> A long story short, over the last two months, I transplanted 
> the entire roof top from an '82 Westy to my '87 Syncro, 
> 
> I have now reinstalled the luggage rack using the original 
> brackets (same roof, remember), using a non-bulbed seal from 
> one of the vendors. I see that the seal does not contact 
> large areas of the roof skin, but I understand that this type 
> of seal does allow for water drainage.
> 
> My question: was the original seal bulbed, or do I need to 
> "adjust" (bend) the brackets for a closer fit? 

The original seal did not have a bulb. As long as you are not getting any
wind noise when driving at high speed (caused by wind getting between the
roof and the lugage rack rack) there is probably no need to change anything.
Generally you will not get any wind noise with a non-bulbed seal, IF your
luggage rack is sitting properly. If you do get wind noise, then you must
either adjust the brackets, or buy a bulbed seal (which we do offer
optionally) and cut the bulb partially off along the sides to allow
drainage. However, installing a bulbed seal requires loosening or removing
the luggage rack anyway, so at that point it might be just as easy to bend
the brackets rather than just filling the gap.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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