71 bay window air cleaner thermostat 113-129-826

[rkeller]

Has there been any activity on these wax pellet thermostats for the air cleaner.
I found the engine running warm and noticed the hot air inlet flapper was open allowing hot air in all the time. Tested the thermostat and it's dead. I've already read the other links and have been searching classifieds, ebay etc. but no joy.

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71 single cab, 67 deluxe bug (to daughter), 67 custom ragtop bug (sold to pay for restoration), 71 super (1st car, long gone)

[rkeller]

OK it's been like two minutes already and no replies.
So impatient as I am I kept on searching and found this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/151733056759

I've ordered one and will see if it can be made to work. There is no thread adjustment but if it sits in front of the hole instead of inside I believe the spring tension is more than sufficient to keep it in place. The rod can be cut if needed and if it's too short then I'll try another one.
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71 single cab, 67 deluxe bug (to daughter), 67 custom ragtop bug (sold to pay for restoration), 71 super (1st car, long gone)

[busdaddy]

[rkeller]

Thanks BusDaddy, I had read that. Good posting, but mine is completely dead with no movement after cleaning, hot or cold. The rod was covered in a gummy something but even after cleaning that off it’s a no go. Is it rare that they fail? I’m surprised there isn’t an after-market if they fail regularly. If it doesn’t extend then the engine would only pull in exhaust heated air right?
That can’t be good. My first car was a 71 super with the 1600 that overheated on the Beeline Expressway outside Orlando Fl back in the day, so keeping the air cooled cool (or at least normal operating temp) has been important since that experience.
All the regular parts houses: AirCooled, Bus Depot, CIP1, JBugs, Mid, West Coast Metric and WW were all no scores.
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71 single cab, 67 deluxe bug (to daughter), 67 custom ragtop bug (sold to pay for restoration), 71 super (1st car, long gone)

[aeromech]

I bought a new one last year I keep in stock. Got lucky. My old one came back to life after some crimping and heat gun action. If you can’t find one just remove the spring and let the flapper door open via gravity.
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VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
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Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[Abscate]

A healthy aftermarket requires people willing to pay a profitable price for parts. The isn't happening in AC VW world, so we get junk.
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.ssS!

[rkeller]

[SGKent]

the way many repop parts end up being made here is that someone wants a part so they contact a manufacturer, like Wahler in this case or some similar company and ask what the minimum order is. Sometimes the companies will take pity and agree to make a run of say 200 at $5 each. That is $1000. So someone will spend the $1000 and then start selling them at $40 each. Two or three major retailers of bus parts will buy 25 each at $15 a piece so the cost will be made back in a year or so. The guy who makes them will keep a dozen in case any fail and then they will go NLA again. Sometimes if you are lucky the big company will tell you the name of a little company that makes limited runs for them, and then that smaller company may make a smaller run of say 10 - 20 parts at say $15 each.

As to that part, a lot of the 1971 buses and bugs no longer have the stock oil bath cleaners which is a shame because that system worked really well and is exceptionally quiet when all the parts are there.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[scrivyscriv]

[wcfvw69]

I see 71' complete oil baths with the brass thermostats for sale cheap all the time on this site and at swap meets.

Busdaddy and myself both had luck in bringing the dead thermostat back to life with his tip. Many others have as well.
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Contact me at [email protected]
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
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[airschooled]

[rkeller]

Found a stock “air box” thermostat with the same throw as the VW part for $14.75 plus shipping.
Sketched up a part on SolidWorks and after about 5 tries I found the right spacing. I’ll clean up the part and post a revised .STL file that doesn’t require trimming.


Link

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71 single cab, 67 deluxe bug (to daughter), 67 custom ragtop bug (sold to pay for restoration), 71 super (1st car, long gone)

[wcfvw69]

[wcfvw69]

[rkeller]

The thermostat is for a Volvo 244 made by Calorstat. Yes the spring keeps it in place nicely.
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71 single cab, 67 deluxe bug (to daughter), 67 custom ragtop bug (sold to pay for restoration), 71 super (1st car, long gone)

[hylomatt]

expensive but i got tired of trying used ones and them being non-op.

https://www.bugcity.com/shop/shop.lasso?pquery=air+cleaner+thermostat

[airschooled]

[rkeller]

I’m making the part a little nicer and will print some out and make them available with and without the Volvo thermostat. I,m also testing the PETG filament to make sure it can withstand the heat and oil. The specs say it can withstand up to 200 degrees Centigrade which is 392f, and it is supposed to conditionally stable against oil, grease, methanols, gas and diesel so I think it will work. After I run around a bit with the adapter in my air cleaner I’ll post them for sale and I’ll also post the part file on Thingverse.

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71 single cab, 67 deluxe bug (to daughter), 67 custom ragtop bug (sold to pay for restoration), 71 super (1st car, long gone)

[hylomatt]

@rkeller, i'm in as well, i'd love to get a few of those.

[busdaddy]

Nice work!, can't wait to see how it behaves in the bus, looks like it'll work great.


That plastic is impressive too, I tried that heat gun trick on an original one once and the plastic melted, the thermostat was dead so I have no idea how hot it got before I saw the plastic moving, lesson learned.
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