Paydirt

I just got back from the 25th Annual Litchfield Bug-In in Connecticut. Great camping, friendly people, and most of all, a chance to sync in real space with some of the people that I have only met on thesamba.com forums. I'm really impressed by their generosity, and willingness to share information with plebs like me who are beneath their touch. They've been a tight organization for a long time. But they're still sharing, and that rates props in my book.

But with those niceties dispensed with, I'm excited to share the really big news: I absolutely cleaned up at the swap meet. My mate Don commented that there was so much Bus stuff there that he was convinced a few Buses exploded and scattered parts everywhere.

I went up with a very specific list of parts in mind, which I had published on the samba:

• 021-119-362-C Front Right Tin with Fuel Pump Cutout 72-74
• 021-256-332AU Hot Air Fan Pipe Right 72-74
• 071-256-051 Hot Air Pipe LH HeatX to Air Flap 72-74
• Left Front Lower Warm Air duct 72-74
• 021-256-205K Heat Control Valve Flap Flapper
• Walk through passenger heat vent cover
• 211-707-311-KCH chrome rear bumper 73-79
• 73-79 Bay Window Windshield

And of course, I was looking for other parts that I knew I needed but thought it unlikely to find there:

• Replacement RH hot air pipe
• New under cylinder ducting for the engine (on of mine took a bad hit and was partially torn off)
• New Windshield.
• Replacement Cold air ventilation controls handle
• DPD Air Conditioning Fans and Evaporator
• A replacement set of seat covers, complete.

Well, a fellah can dream, can't he? Certainly I wasn't looking for a pair of fresh Type4 heads. Those things are rare as hens teeth.

Of the stuff on the list above, I came up with the following, though I paid partially by walking my feed down to the stubs and getting a really lobster like sunburn while digging through greasy boxes and looking at parts:

• Right Front Lower Warm Air duct (no fuel pump cutout. Rare 1979 one year only design) $15
• Hot Air Fan Pipe Right (this sucker is simply unobtainium.) One dollar. $1 for a part that usually sells for $60-70 each when all grimy and dented. Hoowah!
• Hot Air Pipe LH HeatX to Air Flap. One dollar. $1!!!
• Left Front Lower Warm Air duct $15
• Heat Control Valve Flap Flapper (take three and use the best two, MSRP $125 each) $5 each!
• Walk through passenger heat vent cover $10
• Replacement RH hot air pipe $3
• Under cylinder ducting for the engine $20

So all told, I waltzed through spending a grand total of $80 and flushed out almost every engine accessory part that I need for the bus. Well, excepting those heads.

But wait, there's more. The night of camping, I pulled up at Stanagon's bus where Stan Wohlfarth already had a lot of tin laid out, and chatted with him while I pawed through the tin. That's where those two $15 pieces came from. He didn't budge because I didn't haggle. I NEEDED that tin. There are some people who, when presented with a price will counter-offer like a nervous tic. I'm not one of them. I don't need to get the BEST deal, and I don't need to steal them. I just want a reasonable deal. I need what I need and I'm willing to pay what I must to get them. If he had wanted $100 each, I would have kept looking, but I would have taken a bucketful of reference photos first, the better to encourage the internet hoarders to give up their parts.

Stan mentioned that he didn't have his full collection to vend there, his buddy Gary LeBlanc (business partner, really) from Suburban Engine was coming tomorrow morning and he'd have more of the 'precious metals' to sell. I had corresponded with both of these guys when looking into having a replacement engine built. Both of these guys were mentored by 'Boston Bob' Donalds who was one of the finest Type 4 engine builders on the East coast, but who died about five years ago, leaving them to carry on his legacy. Both Gary and Stan are what you would expect of a mechanic and a machinist. But they are genuinely great guys and rather than hoarding their knowledge, they share it with anyone who asks, even though they could make more money clutching the information to their breast. But they learned from their mentor, who gave what he knew to them freely, the knowledge continues on in vintage cars still on the road. There's a parable there, somewhere.

When I met Gary on day two, Stan reminded Gary who I was and then I noticed some of the stuff Gary had brought. New bottom tins. I need those because a rock had torn mine up. So I bought them for $20 for the pair, and offered high because they were in great condition, but Gary insisted on taking less. How odd.

Then I saw them. The clouds parted, the Angels sang, and I saw in the possession of Gary LeBlanc, Proprietor of Suburban Engine....

To be continued...