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Subject:Need Show of Interest for Reproduction Post Office Front Wheel Arches
From:BenT Syncro
Date:Fri, 17 Feb 2006 02:25:24 -0800

Hello Folks,

First of, sorry for the cross posts to those who are in Multiple Lists and
Discussion Groups.

For the uninitiated, Postal Service wheel arches are what we commonly call
"wheel flairs or flares" in the US. The German Postal Service got their
version of the famed Syncro 16 and Tristar arches to to cover the fronts
arches. These arches kept road dirt and grime from fouling the area that
often rubbed against your trousers when you got in and out of your van or
truck. These arches had a special cut-out so they can be fitted to 2wd
Vanagons (T3's) around the area of the gas filler. This is also useful for
Syncros running dual tanks and using that same fill-port.

Anyway, today I took my Post Office wheel arches out of storage to see what
the fuss was about in this week's discussions. I noted that they are made of
a very different material than the Syncro 16 and Tristar arches. It helped
to have all three types of arches to compare side-by-side. The Postal
Service arches are made of a thinner material suitable for replicating in
fiberglass or vacuum forming as John Rodgers previously discussed. I spoke
to a local fiberglass fabricator and showed him the pieces. He felt he can
easily knock these off economically if there was enough of a demand.

Well, since you guys have been busy talking about this, I thought I'd ask if
enough of you are interested in this project to make it economically
feasible. Think of it as a group purchase. Please email me off list at:

doublecab@gmail.com

Price & Production suggestions welcome. If this goes well, I will have them
look at possibilities of making the rear arches as "hollow" versions of the
originals. They would look the same at a distance but will be fiberglass.
Since this will be a limited run for use by enthusiasts and not commercial
purposes. I do not think VW will get too upset. If so, minor adjustments can
be made to make them more "different" from what VW used to offer.

Cheers,

BenT

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