At 17:19 29/12/1998 -0700, Blaine Bachman wrote:
>Without intending to unjustly harm or
>alarm, just a note on the high price of
>"accessorizing."  I believe that I got
>a slight break off the MSRP from my
>local mechanic.  Nevertheless, most of
>the add-ons seemed a bit pricey for
>what I got.  For instance:
>
>1.      What the heck is a "Tachometer Kit"
>and why did it cost $20?  Is there
>something inherently different between
>the wasserboxer's electronic ignition
>and that of the 2.0 Golf?

The tach on my 2.0L conversion was as simple as connecting the green wire
to terminal 1 on the coil.

>2.      Why another $20 for the "Dynamic oil
>sensor kit?"  I've already proven to
>myself that the "L" board (brains of
>the system) behind the tach is the same
>on the Golf and late Vanagon.  Two
>simple wires DIRECTLY to the engine,
>one to each sender and you're done.
>What did I get for my $20?

The oil pressure sender on my WB had two connectors, one for high pressure
one for low pressure.  The I4 had a low pressure warning sender.  I just
grounded the high input.  No problems.

>3.      What is a $75 power steering
>installation kit - my pump, my
>reservoir; pump pretty much in the same
>place - were there nevertheless hose
>add-ons or replacements?  $75 bracket?
>I'll have to look (or look for the gold
>plating).

Power steering was an interesting fix on mine.  I used a A/C compressor
bracket, shims and a little creativity.  $75 sounds like a deal to me!

>4.      And the "coup de grace"; the cruise
>control kit - $90!! (list is evidently
>over $100).  From what I could tell,
>this includes a fairly simple mounting
>bracket, a short length of generic
>cable, and a cable clamp.  Even the
>mechanic figured it was worth maybe
>$15-20.  Does someone at the source
>have a passive-aggressive attitude
>towards those of us with C/C?

I hate C/C - it gives me a feeling of "lack of control" so...

>And to top it off, the thing is poorly
>designed - the cable falls off the
>throttle cam lever whatchamacallit
>rendering the C/C inoperative.  The
>mechanic band-aided it - but for $90 it
>should have been a technological wonder
>(with a Lewinski feature, if you get my
>drift)!
>
>Don't get me wrong - I'm MORE THAN
>HAPPY with the overall concept and
>execution (accelerating up hills and
>all - yippee! - they couldn't come up
>with this idea in Hannover/Wolfsburg??)

The power is nice!

> I'm just a bit pissed at looking like
>I got screwed on these little things
>(I'd rather get a little screwing on a
>big thing - which I probably got anyway
>- than a big screwing on a little
>thing).  And by bringing it up to y'all
>other potential customers, maybe it'll
>save you some $$ (or at least reduce
>the nasty surprise factor).

Personally $5K is way too expensive for the kit.

>Or did I pay for the entire
>cruise/tach/oil/steering R&D effort?
>
>BTW, for anyone who relies on the
>European Car/VW Trends write-up, the
>cited $5000 price is just for the basic
>engine kit - installation (and all this
>other stuff) is evidently not included.
>
>Alas!  That my w'boxer might have
>lasted until this kit was available in
>a "shadetree" version (please no
>preaching from the recent DitY guys who
>did their own "four-in-line
>integration").

I'll give input if called for.

>I openly invite anyone from the
>"source" to clarify these issues to the
>list and to me directly (since I'm not
>an active subscriber).
>
>Thanks for your indulgence.
>
>-Blaine
>New redline: 6,000+

--    David Marshall - Vanagon List Administrator    --
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