worth of dust.
it's a shame, but rules are rules.
| TornadoVan wrote: |
Is there an appropriate place in these forums to ask people if they know where I can find a certain item? |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| These are the reasons we have words like “wanker” |
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TornadoVan
Samba Member
Joined: March 11, 2024
Posts: 40
Location: Bellingham, WA.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 7:33 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| jimf909 wrote: |
Hey OP!
I was in Seattle today and visited One Van (a new shop) and saw this totaled Syncro with not one but two wiper foils. The passenger side was modified (the attaching lip was bent) and attached with rivets.
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What are the chances, right?
I'll give them a call. A previous post in the thread linked that exact aftermarket riveted deflector, new and unpainted stainless (the original drivers side one is spot-welded, not riveted). The one in your photo needs repainting, so whoever can sell it to me for the cheapest price gets my business since they both need painting. I will lean towards the "New shop" guys just for support reasons, though. I always try to support aspiring businesses.
Thanks to the other posters for the information about possible future suppliers, especially the review warning about JackA$$. Advice on who avoid is just as valuable as who to run with.
Again, you folks are great! |
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 8162
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 5:24 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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Hey OP!
I was in Seattle today and visited One Van (a new shop) and saw this totaled Syncro with not one but two wiper foils. The passenger side was modified (the attaching lip was bent) and attached with rivets.
No one was at the shop and they may not be selling bits but I thought this was an interesting coincidence.
Passenger side
_________________
- Jim
| Butcher wrote: |
| This is the main fault with DIY'ers, they get together on these forums and pat themselves on their backs spreading bad information. |
Guilty as charged.
Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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Crooked Designer
Samba Member
Joined: March 22, 2018
Posts: 573
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 1:05 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| space wrote: |
| Crooked Designer wrote: |
Yikes! Thanks for the heads up. I was looking at some door panels he has. Just never got around to calling yet. |
Ive bought from him before
He definitely doesnt have the customer service thing down
But, he shipped quickly and packed well |
Good to know. I'm going to try to flatten my current warped ones (just got new vapor barriers) and if that doesn't work out I'll give him a call with low expectations on conversation quality.
_________________
'85 Westy full camper, Subaru 2.5L, 5 speed SubiGears + 5speedbus shifter kit |
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space
Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2017
Posts: 809
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:51 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| Crooked Designer wrote: |
Yikes! Thanks for the heads up. I was looking at some door panels he has. Just never got around to calling yet. |
Ive bought from him before
He definitely doesnt have the customer service thing down
But, he shipped quickly and packed well
_________________
82 westy
w:
2.5 JDM Subie
Rear discs |
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 17828
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:47 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW to source USED |
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| TornadoVan wrote: |
| --are usually staffed by incredibly rude people. |
you clearly have never dealt with the cheap public...
"do you have A,B and C?"
"Sure, let me run out to the yard and double check"
"sir, we have all of it, 500.00"
"WHAT!?!?! That's too much"
"click"
These places aren't here to keep your junk on the road, they are there to make money and pay huge insurance premiums just due to the nature of the business
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Crooked Designer
Samba Member
Joined: March 22, 2018
Posts: 573
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:15 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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Yikes! Thanks for the heads up. I was looking at some door panels he has. Just never got around to calling yet.
_________________
'85 Westy full camper, Subaru 2.5L, 5 speed SubiGears + 5speedbus shifter kit |
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do.dah
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2015
Posts: 794
Location: Washington
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Crooked Designer
Samba Member
Joined: March 22, 2018
Posts: 573
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:43 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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In Auburn Hills, MI... so not in PNW, but if you're looking for small / specific things (like wiper fairing), might be a good resource.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?username=realrecycledjack
I haven't dealt with this place before, but by the looks of how many classified ads they have and the variety of parts, I'm sure they have a lot of vans around. Seems like a phonecall would be the next best step.
