Scavenger Hunt

[Bookwus]

Hiya All,

Anybody out there in VWARland interested in going out and hunting for parts?

It's for a good cause and could eventually benefit you.

Here's the background..............  About five years ago I had my AS transaxle rebuilt at German Transaxle of America in Bend, Oregon.  Ken Harvey, the owner of GTA told me at that time he would be unable to do any further rebuilds due to a lack of seals.  These seals were the only parts that prevented him from rebuilding AS trannies. 

Since that time I'd been interested in just what seals he was referring to.  Well, I was up in Bend this past week and I stopped in and had a chat with Ken.  He told me that that there are 4 seals (all in the clutch area) that he needs.  He had tried to access these seals through the conventional channels that he uses for parts.  No luck going that route.

But it occured to me that the VWAR family being spread out all over the world might have access to some more "unconventional" sources of supply.  Parts houses go out of business, somebody is sitting on a stash of parts, a repair facility has a bunch of parts they cannot identify, and so on.

I mentioned this possibility to Ken and he was all for it.  "I'd love to go back to building AS transmissions.  I've had to turn down quite a few since I did yours", he told me.

So..........I'm wondering...........if I supplied more specific information concerning the missing seals...........would anybody out there be willing to play detective and take a look for them?

[volkenstein]

Hi Mike,
          Remember Crasher (Steve) in the UK? He would definitely be the man to PM as he went waayyyy above and beyond regarding those seals (and other bits). IIRC he had stuff made or adapted something else to work and he's got microfiche too.

I'm up for hunting stuff, although my location isn't the best. Dimensions 'n' part numbers would be great.

Is Ken after volume (50?) or just a ready supply he can go to when the need arises?

Regards
Sean

[Bookwus]

Hiya Sean,

Well, understand as of this writing that all this is based on a casual conversation.

However, Ken has made it clear that with those seals he can rebuild AS transmissions.  He has all the rest of the parts needed.  So, even one set of seals means one more AutoStick out there on the road. 

Good suggestion about Crasher.  I checked him out in the Membership List and he has no e-mail address.  Fact is, I'm not even sure that this Crasher is the Crasher of old.  Sean, do you have any leads on contacting him?

I can post up some more information on the seals (possibly even VW parts numbers) but I was waiting to see if there was any response out there.  Thanks for the reply and the idea Sean.

[volkenstein]

Mike,
       He is the Crasher of old, I've PM'd him in the last year about pinion bearings. I'll see if I can find any other contact info for him somewhere.


Regards
Sean

[68autobug]

Hi

You are correct about those seals being at an old dealership
or in a stash that someone has bought....

the other problem is - if the seals that are available [from above]
doesn't have a part number on it....

and many of these people who have truckloads of parts will NOT check sizes etc...

but part numbers would need to be checked out first...

I believe that many VW parts shops in Australia used to order their
seals from the local seal shop...  when they were needed...
when that supply ran out...  they just say they are NLA...

but I'll bet that there are a lot of those seals out there somewhere Mike...

the USA is a big place with lots of old VW shops etc...

there were guys going around to old VW dealerships in Australia buying up all
their stock...  but what happens to them then... I don't know...
some think they are going to make millions $$$$
but i don't personally know who they are...

[You wouldn't believe it - an Aussie country buggy in near new condition was bought last year from a farm
in My area ]  it had never been registered and had low miles on it..

cheers

LEE