The dreaded A-pillars...

[VanGeek]

The A-pillars on my 2001 were unfortunately damaged under prior ownership during a windshield installation. They're very cracked-up near the top.

The used market for A-pillars is crazy. Very expensive. Often not in very good condition.

Seems like there are a lot of reasonably priced good condition T4 a-pillar options in Europe without the integrated grab handle. I'd hate to lose the grab handle but could definitely live without it. Anyone here have experience sourcing and fitting European T4 A-pillars in a 2001-2003 Eurovan?

[VanGeek]

UPDATE: I sourced some used T4 a-pillar covers from the UK with upper/lower grab handles for a reasonable cost -- much lower than what I could find in the US. I found most US vendors wanted a lot of $$$ for covers that were cracked or broken. These are in excellent condition with no cracks nor breaks vs my OEM pillars that the PO and/or shop had cracked and broken badly (even worse than I thought on the back-side upon removal and inspection). I prefer these pillar trims to the US ones. They are slimmer, obstruct views less, and look better IMO. In addition, the European pillar covers include accommodations for an upper grab handle for driver and passenger. The US versions only have an upper grab handle on the passenger side. Compared to my US covers, they generally have the same mounting clips, shapes, etc -- all looked good.

UNTIL -- I test fitted them and discovered the grab handle mounting points are different in the US vs Europe. There is a mounting bracket which appears to be spot-welded to the a-pillar. The holes do not line-up with the Europe pillar cover and grab handle mounts. The top mounting point also interferes with the European-spec cover and doesn't allow it to move the final ~1/4" to clip into position.

I will install these covers but will have to remove the US pillar handle mounting points to fit them. I think I can simply drill out the rivets and pop them off. The Europe-spec brackets (VW OEM P/N 7h0858149) are no longer available so I will likely just plug the holes for now. From what I understand, the Europe T4's often only included an a-pillar grab handle on the passenger side and plugged the driver's side. In my case I will plug them both for now. I'll still have the overhead grab handles if-needed, and can potentially source Europe mounting brackets from salvage in the future if I want them bad enough.

Original US a-pillar grab handle mountin points

Euro-spec a-pillar covers. Finger shows bottom edge of top mounting point. Misaligned with Euro a-pillar mounting holes and too tall

Another angle showing US mounting points vs Euro a-pillar cover

For reference, this is the Euro a-pillar grab handle (lower). The upper one above driver/passenger head is the same as US-spec passenger side one.

[IdeaNerd]

What kind of prices are you seeing on these (both the US used ones and the Euro ones you found)?

Also, any difference between R and L pricing? (I vaguely recall hearing that one was rarer than the other, at some point.)

[VanGeek]

[gesoffen]

Interesting - in one of the pics. there appears to be a "US" stamp with a directional arrow pointing toward the up direction. Wonder what would motivate VWAG to have a different mount for our market?

Have you considered drilling out the rivets, shortening those brackets, and re-riveting them in order to adapt to the European market A-pillar trim/handle combo? It would require some beginner metal working skills but if you measured pretty closely you could enlist the help of a local welder for a 15-20 minutes of work.

[VanGeek]

[VanGeek]

Getting ready to reinforce the Euro A-pillar covers before installation. Again, these pillars are in great shape. The passenger side has a small crack on the inside of the mounting hole. No cracks inside/outside anywhere else. I need something thin and strong on the backside and am using 2 inch fiberglass tape strips and resin in the most challenging areas. Started on the passenger side yesterday and will do the driver's side today or tomorrow. I have very rudimentary fiberglass skilz, and it's not pretty -- but are not visible and will hopefully provide sufficient add'l strength.

BTW -- just for yucks I checked ebay for US Eurovan a-pillars. Yikes! Asking prices were ~$250-$400 EACH for pillars that weren't in great condition. Pop-top heaven previously made some excellent fiberglass replacements without grab handles for $265 a pair. That previously seemed expensive, but perhaps a good price now. However, they've been out of stock for a long time (years?).

Here is a pic of the passenger-side Euro a-pillar cover.

Here is the back-side before light sanding it prior to fiberglassing.

Test cutting and fitting fiberglass tape strips with a little help from my friend.

The finished product after resin has cured. Yeah it's ugly but will not be visible and should strengthen the weak areas a little or a lot. I'm replacing the rear trim around the hatch window and reinstalling snaps so this experience will be helpful. The rear hatch plastic pieces will be beefed-up with more robust fiberglass reinforcement on the inside around the snap mounting areas as the OEM versions are not up to the task as they weaken over time.

