[T2] half-way Bay?

[Robert Mann]

At 11:25 AM +1300 30/11/13, Neale Green of Seedknee wrote:

>Something I've always been jealous of, NZ seems to be seen as a
>"Goldilocks" test market, not too small to waste the effort, but not too
>big to bury the results if it didn't go well, so they seem to get all the
>funky and interesting machines over there, but we don't get them in Oz :o(

	That may have been so earlier, but since 
our assembly industry got shut down (just as it 
was achieving better quality than Japan) the 
models distributed in NZ are often more 
restricted than other countries I vaguely watch.
	When we had assembly plants for several 
brands VW, Ford, Fiat, Toyota, Nissan etc we were 
even allowed to develop some v g sub-types, esp 
Fiat 125T which was the main threat to the Lotus 
Cortina.
	Sometimes NZ has been ahead of the 'home' 
country e.g  the 1961 NZeta has, a year ahead of 
the home nation's 1962 Cezeta, the dynamotor 
straight on the end of the crankshaft, and rubber 
in shear for suspension springs decreasing the 
requirement for hydraulic dampers.

>
>I've always like the air cooled Brazilians, they meld the better bits of
>the split and bay styling quite well, ESPECIALLY the early splittie deluxe
>deluxe wrap around windows.

	Futile disputes over aesthetics are a 
poor excuse to ease in bus content, but to my 
mind all those wraparound-glass buses look too 
weak in a rollover.

	I advocate buying the Brazilian factory, 
but not re-starting it (wherever it is 
reconstructed) until proper air-intakes can be 
built into the body as on a T2 made in Germany. 
Examples of 'outdated' factories exported include 
the foisting by Poms of the BMC B (Morris Oxford 
= Austin Cambridge) on India (Ambassador) and the 
similarly undistinguished Hillman Hunter on Iran 
where for some y it comprised c.90% of that 
country's cars.
	Unfortunately the most plausible 
prospects for the money to do this exceedingly 
desirable re-erection of the last T2 factory are 
too unpleasant, too corrupt, and too stupid to be 
worth approaching.  So how will the Brazilian 
factory be salvaged?
	Meanwhile, let us plan what sub-type of 
T2 should the relocated Brazilian factory make. 
My own preferences to set off a storm of futile 
controversy ;-) :

	proper air intakes

	smallest T4 motor (OK, never owned one 
but concede it's better than my beloved 1600 dp)

	single carb e.g Brazilian Weber; perhaps 
a FI version for extra dough (will doubtless be 
reqd to achieve low emissions)

	disc brakes on front; vac assist not 
compulsory (not needed, in my experience), but 
available as extra

	minimal emissions control, according to which country sold in

	water injection

	inlet vac gauge on dash (perhaps alternate to clock)





>  > Something like this Robert?
>>  Ý
>>  http://www.classiccult.com/blog/vw-buses-and-beetles-in-peru.html
>>  Ý
>>  Yes they did do oddball things like that, I like the bay taillights on
>this one.
>>  Ý
>  > John

-- 
Robt Mann
Whangaparaoa, New Zealand
'73 VW 1600dp Devon camper
'53 Meteor V8
various Jawa-CZ and Jawa-NZ strokers