Date:    Wed, 9 Nov 2005 14:38:55 EST
From:    JordanVw@AOL.COM
Subject: how many of you DONT have the armrest thingys on your front
doorpanels?

how many of you single/Doublecab owners out there (Tri-Stars not
included) do NOT have the little armrest thingys on your front
doorpanels?

my '85 doka 6 seater  non-walk thru came with the black doorpanels, and
the
black and grey "plaid" cloth seats.. with no armrests, of course.   but
it did
NOT have the armrest thingys on the front doorpanels.   i have seen
other
dokas that DID have the armrest thingys..    was there any rhyme or
reason to the
factory's placement of these armrest thingys on the front doorpanels?  i
have seen some with, some without.. all being in trucks that has no
armrests on the
front seats.   michael sullivan's syncro doka
(http://www.haywood-sullivan.com/vanagon/doublecab/Claude_WebPics/pictur
es/342-4223_img.html) has the same interior as mine, but with the
armrest thingys ..  was this part iof a trim
option "M code" or anything??  anyone really know?   just curious...

Chris,

Whilst there are some equipment level discrepancies between different
markets, most Transporters, be they vans, single cabs or Dokas do not
appear to have come standard with the door mounted armrests....
They were however an option and also were (are?) available from VW to be
retrofitted to Transporters. I suspect this is why you have seen some
Dokas with them and some without...some owners wanted them...some didn't
care or didn't even know they could have them. Tristars obviously would
not have had them as they had the flip-up armrests in the seats
rendering the door mounted ones not only obsolete...but also they also
would have physically clashed with each other.

My '92 Transporter did not have them when I first bought it but I
ordered them soon after from the dealer and they fitted them when I came
in for it's first service. They can be fitted to any T3 as the mounting
points are in the door and the door panels have the screw holes in the
hardboard behind the vinyl trim...

YMMV however this is how it was at least outside the Nth American market
where the Transporter models were sold and the V-word was never
uttered...;-)

Still, having said that, some VW random-ness could well have
occurred...For instance, my brother-in-law's '97 T4 Doka came with a
door panel pocket in both front doors. My '00 Doka came new with only
one on the driver's side. When I took delivery of the '03 Doka, it again
had pockets in the panels of both front doors....so naturally I had to
order a passenger's side one from VW for the '00 so it didn't feel left
out... 

Cheers,
Steve O
NSW Australia
'92 Transporter WBX Kombi
'00 Transporter Double Cab
'03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck)
'78 Land rover 109 Series 3 Soft top ute (ex-Aust.Army)