With a lot of the old air cooled VW's and earlier wassboxers we have learnt to improvise We've also read of people seeking advice and doing their own thing only to have to spend more because the alternative they chose just didn't work out
Hey KahunaKombi, I have no problem with improvising, and have been doing it for years with all makes of cars, but my point is that with replacement parts, supposedly fit for purpose, we still have to! Cheers Matt
The problem with a lot of the parts, is that they are such poor quality, they can’t even be modified to suit the purpose..... I have bought parts, taken them out of the box to look at, then look back at the box...........and wonder which to put in the bin? (Sometimes the box is good enough to reuse for another purpose. )
I have finally got my wife's T2 back on the road, she is one very happy girl. So just one more swipe at the poor quality of spare parts, well not a swipe actually just a list of the parts I bought and their condition. 2 x Tail light assemblies - Lamp holes too small, required modification. 2 x Front door seals - Too large, required modification. 3 x Front emblem clips - Too large for exiting holes required modification. 2 x Window cranks - Incorrectly machined to allow spline to engage, required modification. 1 x Glove box liner - Too large, required modification to fit. 1 x Sliding door handle (interior) - Fitted. 2 x Front indicator assemblies - Fitted 1 x Engine compartment seal - Fitted 2 x Sunvisor clips - Fitted PS. I also converted the windscreen wiper/washers to electric, if any wants any tips just let me know. Cheers All Matt
Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to matter what you buy from rubbers to panels to engine components the variation in quality can be frustrating , even if you buy the more expensive stuff. I guess these cars are old, there were large tolerances even from factory and who knows what has happened to each vehicle over the years. Very frustrating also that suppliers are happy to offer sub standard parts. Guess you could look at it as a business opportunity to supply good quality parts ....
You need to remember that when you take a copy of something, it is never exactly the same as the original - the original machinery that made our parts are long gone. If you take a mould off something, that mould is so slightly bigger than the original item, it's details are not as crisp and then if a copy of what comes out of that mould is made, it is bigger again with even less detail. You get this with cement pots and ceramics.
Nice to see it back on the road again Matt & that's a happy driver there. Most interesting paint job. So, it's a Lefty? Got some back story for us? Cheers
Hi all, Yes my wife was a very happy girl to have her beloved Kombi back on the road after 3 years or so, as can be seen by her smile evident in the photo. And it is a right hand drive, sorry the pic looked like a leftie, trust me it's a rightie. My wife bought her Kombi on the GC about 20 years ago, so it came with her when we met 16 years ago. As usual it has suffered some messing by others, it had the original 1700 cc engine converted to an 1800. Svenja, my wife is a Textile Artist, therefore the striking paint job and rust removal she did herself, and it doesn't stop at the outside - you should see the door linings !!! ;-) I help on the mechanical side but she manages the 'look' and all entailed. Why I have posted all the 'Rants' is because I had a Studebaker parts business for a few years and would never had sold parts or gotten away with selling parts, with such poor quality. You Kombi guys really have the bring your parts suppliers to account! Anyway, it's back on the road, and I guess I'll be buying parts for a while yet ;-) The tie rode ends and shockies need replacing soon. So if you see this Kombi on the road around Brisbane you will know who's driving it, and who's been under it. ;-) Here is my wife's web page so it will give you a bit of a clue to the paint job. https://studiosvenja.wixsite.com/mysite I'm afraid I am going to disagree with you Meissa. You need to remember that when you take a copy of something, it is never exactly the same as the original - the original machinery that made our parts are long gone. If you take a mould off something, that mould is so slightly bigger than the original item, it's details are not as crisp and then if a copy of what comes out of that mould is made, it is bigger again with even less detail. You get this with cement pots and ceramics. As a Fitter & Turner & Mech Eng it's very poor engineering that leads to these parts fitting badly or not at all. I can understand that the manufacturers do not have access to original moulds and patterns but mass produced ill fitting parts isn't acceptable. Just saying.
It's ok - I was using moulds as an example - definitely not an excuse. Yes a lot of these parts are crap.