[Abscate]

Beautiful Siamese
_________________
.ssS!

[VanGeek]

[kourt]

Nice A-pillar work. Mine are in good shape, but I would do the same fiberglas reinforcement you are doing when the time comes.

I too have a cat that is a FIP survivor. Pico (pictured below in our old Vanagon) was given a death sentence two years ago this week, but I found the proliferation of black market Chinese antivirals, specifically the drug called "Panda", worked well over a 90 day course. She hated the injections, so we switched to pills midway, and she is very healthy now.

Love your cat and glad you have a friend like that.

I had to ignore the advice of several professional vets and act on my own information. They wanted to euthanize her immediately. I took Pico back and did it my way. My vet was skeptical, but now she has changed her tune. Every day with our FIP survivor is a reminder of how rare it is to get a slam-dunk victory in medicine, and to trust your gut and try your best.

Learning of the difference in A-pillar plastics, I am wondering if the fortified and larger North America A-pillars are built that way for crash specifications. I know from experience that the A-pillars are frequent landing zones for heads in a collision, so I am not surprised that they are built differently for our US market.

kourt

[VanGeek]

Well done, Kourt! My experience was similar, except the local vet helped me keep the little guy alive until I could get meds and start injecting him. They were supportive and helpful, and frequently lament that they cannot administer the same anti-virals that are now approved in the UK and Australia. The injections were difficult and painful for Sammy and we also switched to oral meds after awhile. He enjoys riding in the Eurovan so I'll share some pics later this year.

Back to the pillars... The ones I purchased are in excellent physical condition and now reinforced with fiberglass in the vulnerable areas. However, I'm now thinking I may want to paint or dye them since the current finish generally matches my interior but the pillars have some light brownish-yellow discoloration in some areas. Can't see it in my photos and it's not awful but would prefer to clean up the finish a bit.

I've seen posts from several Eurovan camper owners that used SEM Storm Gray Color Coat for later models (mine is a 2001 but it is a weekender). Any recommendations for or-against this approach?

[VanGeek]

Based on some other discussions here, I thought SEM Color Coat Storm Gray would be a good match. It isn't... Too Dark.

Anyone have a good color match recommendation for plastic paint to use on a 2001 weekender a-pillar?

[kourt]

What we've been using in the EVC world to dye plastic is the Dove Gray color of the HT-400 vinyl, plastic & carpet dye.

I've used this extensively on my 2001 EVC to bring the plastics back to a light gray color. It's probably not the right color match for your Weekender, but it might be worth a try. This particular dye is lighter than the SEM Storm Gray.

Kourt

[VanGeek]

Thanks Kourt -- might be worth a try. I've discovered a few interesting things about the colors of my weekender. Uncertain if this is unique to mine (perhaps some trim was replaced and repainted under prior ownership) or if the factory used different materials and customers.

In general, my front pillar and rear hatch trims are slightly lighter than the rest of the "upper half" plastic trims in the interior. The finish on these items is also more "flat" (the other are satin) and both of these trims are extremely frail and crumbly. Hadn't previously noticed the color mismatch which I suppose takes some pressure off my respray -- but would like to do this right.

I did find some off-the-shelf general purpose spray colors that match the interior trims but I don't trust them to work properly in this application. I will order a can of dove gray from JB tools and return the SEM storm gray I purchased locally.

Here are some photos to share my experience in case other late model weekend owners find themselves in a similar situation...

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the upper rear trim compared with prior a-pillar and rear hatch trims (which are broken on my vehicle). Not obvious here, but the upper trim is darker. You can see the a-pillar and rear hatch trims are more pure-gray (vs gray with brown tinge)

SEM storm gray compared with upper trim and rear hatch trim. It is slightly darker than upper trim and much darker than rear hatch trim.

Rear hatch trim is very-very close to rustoleum painter's choice stone gray. The color is inbetween the upper rear and rear-hatch trim colors but much closer (almost identical) to upper rear trim. But this is general purpose paint and probably not trustworthy to use on the pillars?

This Glidden Max-Flex elephant-gray paint was also very close, but I think the stone gray was closer:

[VanGeek]

Based on Kourt's feedback, I ordered a can of dove-gray HT-400 vinyl paint from JB Tools. The color still seemed a bit off compared with the other factory trim in the vehicle. I decided to spray two light coats each of the SEM, Rust-Oleum, and HT-400 paint on some broken hatch trims to make a decision.