_________________
'85 Westy full camper, Subaru 2.5L, 5 speed SubiGears + 5speedbus shifter kit |
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Red Ryder
Samba Member
Joined: June 26, 2021
Posts: 1178
Location: PNW — Washington
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:35 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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Vanagon wipers can be a curse. The possible causes for poor performance can be endless. I doubt adding the deflector will solve your pain. If the wiper mechanics have all been properly addressed (spring tension, spline health, arm angles, etc.), I suggest different blades. I have been satisfied with our silicone wipes on standard blades.
_________________
“Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed I am not quite all there myself.” — Cheshire Cat, Adventures of Alice in Wonderland
“Scarlett” — 1990 Vanagon Carat Wolfsburg Edition (Tornado Red)
“Nigel” — 1999 Jaguar XK8 convertible (Alpine Green Metallic) |
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Zeitgeist 13
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12161
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:25 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| VeeDubn wrote: |
| Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
| Way way back in the '80s Campbell Nelson up in Edmonds had all sorts of really cool German cars in their wrecking yard. It really was the most amazing yard I ever visited. |
We LOVED Campbell Nelson's junk yard! I actually looked them up when I was responding to this post earlier, just to see if the junk yard was still there. We would also run over to the junk yard in Arlington, right by the airstrip, if I remember correctly; lots of good VW gold there as well. Sad to see these treasures disappear, and scary to admit how old I am thinking back to the good old days  |
I once watched the yard hands at CN reluctantly load a complete Beetle 1600 dual port engine into the back seat of a Porsche 912. The guy just kept telling them "It's fine. It's fine, don't worry about it."
I see you're also in Oly. Back in the '80s I would routinely walk the yards around here and see weird old '50s era Euro cars like Goliaths, Renault Caravelles and of course Splitties, Beetles and Type 3s.
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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fxr
Samba Member
Joined: December 07, 2014
Posts: 2638
Location: Bay area CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 10:10 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| dkoesyncro wrote: |
The pot cast aluminum of the wiper arm breaks down. If any one has ever used the wiper to remove snow from the window this added weight also adds to the demise. A cheap and dirty solution to wiper arm creep is to wrap the splines on the wiper posts with tin foil.My next solution is to tap a set screw at the bottom of the wiper arm.
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Also the nut eventually bottoms out on its threads - a small washer underneath it makes all the difference to the compressive force available.
_________________
Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300 |
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dhaavers
Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010
Posts: 8375
Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:56 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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FWIW, re: wiper “skating”…I’ve had varying results with different styles of wiper blades.
Worst for me was with the more modern euro-style flat blades, which seem to get pushed up
off the glass at speed. I’ve since gone back to the good old conventional, articulated metal
frame which are less prone to getting pushed up due to airflow through the blade structure.
Just me?
- Dave
PS: No wings on my wiper arms…just sayin. <shrug>
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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VeeDubn
Samba Member
Joined: May 31, 2019
Posts: 147
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:34 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
| Way way back in the '80s Campbell Nelson up in Edmonds had all sorts of really cool German cars in their wrecking yard. It really was the most amazing yard I ever visited. |
We LOVED Campbell Nelson's junk yard! I actually looked them up when I was responding to this post earlier, just to see if the junk yard was still there. We would also run over to the junk yard in Arlington, right by the airstrip, if I remember correctly; lots of good VW gold there as well. Sad to see these treasures disappear, and scary to admit how old I am thinking back to the good old days |
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Zeitgeist 13
Samba Member
Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12161
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:06 am Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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Way way back in the '80s Campbell Nelson up in Edmonds had all sorts of really cool German cars in their wrecking yard. It really was the most amazing yard I ever visited. I bought a full Westfalia camper cabinet setup from a '78 Bay there which I installed in my '67 Splitty. Up until recently, most VW service shops had Vanagons and other assorted VAG cars rotting away in their back lots.
Sadly, most of the old timer VW guys have either moved on or died. I just learned that Slavic in Vancouver WA passed, which represents yet another wealth of info who has left us.
