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Busdepot
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Joined: March 24, 2004
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 Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 12:11 pm Post subject: Delta Six is Back! (Westy inlets faucets skylight parts etc) |
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You may know Delta Six as the company that supplied the Westfalia factory with many of the original camper parts on your Vanagon Westy - including the side hook-up utility inlets, faucet, skylight parts, etc. In fact, if you still have the original decals on the side of your Westy, your Westy still says Delta Six on it.
Many of us in the Vanagon community looked on sadly as the company - later renamed Euro American RV Products - endured years of neglect and decline. With no money being invested into the company, it was slowly being bled dry. The tooling and molds were nearly shot, products went out of stock for months on end, and quality control was simply nonexistent. I myself practically begged the owner to sell the company more than once, hoping to save it, but he kept changing his mind. When he finally closed the company's doors late last year, it might best be described as a mercy killing.
The good news is that Delta Six has been given a new lease on life. Trevor Reid, better known to some of you as the Skylight Guy, stepped in and brought all of the company's assets. He and Cheri rented a truck and relocated the entire factory to Canada. Vanagon owners themselves, they spent months meticulously restoring the molds and tooling back up to original specs.
Today I'm excited to announce that brand new Delta Six product is back in stock, and that we at The Bus Depot have been named their exclusive U.S. distributor. We are selling the products both wholesale and retail, so you'll be able to find a selection of Delta Six and Skylight Guy products at some other parts vendors as well. This brand new production from freshly restored molds is the finest quality in years, and a new quality control program ensures that the parts will hold up just as well as the originals did when Westfalia put them on your camper. Also some long-discontinued older products have been reintroduced - such as hookup inlets in white for older Vanagons - and more are in the works.
See what's available - so far - at http://busdepot.com/details/DeltaSix.jsp
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The Bus Depot
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Last edited by Busdepot on Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:58 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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tclark
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Joined: November 21, 2005
Posts: 926
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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Go Trevor Go Canada eh ..
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89 Westy with TDI AHU 1.9 manual lots of mods
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Franklinstower
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Joined: September 21, 2006
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Location: PNW
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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How about those water tank caps for the late model years?
You going to have those too?
Kokanee eh?
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'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
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Howesight
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Can I get my hookups with an order of pea-meal bacon and maple syrup?
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Busdepot
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VWagabond
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Location: Charlotte, NC
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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I bought replacements for my water tank & city water inlets last week. The city water inlet is the same but the tank inlet has been changed. Now instead of opening the flap & unlocking the cap, you unlock a door in the flap to access the filler port which is no longer closed off. Not sure if I like this yet, seems more likely to pickup dust & dirt from the air as there is no seal around the flap but-----maybe not. Whatdoyathink guys?
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VWagabond
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1621
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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I too had to replace my water inlet with the later version. What I don't care for is that it's harder to fill due to the little rubber flap. I find that the water wants to back up quickly and I end up spilling more than filling. Incidentally, I believe it's the flap that keeps the dust and crud from finding it's way into the tank. Still, it would be nice to have one of the earlier ones like you pointed out.
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VWagabond
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Perhaps you're right about the flap, my take on it is that it's more for anti-surge of the water out of the tank. I haven't tried to fill it yet. I wish it had not been changed bu-----t I'm glad to have a replacement available for the old cracked, broken & worn out originals.
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VWagabond
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Busdepot
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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This style tank water filler - with the keyhole on the outside - was actually an upgrade over the earlier style, introduced by Westfalia in the 1987 model year. It resolves several problems with the earlier style:
1) The earlier style had a tendency for the lid to break off.
2) The lock cylinder for the earlier style tended to get lost, since you had to remove it entirely to fill the tank. Sooner or later people would leave it lying on the ground and lose it.
3) When it - or the key - got lost, you couldn't replace it. Replacement keys and lock cylinders have not been available for years. The story goes that they were originally designed for German post office boxes and the German supplier went out of business. By comparison, keys for the later style are readily available (two are included).
