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Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:12 pm

New owner of '71 bus camper. Lots of parts to replace.

Where is the best place to find/order parts?

Need exterior lights/reflectors, rubber, wire harness, fuse box, probably entire interior, maybe new seats, rust inhibitor/primer, fasteners, etc.

Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:16 pm

Welcome-

Avoid Chinese made parts like EMPI. NOS VW parts are the best, followed up by restored, original German fuel pumps, carbs, distributors, etc. Sadly, the vast majority of "new" VW parts are poorly made Chinese parts that don't fit, work or last. You have to do research these days.

For rubber and other misc parts-

*Wolfsburg West
*Cip-1
*Bus Depot
*Rock Auto

These are the places I usually buy parts from. If you're new to VW's, read these threads and stickies. Many parts are discussed in the bay forums.

Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:47 pm

You’re in luck because there’s a VW bus wrecking yard near you. It’s called Busco. The guy who runs it is named Ken. You and Ken need to become best friends. Figure out where he’s located and go pay him a visit. Start there.

Sun Feb 18, 2018 6:26 am

I live in Ohio but got several parts from Ken of the Bus Co. All good stuff. Easy to work with Ken.

Sun Feb 18, 2018 6:44 am

What I used to do in the old days and is still a good idea is to buy a rag like Hot VW at your local news stand to get their list of vendors. The classifieds here on The Samba are also a good place to look, along with eBay and Amazon.

It is good to find and get to know your local VW parts house. Being in Oregon, I buy a lot of stuff from Halsey Import Parts. Not everything they have is the best, but they can get me stuff faster than anyone else, usually in a single day even when I am out on the road on the far side of the country, the Seattle area probably has a local equivalent.

It can be worth checking with your local NAPA or other FLAPS as well. They can sometimes have both the best quality and price, but may also have junk. :-(

Forget the idea that one source is going to have it all, that has just never been true in the VW world.

Sun Feb 18, 2018 9:32 am

Bow Wow’s in Lynwood, WA used to have a good stash of new and used parts. They still might.

http://autoviceservice.com/

Ken at The Busco. In Kent,WA Used parts/body parts.

http://www.thebusco.com/

Averys Aircooled in Kelso, WA Used parts/body parts/ after market parts.

https://www.averysaircooled.com/

Auto Sport Imports. SeaTac, WA.

https://yelp.to/gUm2cAjMDK

Halsey Imports Parts. Portland,OR New parts/After market parts.
Good prices and customer service. They usually stock the best new or after market parts you can get new.

http://www.halseyparts.com/

Always-V-Dubs Portland, Oregon Hard to find parts. New after market and repop parts. Owner comes off gruff on the phone but he’s a good guy. Pricing is all over the board. But he’s got some good stuff

http://always-v-dub.com/

That should get you started in The Pacific Northwest. As mentioned, build rapport with local merchants. And for the love of Dubs pay extra for a local storefront specializing in parts for vintage VWs. It pays off in the long run. Don’t forget to hit the shows and swap meets.

Sun Feb 18, 2018 10:00 am

And don’t forget a couple of guys on the Samba that rebuild distributors and fuel pumps, and carburetors.

Bill aka: wcfvw69

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...cc7f0bba71

Glenn Ring aka Glenn. Moderator of Late Beetle forum

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...fb5a59ea3a

Tim at Volkzbitz in Wa to have your Carburetor rebuilt.

http://www.volkzbitz.com/

And you should get hip to this place.

http://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/Porsche_914_thermostat_parts.html

Tue Mar 19, 2019 11:00 am

Much, much appreciated.

Tue Mar 19, 2019 12:18 pm

These guys have a great selection of stuff as well >>> West Coast Metric: https://www.westcoastmetric.com/

Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:19 pm

Welcome to the ACVW world, my friend! :D

I agree with the above: If you find a local shop: USE THEM FIRST

(being on the East Coast, I have no such luxury)

Here's a general list of online parts suppliers for ACVWs:
RockAuto
Wolfsburg West
Jbugs
CIP1
Aircooled.net
Airhead Parts
Wolfgang international
BugHaus
CBPerformance
BugCity
WestCoast Metric
Pierside Parts

And for hardware,fuel lines, etc.:

Your friendly, local hardware store (Ace Hardware, TruValue, etc.)
BoltDepot
McMaster-Carr
BelMetric
Fastenal
Grainger

See this thread for a little tutorial on TheSamba website, parts, and repair manuals too (I wrote for the beetle forum, but it's all the same functionality)
AlmostHeavenWV's Orientation Page for the Samba

Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:19 pm

a bunch of killer info all on one page. damn. this should be a sticky.

Tue Mar 19, 2019 2:56 pm

alman72 wrote: a bunch of killer info all on one page. damn. this should be a sticky.

it probably is plus some somewhere in TCash's pages.

Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:07 pm

Wasntacarguy,

You may want to consider overseas suppliers for more difficult to find parts - just keep an eye on the exchange rates and shipping costs. I'm in the same boat restoring a '71 camper as well and have been able to find several things that I needed at the following:

https://nlavw.com/ - Primarily for Westfalia interior items
https://www.justkampers.com/# - Primarily for Westfalia interior items
https://www.customandcommercial.com/ - For hard to find parts. They also have some very nice repro items.

There are also some vendors on the classifieds here as well that have some very hard to find parts. One that has helped me out quite a bit:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?username=Joanna+Lau+Jaime

As far as rust management, I've had pretty good success with Picklex 20 and Masterseries. I should have some pics in my Gallery, but I've coated the entire undercarriage with Masterseries and took the entire exterior to metal and coated with Picklex. The Body/Paint forum has more information on these two items.

VWlooms.com is where I got my replacement harness. Pretty much an exact replica of the original and the price was fairly reasonable, as I recall.

One of the things you will want to determine early on is how far you want to go with it and create your budget. It may be helpful to make a list of "needs" and "wants". In my opinion, mechanical soundness takes precedence over esthetics - especially with fuel lines, steering and braking systems.

Hopefully this helps.

Wed Mar 20, 2019 12:06 pm

Personally I like busted bus. They always seem to have whatever part I want. Their parts are used but I haven't had a single issue yet, including buying an 091 transmission that was in good shape for less than anyone else, private or dealers.

I especially love the ability to text them what I want, it makes it super easy to find what I want instead of having to figure out what's the correct part for my year bus.

http://bustedbus.com

Wed Mar 20, 2019 2:36 pm

With spring and summer on their way it's gotta be swap meet season. Check out the Community tab on the Samba for events in your neighborhood. Oftentimes used VW parts can be better than new repro parts.

Wed Mar 20, 2019 6:37 pm

pantone149 wrote: With spring and summer on their way it's gotta be swap meet season. Check out the Community tab on the Samba for events in your neighborhood. In all cases used VW parts are better than new repro parts, especially parts that can be restored.

Fixed it for you! :wink:

Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:28 am

Mine is the politically correct version. Yours is the correct version. Excellent edit.