The #vanlife insanity pretty much killed off all the affordable parts hoards for Bays or Vanagons, so just learn to appreciate what you can easily locate here on the Samba, Ebay, craigslist or FB Marketplace. That's all you get.
_________________
Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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TornadoVan
Samba Member
Joined: March 11, 2024
Posts: 40
Location: Bellingham, WA.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2024 11:02 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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Totally impressed with how many people responded to this thread. You folks are great!
Choices. One that looks the same as the original on the drivers side, but will weaken the arm by requiring me to drill it, or one that looks different but simply clips on. I never drive Vanessa in snowy weather (far more concerned with other drivers sliding into me than anything else) and she is tucked away in the garage at that point and thus I don't have to worry about the wipers moving the weight of a bunch of snow, so I am leaning towards the original appearance, stainless steel deflector. I was expecting to have to drill anyways.
| dkoesyncro wrote: |
| The pot cast aluminum of the wiper arm breaks down. If any one has ever used the wiper to remove snow from the window this added weight also adds to the demise. A cheap and dirty solution to wiper arm creep is to wrap the splines on the wiper posts with tin foil.My next solution is to tap a set screw at the bottom of the wiper arm. |
The arm is actually quite secure on the splined shaft. I once thought it was doing exactly what you described simply because the passenger side arm doesn't sit at the same, perfectly horizontal angle that the drivers side does (you can see this in the image above). But, I took it off and examined it closely and all is well. I tried to reinstall it one spline off (upwards) and it was simply off the horizontal the opposite redirection. I prefer it is off the horizontal on the low side as it is less obtrusive from the passenger's viewpoint.
To the other responses regarding lubrication and the spring, I already cleaned and lubed it after I repainted both arms when I had the windshield replaced. The spring feels just as tight as the driver side, if not tighter. There is full contact and the wiper works just fine anywhere but on the freeway. Even without the wipers on, at freeway speeds I an see that arm start to arc while the drivers side is nice and flat against the glass. At about 70mph, only the tips of the passenger side blade are still touching the glass. Definitely the airflow pulling it off the windshield.
| VeeDubn wrote: |
Not specifically for VW, but we have found many bits and bobs at Gundies. Of course it is hit and miss, but when they do have a van come into the yard there are usually good parts to be had. https://www.gundies.com/
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I know Gundie's. Very close, so I'll keep them in mind.
| markswagen wrote: |
| it should be allowed, but isn't, you have to put a wanted ad in the classifieds. |
I wasn't going to bring up specifics (what I was looking for) in this thread until someone actually asked what I was looking for. There are a few other items I am looking for, but I'll save that for a classified post.
To everyone else that I didn't reply to, I'm keeping all this information!! Many thanks! |
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VeeDubn
Samba Member
Joined: May 31, 2019
Posts: 147
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:22 pm Post subject: Re: Trying to find a Vanagon "Junk Yard" in the PNW |
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| TornadoVan wrote: |
| I am hoping there is someone with a yard full of Vanagons that might have weird, optional parts as well as harder to find parts. |
Not specifically for VW, but we have found many bits and bobs at Gundies. Of course it is hit and miss, but when they do have a van come into the yard there are usually good parts to be had. https://www.gundies.com/
No Name Garage in Eugene, Oregon, is a go-to as well, albeit more for mechanical parts vs. body parts, but we always give them a shout when we need something, cuz you never know what they might have on the shelf! https://thenonamegarage.com/ Just FYI, they are great to work with; knowledgeable, and they go above and beyond to be of service.
North Westy (Kirk Meeks), in the Renton area, has also been a fabulous source for parts - both mechanical and body-wise - in the past. He has relocated to what appears to be a smaller facility, but it would be worth giving him a call to see what he might have available as well. https://www.north-westy.com/
Small Car, in Fife, and Peace Vans, in Seattle, may have items setting on their shelves . . . and, of course, The Samba classifieds, and all of the VW FB groups (too many to count) will post items to sell/items in need. If you haven't already joined Wet Westies FB page, it would be worth your while for the PNW. |
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