I have had the later style on my last two Westies (and '87 and an '89). I have found it to hold up better than the earlier style. It fills well if you use a standard garden hose without a high pressure nozzle, with the spigot about half way open and the nozzle positioned into the hole itself. If you feed it too much pressure some of the water will back up, but it leaks harmlessly onto the side of the van, not inside the fixture.
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The Bus Depot
www.busdepot.com
Last edited by Busdepot on Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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wallanoise
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Great News! I'm curious to see what they've actually done with the molds and if they are worth the high ticket price. The boxes I saw in the past from the previous manufacturer were often overloaded with what appeared to be excess glue and some even appeared to have been painted. Don't get me wrong, I'm stoked they're back. I'd like to hear more feedback. |
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westyventures
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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Great to see this stuff flowing again, thanks Ron! One thing you left out of the story is the human factor - it's been a few years, but the founder and original owner of Deltasix / Euroamerican RV products died suddenly  (Pete - met him in person and chatted for hours), leaving his employees in a state of shock - they were unsure how, when, or where to pick up the pieces and go on. His daughter thankfully pulled things together and got the wheels moving again. I think it was far too much for her and the one other employee (Jose?) to keep going. That would explain a lot. Far from being 'neglect', imo. Glad that it got sold to someone willing to whip it back into shape.
Interesting that Trevor still has the Sevierville Tennessee address listed in some places. 
Also, interesting to see that the outdated old faucet wasn't dropped by the wayside - for that enormous money there are several most excellent other brand replacements of better quality and function. For that matter, a total revamp of the hookups and some other bits might have been time and money well spent; we all know how poorly the originals hold up. |
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BushChicken
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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| westyventures wrote: |
| Also, interesting to see that the outdated old faucet wasn't dropped by the wayside - for that enormous money there are several most excellent other brand replacements of better quality and function. For that matter, a total revamp of the hookups and some other bits might have been time and money well spent; we all know how poorly the originals hold up. |
Agreed, I can't imagine going back to that faucet from a Shurflo and I was always hoping someone would design a better mousetrap, the design of those hookups leaves a bit to be desired. But, what can you do, its the only game in town right now. |
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westyventures
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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If it weren't for those holes already in the side of the van, a lot could be done. My next van won't have 'em. Water fill will be the locking stainless model from here:
http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/Deckfills.htm
Electric, that could be better placed somewhere else, like in a fender well or at the rear by the license plate, using a sealed outlet box. City water? Who ever uses those? Good way to ruin a Westy when the waterfall goes down the insulation and begins the dreaded rot. 
I suppose one could fabricate a nice cover plate for the existing holes and install nicer hookups.. |
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Busdepot
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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| wallanoise wrote: |
| Great News! I'm curious to see what they've actually done with the molds. The boxes I saw in the past from the previous manufacturer were often overloaded with what appeared to be excess glue and some even appeared to have been painted. |
You have a good eye and are absolutely right. See below.
| Quote: |
| One thing you left out of the story is the human factor - it's been a few years, but the founder and original owner of Deltasix / Euroamerican RV products died suddenly Sad (Pete - met him in person and chatted for hours), leaving his employees in a state of shock - they were unsure how, when, or where to pick up the pieces and go on. His daughter thankfully pulled things together and got the wheels moving again. I think it was far too much for her and the one other employee (Jose?) to keep going. That would explain a lot. Far from being 'neglect', imo. Glad that it got sold to someone willing to whip it back into shape. |
You've got that almost right, Karl. When the original owner of Delta Six retired he sold the business to Pete, who had been involved in much of the original design. By that time Delta Six (renamed Euro American) was already past is prime and doing little besides running existing product off of aging molds and selling them to Volkswagen of America, us, and a few other retailers. Jose was the guy who assembled the parts. When Pete passed away years ago, he had no immediate family and left the entire business to Jose. (The woman to whom I think you are referring, Dottie, came and went; she was not related to Pete to my knowledge and was not an owner of the business.) Jose is a nice guy, but he wasn't meant to have a business dropped in his lap. He knew how to glue parts together, and that was the mindset he maintained even though he now owned the company. He had no mind for finances. More than once I had to gently suggest to him that he was quite obviously quoting me below his cost and should maybe charge me a little more. The atmosphere was of a sinking ship and a captain who was in way over his head and had no idea what to do about it. The more things fell apart, the more Jose band-aided them. He regularly told me that he expected the tooling and machinery to fail at any moment and then he would just give up and go back home to Mexico. By the end he was just slapping stuff together and throwing it out the door with scribbled invoices. We had to discard most of his last run of faucets because they leaked from every seam.
