I don’t like to be unnecessarily critical, but those wheels are just wrong.

So then what is this beast?  The door hinge in the front like the Lafer, but it doesn’t have the Lafer “MP” logo over the grille.  The photographer identified it as a BCW, but if it is it’s the only BCW I’ve ever seen with that door configuration.

I’m planning on installing a lift eventually in the new garage even though the ceiling is only 10 feet high. 

In this thread:http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62172the writer says his idle mixture was too lean.

Mike,Some years ago a friend asked me to look at her Plymouth Duster because every time she turned left (or right–I can’t remember any more) it would stall.  It never stalled when she turned in the opposite direction.  I didn’t believe her until I test drove it myself.  I had a mutual friend with much more automotive experience, and I told him ab…[Read more]

Thanks for the link and for taking the time to provide the detail.  It looks very intimidating but your attention to detail will no doubt yield something that should hold up for a long time.  Nice work!

Ed,What sort of pipe are you using to run coolant between the radiator in the front and the engine in the rear, and how do you have it connected to the heater core?-Dave

Back in the late ’80’s I bought a ’78 VW camper.  I got the brilliant idea to add a third brake light, since all the new cars at that point were equipped with them.  Maybe a month or so after I added the extra light, I got rear-ended.  Go figure.

Bill,It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?-Dave

Dave,Obviously, if you’ve decided to add a third brake light, you’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s not “authentic,” whatever that means.  Several years ago I replace the lights on my boat trailer with LEDs and I’ve always felt it was a wise move.  One of the great things about LEDs is that they draw so little current and you might get a…[Read more]

At least she didn’t use the word “thingy.”

With a pair of brackets from Prototype Research going for $410, that’s a steal.

Definitely racoons, though I’ve never encountered any that were that bold.  And I’m laughing about boxing with kangaroos.  We lived in Australia for six years and raised eight of them.  My kids would come home from school and box with them almost every day.  One of the male ‘roos was so aggressive that my daughter, who was about eight at the tim…[Read more]

My wife is a graphic artist and I’m trying to convince her this technique would cover some of the blemishes on the aging family van.

AllenHere are a couple of shots of the bottom windscreen frame screw from the Duchess, in the frame and out.-Dave

KentT is right about the charging time and range.  Even extending the range to 40 miles would make a huge difference for me because I’m going to be settling about 15 miles out of town and it would be the ideal vehicle for local errands.  Given a breakthrough in battery technology I’d seriously consider it as a project.

This is it.  (The gasket, not the dog.)

Steve,Thanks for the photos.  I see you and Doug have done the same thing in rounding off the cowl and removing the “horns” under the corners of the windshields.  I guess there’s no other way to be able to mount the TD-style fold-down windshield.  It really looks sharp, though.-Dave

Thanks, Paul. I’m really happy to be on board and I appreciate your work and input.-Dave

Doug,First, nice work.  I can see, though, that in my case if I’m going to do this I will really have to do custom work, because the Fiberfab cowl is significantly different from the Duchess, where the cowl is squared off to almost 90 degrees where it meets the bottom corners of the windscreen frame. (You can see it to at least some extent in the…[Read more]