Simple job, import van, just come in from Lapland.
We’re just going through it undoing the “modifications” (in the loosest sense) and generally getting it ready for UK use.
One of the problems is quite simple, the front side lights don’t work.
Anyone spot the problem yet?
Yes, we can’t get the grille off, so we can’t take the head lights out so we can’t change the bulbs without unbolting the clothes horse off the front.
Deep joy. Simple job we don’t normally charge for turns into an hours labour!
Its funny how things go in circles.
Not too long ago, everybody wanted the nice high spec carpet sets…
Now we keep getting asked for replacement rubber mats!
And these are as nice as they come! Genuine VW NOS.
When these are gone we doubt there will be any more!
So we bagged whatever were available…
There are some other odd pieces, but these are the common ones. Double Cab LHD rear mat
Well, not really but don’t you just hate it when you start a quick simple job and it turns into a scotchlok infested can of worms.
Job started as just making the fog lamp work on the right of the van (import) now it’s turned into a rats nest detangle reterminate-athon!
The joys of working on old vans!
Replacing fuel lines on old VWs seems to be one of those popular things to do at the moment.
The composition of our fuel has changed and we keep hearing all those horror stories on forums about vans going up in smoke due to perished fuel lines.
The thing is, it’s usually only the end rubber sections that fail however what usually happens is that some do-gooder has gone and replaced the lot with rubber, front to rear! It’s a common situation and why we have started manufacturing replacement fuel feed and return pipes to be sold as a complete item and to put the van back to how it should be.
The hard plastic fuel lines are made from a material called “Polyamide” and are very robust, not only chemically but they also resist abrasion very well if clipped into place as they should be.
The polyamide tube we sell is manufactured to DIN 73378.
Polyamide tube is really easy to work with so we thought we would put a quick page together to help you understand some of the products a little better and to give a little more confidence in working with this robust, durable and cost effective fuel line.
A selection of Oetiker clip closing tools, all work well. Left: Genuine Oetiker closing pliers. Middle: Common or garden pincers and… Right: Professional closing pliers.Genuine Oetiker clip closing pliers, nice and sharp and produce an attractive crimp.The tool we use in the workshop, it has an extra heel to keep the ear of the clamp bulging too far, great for CV boot clips.To the left, 8mm OD polyamide tube, the brass section in the middle is a reinforcing sleeve and to the right our 7.3mm FPM fuel hose.Easy bit, push the reinforcing sleeve into the end of the polyamide tube all the way up, as far as it goes. The sleeve is there to stop the polyamide tube getting crushed when hose is clamped over the top.The, over goes the FPM, easy huh. push the hose over the poly tube by about 15mm, about the same length as the reinforcing sleeve.Centre the clip over the reinforcing sleeve.Over goes the Oetiker clip, these are stainless steel so perfect for use underneath the van.The Oetiker clip is clamped up to leave a 1mm or so gap between the 2 opposing bits of the clamp.Here you can see there is still an air gap in the ear of the clamp. 1mm or so is what you are aiming for.Here is a poor representaion of the cross section of a completed joint. Black: Polyamide tube, Grey: Fuel hose, Yellow: Reinforcing sleeve, Blue: Oetiker clip
When it comes to sizes you need quite a tight fit, for a 8mm tail such as the output from a fuel tank you need 7,3mm fuel hose, the same goes for 8mm OD polyamide, 7,3mm ID fuel hose.
For 6mm tails or polyamide tube you use 5.5mm ID hose.
Hopefully that should give you a little insight into this great product and help you save some money by not ditching the PA and swapping the lot for rubber!
We keep saying it, but we’re so lucky in the T3 world!
More and more that were made obsolete by VW years ago are becoming available every week.
These breather hoses run from the “UFO” on the rocker cover down to the inlet side of the turbo. Its common to see them split or even rubbed through, which allows the turbo to draw in all that mucky air from the engine bay.
We tired of seeing them taped up with Duct tape long ago, so paid for the tooling to allow us to produce them in Silicone (HERE). And that is what we’ve done until now.
Now they’re available as a Genuine VW part again from the original manufacturer.
We’ll still keep the Fluoro lined silicone versions as technically theyre a better product and should last longer, but these are in stock if you want 100% originality.
…Nothing.
No Partridge in a Pear Tree will be shipped.
No Lords, leaping or otherwise will be sent to anyone.
No Gold Rings, or French Hens.
And not just because we don’t sell any of that guff. We’re closed from midday on Christmas Eve, and we won’t return to work until the 11th Day of Christmas – the 4th January.
We’ll be shipping orders right until we close, but obviously the closer to Christmas it gets the less likely you’ll be to get a Next Day delivery 🙂
Anything shipped on Thursday should be delivered between the Christmas and New Year period.
We’ll be back in on the 4th January… no doubt a few pounds heavier, and a little “lethargic” but we’ll ship all orders placed over the festive season on that first day back and then usual service will be resumed until we do it all again next year!
All that remains is to say thanks to all our customers, old and new for your support.
Its been a fantastic year!
Enjoy the holidays, whatever you’re doing, and we’ll hopefully see you all again next year for more of the same…
No, they’re not “cheap”.
They are available though… which is incredible considering the fact that they haven’t been for quite a while, and battered secondhand sets have been changing hands for… lots!
We’ve sold the stainless steel reproductions of these for years, and still do…
Back in the days when the originals weren’t available they were a great replacement and an upgrade for the originals. They’re HERE if you need those.
VW Classic Parts recently reproduced the originals, and as more and more owners are restoring for originality, we figured we should also stock them.
Strange that the top quality stainless steel ones have now become the “budget” option 🙂
So, both sides available separately. Leftand Right.
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