| Quote: |
| Also, interesting to see that the outdated old faucet wasn't dropped by the wayside - for that enormous money there are several most excellent other brand replacements of better quality and function. For that matter, a total revamp of the hookups and some other bits might have been time and money well spent; we all know how poorly the originals hold up. |
I couldn't disagree more. Like most German engineered Westfalia parts, the design itself was solid. The original faucets typically lasted a decade or longer, as did the original inlets. But the Euro American replacements didn't hold up nearly as well as the originals. As the company declined, sloppy assembly and lack of QC became the norm, and no amount of solid engineering could overcome poor execution.
The new production turns this back around. Trevor already has an excellent reputation in the Vanagon community for the quality of his skylights, and he has applied the same standards to the Delta Six product. The molds and tooling are back up to original Westfalia spec, with quality materials and careful quality control. Whereas Jose didn't QC the faucets at all, for example, Trevor has set up a test bench where every faucet is tested to be airtight before it leaves the factory; if it's airtight, it's watertight. So now you can get product that maintains the original Westfalia performance and look -such as a faucet that provides both city and tank water functionality, unlike the Shurflo - and be assured of genuine Westfalia quality as well.
What's more, the prices (at least from us) have generally been reduced by about 10-15 percent compared to the last Euro American pricing, even though the quality has gone way up.
That isn't to say that minor tweaks aren't on the drawing board for the long term (as well as some new products in other categories). But as of today, you can count on quality comparable to what Westfalia-Werke put on your camper when new - not the weaker imitations that Euro American produced in the company's later years - for slightly lower prices.
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The Bus Depot
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westyventures
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Location: Oregon Outback
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Busdepot wrote: |
You've got that almost right, Karl. When the original owner of Delta Six retired he sold the business to Pete, who had been involved in much of the original design. By that time Delta Six (renamed Euro American) was already past is prime and doing little besides running existing product off of aging molds and selling them to Volkswagen of America, us, and a few other retailers. Jose was the guy who assembled the parts. When Pete passed away years ago, he had no immediate family and left the entire business to Jose. (The woman to whom I think you are referring, Dottie, came and went; she was not related to Pete to my knowledge and was not an owner of the business.)
That isn't to say that minor tweaks aren't on the drawing board for the long term. But as of today, you can count on quality comparable to what Westfalia-Werke put on your camper when new ...not the weaker imitations that Euro American produced in the company's later years. |
I guess I mis-remember. I recalled Pete mentioning in hours of sitting around and chatting that he personally, and his company Deltasix, had worked with Westfalia to design the parts for the original bay window vans and then the Vanagon Westfalias sold in North America. FWIW, the European models got a whole different set of components. The name Dottie does sound familiar, I believe she was Pete's girlfriend or office worker. Not sure why I remembered daughter. I really hope Jose got a reasonable sum for all the effort he put into trying to run the remains of the ship before he had to abandon it all.
I guess I was never impressed with the original quality of the connections and faucet, that's why I've stepped away from using them. It's not too difficult to use a Sureflo faucet with the city hookup if so desired, or better yet use the dual handle Sureflo that has hot/cold levers, but use the hot for city water. It's really nice to have an aerator and the adjustibility from trickle to full flow. I now have a nice Reimo faucet that has hot/cold on a single lever, $30. 