NONE of these paints matched the existing interior trims perfectly. SEM was the darkest. Rust-Oleum stone gray was the closest match (and It was actually pretty close). However, I went with the HT-400 paint because it seemed to produce the best overall finish. It's very thin and doesn't change the original plastic surface's texture and it's flat but hard and not chalky. It subjectively "feels" more durable and OEM. The SEM paint was also very good but definitely thicker -- it was also too dark IMO. I really wanted to go with the Rust-Oleum, but it's a very thick paint and it's "satin" but was too shiny. After several hours of drying time it was also sorta-sticky while the SEM and HT-400 were firm and very dry to the touch. I wouldn't trust the Rust-Oleum paint.

Oddly enough, I also realized that the HT-400 dove gray was also an exact match to the color of the broken plastic a-pillar covers and rear hatch trims that I replaced -- and I hadn't previously noticed that they were a mis-match! Anyhow -- I highly recommend the HT-400 paint.

I planned to fiberglass the inside of the rear hatch trims that surround the glass window. They felt slightly "gummy" when I received them and got very sticky when I started cleaning them and prepping for fiberglass (inside) and paint (outside). These trims were painted and the paint was failing. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to remove paint from ABS plastic using chemicals -- they destroy the plastic. So I tried an approach that worked for removing the decaying gummy soft-touch paint from my old porsch boxster trims.... I've been soaking the trims in a 50/50 solution of water and simple-green cleaner -- and then gently scrubbing with a green 3M scrubber. It's working! But a laborious process. A cold front came-in last night here in the Northeast so I can't paint for a few days anyhow. It's gonna take that long to remove the old sticky paint and get the inside trims fiberglassed before drilling holes for snaps and then painting...

Wondering if the paint on the hatch trims came from the factory or was applied by a previous owner. My original a-pillar covers and hatch trims were definitely painted -- again, not sure if that was factory or from PO. I don't think the a-pillar covers I received from the UK were painted at all...

[bigfoot_ev]

I was wondering if you had to deal with the 'soft touch' paint. I guess you do. Whenever I have a trim piece removed for something or another, I remove that crap. I found that alcohol works well. I have some denatured ethyl in my paint cabinet but I think regular ole isopropyl works as well. But, you need to wipe off with a clean spot on your rag or you just end up putting it back on once it is softened by the alcohol. You might find your simple green works just as well.

[VanGeek]

I think the alcohol is stronger than Simple Green.
But the alcohol makes the paint sticky and requires (as you stated) a good technique for wiping it away with a fresh cloth.
The Simple Green approach takes a lot of elbow grease, but it seems to result in a less sticky, almost suspended powdery result that washes off and stays off. At least that's been my experience.

Things went better than expected. Inbetween work meetings today, I did some add'l scrubbing and the rear hatch surrounds are all clean, fresh, and no sticky paint left!

[VanGeek]

UPDATE: I finished painting the A-pillars with the HT-400 paint and reinstalled them along with the dashboard. The HT-400 dove-gray isn't a perfect color match for the late model weekender interior, but the paint quality is outstanding. While reinstalling the dash, the edges pressed hard into the pillars and I was certain that the new paint would be damaged. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't!

I prepped the plastic pieces with duplicolor degreaser, alcohol wipe, duplicolor plastic adhesion promotor (2-coats), and 3 light coats of HT-400. Really pleased with the result.

I followed a similar approach to finishing the rear hatch trims I sourced to replace the brittle, cracked, and broken trims that the PO had tried to repair. These trims came from a std T4 and did not have snaps nor mounting holes for curtain rods. Similar to my a-pillars, I reinforced the backsides with fiberglass, doubling it up around the snap and curtain rod mounting points. I carefully measured (er, about six or seven times) the snap locations from the old trims, and drilled holes thru the plastic and fiberglass for the new snaps. After painting, new snaps were screwed into the holes, and a dab of JB Weld plastic epoxy was applied to the backsides.

Reinstalled the new trims, and they feel very solid. I've added magnets to most of my snaps so they will hopefully experience less stress/strain in the future, but I think they are more up to the task vs the originals.

This is the passenger side original trims. Driver side was similar. Crumbly and cracked. They promptly broke into pieces upon removal.

This is the new passenger side trim with snaps installed. Marking the spot for the curtain rod mounting hole. Almost done...

Original trims next to back-side of new trims after fiberglass and before paint and snap install

Marking and drilling the snap mounting holes after pieces were painted

Closeup of fiberglass section doubled-up for snap screw.

Close-up of snap screwed into position

Dab of JB Weld Plastic epoxy on one of the screw tips.

(for Abscate) photo of helper Sammy inspecting the parts