"VW" brand parts were actually made by Garbe Lahme

[tasb]

I've seen it time and again and yet again. So maybe its time to share what I know and set the record straight. The following parts are frequently referred to as made by "VW" They were actually made by a firm: Garbe Lahmeyer that has been around almost as long as Bosch. Here is an interesting link to more information on G.L. Gmbh.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=382556&highlight=garbe+lahmeyer

The most popular opionion is that GL (Garbe Lahmeyer) filled in for Bosch in the mid sixties supplying parts for VW during a labor dispute. There are however various references in Progressive Refinements stating that GL was used in limited numbers as early as 1956 or so.

Below are some exanples of GL products that I have found:

The GL coil has an aluminum jacket and is a tad wider than the Bosch coils. The bracket is unusual and sought after because it has a VW logo and part number emblazend upon it.

The coil is 6v and has the GL logo on the bakelite.

Next is the GL distributor. It is interesting to note that the distributor has 211 part numbers all over it. It is generally agreed that this distributor was not used exclusively on the bus. It was common to find them on beetles too. The cap and rotor fit the flat top 383 distributors but they are not correct parts for that era.

The distributor is distinguishable by the bulbous protrusion at the base of the vacuum can pipe. It is a cast iron distributor which leads people to think it is older than it really is. I have seen one example of a mechnical advance GL distributor.

The voltage regulator is also quite sought after because of the VW logo found clearly stamped on the top of an unpainted aluminum lid. The regulator is rated at 180 amps and 6 volts.

The final GL product is a self supporting 12 volt starter motor. There is an interesting ground strap running from the solenoid to the motor and the bushing to support the shaft is installed on the shaft rather than in the transmission housing.

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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[tasb]

I suspect that there are examples of 6 volt starters out there and I am also suspicious that there are generators hiding in barns and garages that are made by GL but I have none to share. GL specialized in generator manufacturing and if Bosch was on strike I would think that generators needed to be supplied too.

If you have something to add to this little mini lesson by all means attach it
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[KTPhil]

All true and fascinating. But keep in mind that all parts the factory used were stamped or cast as "made by VW" even though they were from authorized suppliers... Bosch, Hella, SWF, Sekurit, etc.

[bill may]

[tasb]

Good point, I was just restating what the last owner claimed. So not self supporting in this case?

Here are a couple of pics of the non vacuum or mechnical advance distributor that Garbe Lahmeyer produced. The J likely came after the earlier vacuum versions but I am not sure yet what the advance curve looks like. I have been rebuilding distributors for a few years now and I have only seen two of these.

This is the GL generator that I suspected existed. It appears very similar to the Bosch counterpart. There are likely many more lurking about that are assumed to be Bosch. Note the VW symbol lower left and the GL symbol upper center in the bottom pic.

sorry for the blurry image it's the best I could get with the camera.
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[drscope]

Chevrolet doesn't make cars either. They "build" cars. They simply take parts that come from hundreds or thousands of suppliers and screw them together to build a car.

Each component comes from some other manufacturer.

So it's no surprise that VW had other companies making parts for them.

It's easy to see when it's bosch labeled ignition parts, or hella labeled lights. But most of the other parts marked VW actually came from other suppliers too.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[johnnypan]

Yes,but their outsource rates were low,when designing Wolfsburg they spent time studying and copying Ford's Rouge complex, which is about as close as you could get to 'vertical integration'(all parts manufactured in house).

[tasb]

All true. I guess I started the thread because so many call these parts VW made because of the often unusualy prominant VW logo when in reality they were made by some other firm. The GL logo is there it's just not recognized or understood.
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[Bruce]

[KTPhil]

That's my point! All those parts with the VW logo and part numbers were not necessarily manufactured by VW itself; in most cases they were approved subcontractors.

[Eric&Barb]

[tasb]

Here is an interesting Garbe-Lahmeyer item:

This is a mechanical advance distributor manufactured by GL in December 1955. that should end the "VW used them in the mid 60's" assertions.

Interesting features include the badge which is gold in color. The cap clips which are a true spring with no hinge. The end of the spring sits in a small hole in the housing. The lack of a spring clip to hold the drive dog pin in place. It used the same cap, points and rotor throughout production. The condenser has changed periodicaly being mounted in different locations on the housing.
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[pupjoint]

[bill may]

[vwfreek61]

[neil68]

Another common supplier of "VW" parts was Beru.

In our family business, we ran a fleet of Beetles back in the '50's, '60's and 'early 70's and it was interesting how many parts were supplied by Beru (usually instead of Bosch and other traditional suppliers).

I still have some Beru ignition parts in my stash
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Neil.

Der Kleiner Rennwagens
‘68 Beetle 2332 cc, 204 WHP
12.5 seconds @ 108 mph
Dynojet Test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9B_H3eklAo

[tasb]

The GL coil is probably not worth any more than its Bosch counterpart IMHO. The coil and bracket are a little wider diameter than Bosch so the bracket may not hold a Bosch coil tight enough.

Yeah I thnik at one time Beru plugs wer installed at the factory and I have seen Beru plugs in VW labeled boxes before. The other tune up items are a lot less common in my experience.
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Roads Scholar
1957 Kombi low mileage 36 hp governor equipped M 178 Slow Drag Winner 2014, 2015, 2018

1965 hardtop Deluxe Microbus owned since 1990 M 620 factory 12 v 1500cc

1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

Member# 2059

[Joey]

[Helfen]

[KTPhil]