Sorry for the hijack  ...great that those who wish to keep it all 'stock' can still do so, and get quality replacements once again. |
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70coupyel
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Location: So.Cal
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Busdepot wrote: |
| I couldn't disagree more. Like most German engineered Westfalia parts, the design itself was solid. The original faucets typically lasted a decade or longer, as did the original inlets. But the Euro American replacements didn't hold up nearly as well as the originals. As the company declined, sloppy assembly and lack of QC became the norm, and no amount of solid engineering could overcome poor execution. |
Thank you Ron for the story. I replaced my faucet and the top knob broke in a short amount of time. Now it all makes sense. No QC for a while. After taking my OG faucet apart there nice design there.
Yes I'm a toolmaker and have seen my share of plastic tooling.
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| TheAndante wrote: |
| Saying that specs are different than dimensions doesn't make sense. Porsche specs/VW specs/engineering specs are nothing but a series of dimensions,sizes,percentages,measurements, etc. |
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=338946&highlight=
70 KG Coup
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purplepeopleeater
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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Good news, its sad to see original parts fading away.
I too am turning in to a slight purist to a tiny degree, some things i want to look stock.
like my subaru motor 
Are the outside decals available? I had them bookmarked then poof. |
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ALIKA T3
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| Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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I spoke to  "THE GUY" when he came here to see my friend Jamie to speak business,talked for a while ,I just got the Subaru conversion done that exact day in my buddy's yard.
Definitely a lot of interesting things and details,improvements on the dies (so no painted hook ups  ) etc....
A big good step in keeping our vanagons running with quality parts,and by the way,we can say it,OE
Bravo!!
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Busdepot
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 5:55 am Post subject: |
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| 70coupyel wrote: |
After taking my OG faucet apart there is nice design there.
Yes I'm a toolmaker and have seen my share of plastic tooling. |
One thing I will mention about the faucet - its future is uncertain.
For now I have been able to reduce the price to about $60, down from a previous $75. This is actually the lowest price it has been in ages. Given its quality and new lower price I'd like to be able to continue to offer it.
However there is a problem. One tiny but crucial part inside the faucet was made by another company for Delta Six. We used up all that remained on the current production run, and the manufacturer has since gone out of business. So far we have been unable to determine what became of their molds and tooling. If it were necessary to retool for that part, it could be cost prohibitive to do so.
That may not come to pass; it's too premature to know and we will look into other options. But to be on the safe side, my advice is that if you want a new OEM faucet (or think you'll want one in the future), this would be the time to get it - while the quality is high, the price is low, and availability is a sure thing.
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The Bus Depot
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Busdepot
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:30 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I recall Pete mentioning that he personally, and his company Deltasix, had worked with Westfalia to design the parts for the original bay window vans and then the Vanagon Westfalias sold in North America. FWIW, the European models got a whole different set of components. |
Yes, Pete was involved in much of the design with Westfalia. Many of the parts were for the U.S. market, but others were also used on European market Westies such as the Joker.
Trevor and Cheri related a conversation to me that he and Pete had years ago, when he was designing the Skylight Guy skylight (which we also carry). This exemplifies the careful engineering that went into the original Westy parts. Pete said that the skylight was carefully designed to flex by a specific amount. The engineers were concerned about what would happen if something hit the skylight - either from inside the camper, or say a low branch over the highway. If the skylight didn't flex it might crack. But worse yet, the force of the impact could be transferred through the hinges to the poptop itself, potentially cracking the poptop at the hinge mounting points. So the skylight was intentionally made flexible, to absorb any impact and act as a "crumple zone" to protect your poptop.
Now that you know this, you'll notice that none of the aftermarket skylights (except Trevor's) flex as much the original, if at all. They're just cosmetic knockoffs; they don't retain the actual engineering parameters of the original design. Only the Skylight Guy aftermarket skylights and the original OEM dual layer ones (both of which we sell) are built to the original design standards.
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The Bus Depot
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