Itinerant Air-Cooled

Thought I would throw this out for general comment. I have found that we are not alone with poor quality parts. Mostly these days I drive a GMC van as a daily driver. It's build quality is nowhere near my 71 bus. That being said, I have been replacing parts that lasted 20 yrs. Virtually all of these parts require modifications to fit and work properly. None are of the og. Fit and build even when buying gm parts. I have also found the same cheap parts in a more expensive gm box.
Sigh!

You have to love corporate greed in all its glory. What's amazing to me is there is a large segment of the classic car owners that will pony up and buy reproduction OEM quality parts that cost twice that of the Chinese made junk. Even with that, no company or person is making them. The right business model could achieve a profitable business. An example is the Bosch distributor vacuum cans. I restore the original Bosch distributors. Some of the vacuum canisters on certain model distributors are becoming impossible to source. The DVDA cans on the more popular distributors are getting really hard to source. The remaining Bosch NOS vacuum cans can exceed $200 dollars.

I've really seen a trend lately where A LOT of the remaining VW NOS parts prices have increased dramatically and are still being grabbed up and consumed. Some NOS parts I use to see regularly and thought were still plentiful are gone. Finding them at all is becoming more of a challenge.

IDK, I learned a long time ago to buy once and cry once when buying VW parts. They fit, they work and they last. :)

wcfvw69 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:44 pm

An example is the Bosch distributor vacuum cans. I restore the original Bosch distributors. Some of the vacuum canisters on certain model distributors are becoming impossible to source. The DVDA cans on the more popular distributors are getting really hard to source. The remaining Bosch NOS vacuum cans can exceed $200 dollars.

Hi Bill. Just wondering what your take is on the 123Ignition distributor? It appears to be a modern quality replacement for original Bosch distributors. I've seen one in use on a sweet '66 912. The owner was quite pleased with it.
Though expensive at about $500, it seems that it's going to look like an attractive alternative to rising OEM prices for folks that are more concerned with function than originality. Well, unless one needs a dual-vacuum function. The 123 offers vacuum advance, but not vacuum retard.

wcfvw69 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:44 pm

Some of the vacuum canisters on certain model distributors are becoming impossible to source. The DVDA cans on the more popular distributors are getting really hard to source.

How many defective ones have you got? Gimme 'em. I will find a way to restore vacuum to them. And learn how to roll the edges of the metal to close them up.
Colin

SlowLane wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:35 pm

wcfvw69 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:44 pm

An example is the Bosch distributor vacuum cans. I restore the original Bosch distributors. Some of the vacuum canisters on certain model distributors are becoming impossible to source. The DVDA cans on the more popular distributors are getting really hard to source. The remaining Bosch NOS vacuum cans can exceed $200 dollars.

Hi Bill. Just wondering what your take is on the 123Ignition distributor? It appears to be a modern quality replacement for original Bosch distributors. I've seen one in use on a sweet '66 912. The owner was quite pleased with it.
Though expensive at about $500, it seems that it's going to look like an attractive alternative to rising OEM prices for folks that are more concerned with function than originality. Well, unless one needs a dual-vacuum function. The 123 offers vacuum advance, but not vacuum retard.

Hi there,
I don't have any experience or know much about that distributor. I only focus on the original German Bosch distributors. I know there are a lot of other choices for distributors for our old VW's. I just prefer the original distributors for originality and performance sake. :)

Amskeptic wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:03 pm

wcfvw69 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:44 pm

Some of the vacuum canisters on certain model distributors are becoming impossible to source. The DVDA cans on the more popular distributors are getting really hard to source.

How many defective ones have you got? Gimme 'em. I will find a way to restore vacuum to them. And learn how to roll the edges of the metal to close them up.
Colin

I've dissected a couple of the DVDA vacuum canisters. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... highlight=

I even got one apart very nicely, installed new diaphragms in it and got it back together. It actually looked ok after all the surgery. The problem was it didn't work. I think the diaphragm material I used was too thin and it leaked.

There's some tooling that could be made to rebuild these vacuum canisters in a timely manner for sure. The retard side of the can has a piece that folds over the diaphragm that's tricky to open up and then reseal. Heat is required. The problem is the time it takes to restore one. I could order the right thickness of rubber diaphragm material and make one work if I had too. It just isn't worth repairing them for my distributor restoration side biz.