looking for weird old VW trailer hitch NUTS and/or identification...german made?

seeking a source for M11 x 1.75 NUTS, for completion of three old air-cooled transporter trailer hitches. need 24 or these metric nuts in total, give or take. these nuts fit ONTO what I would refer to as "huge saddled U-bolts" that attach the hitch itself to the VW frame. also would like help identifying maker of this hitch, which is described in part in the discussion below

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M11 anything is tough, but you should be able to find a tap, with which you can make the nuts.

=right, I suggested that to him: buy near-sized nuts, drill em out, and tap 'em...

It took much searching when I needed an M11 X 1.25 tap. Alternately, can you change the studs/bolts to M12? much better...

=well, this hitch in part involves these 'weird' nuts screwing up onto some VERY special 'saddled' U-bolts, consequently his reluctance to 'convert' these same original U-bolts to a different thread size...

To my knowledge, VW never used M11 on anything. Are you sure they're not M12?

=I'm not sure of anything, however, my offline buddy (for whom I'm making this inquiry) SWEARS the dang things are m11 x 1.75 sized, as he held metric pitch gauges up to 'em. anyway, VW didn't MAKE the hitch, it's just trailer hitches FOR VW, not "made BY". my guess is it's a 'limited production run', possibly by some german guys in their small shop, in the fifties or sixties or so... === === Are you sure its metric. Odd anyone would use such an obscure thread on a item like a trailer hitch.

=this is a VERY old, made for use WITH an aircooled VW transporter-van, but not made BY volkswagen, VERY weird, super-stout, probably aftermarket, trailer hitch. hitch believed to be made in germany. it attaches to the main crosstube by the transaxle and the "big Y" part of the frame ONLY ....

=plus, there are NO maker names or numbers 'stamped into' the hitch, and no (remaining, anyway) maker decals on it. this (these three hitches, actually) is essentially a piece of 'history' here he's looking to complete, if possible...hitch longest main parts are made of (what appears to me to be) roughly four or five foot long 1.5 inch by .5 inch flat bar, heat-bent 'the hard way' to fit in there (though, IF the hitch IS german made, I'd expect those flat bars to be metric dimensioned-we'll check this soon....). he says he -thinks- others refer to this hitch as a 'westphalia' hitch, though we're not at all sure, at this point...if thats a 'type' name, or a 'maker name' or just a 'name in error' (yes, we know about VW/westphalia campers, but that appears unrelated to the hitch name)....we'd be grateful if anyone 'better knows' this hitch who can tell us who made it where/when...

You could try 7/16 UNC as that seems pretty close to M11 x 1.75.

=yeah, that's what I told HIM last nite, but I'm gonna have a go at trying that MYSELF today, 20 miles from here, at my shop...he has THREE of these super-rare hitches, and apparently they're some sort of 'cult collectable' for aircooled VW followers....

=thanks you guys :-)/we still ARE looking for those 'weirdie-size' metric nuts

=== ===

Reply to
bill yohler
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Westfalia trailers?

If you can't find them, contact me. I am well connected with the fastener industry out here.

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

When I needed some metric bolts that the homecenters didn't have I called a place in the yellow pages under bolts and they were able to order them for me, worth a shot if you didn't already try that. David

Reply to
David

Are you aware that 11 mm is almost exactly 7/16"?

If you are in the US, almost ALL accessories for VWs sold here were actually made here. It doesn't matter that it was made for a VW, the fasteners are for a VW; they are probably still inch sized fasteners.

I'm not sure what the coarse 7/16" thread pitch is, and 7/16" fasteners are also rather uncommon, but I think that's a more likely guess than M11 x 1.75.

Still, from here, I'm just guessing.

Here's a question for you VW freaks: Where on your German-made, metric VW can you find a 7/16" threaded part that came that way from Germany? Hint: There are several of these very odd fasteners on EVERY VW sold world wide from the mid 60s-on.

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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Reply to
Jim Adney

"Jim Adney" wrote

I believe the seatbelt bolts are a fine thread 7/16.

-- Scott

Reply to
Scott H

Could it be brake lines,.......or is it that Oil sending unit???? I'd bet on one of them..............But the seatbelt thing sounds good too..................I am unaware of any other oddities.

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply MUADIB®

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It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

Reply to
MUADIB®

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:24:02 GMT, MUADIB® ran around screaming and yelling:

brakelines are metric, as are the sender's threads...although the 1/8 npt sender will thread in... J

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Congratulations! We have a WINNER. ;-)

Sounds like Scott knows his VWs pretty well....

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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Reply to
Jim Adney

"Jim Adney" wrote

Wow, I've never won anything before. What's the prize? :-)

Much of what little I do know I've learned from the great folks right here in RAMVA ... and like Mike said earlier today, the more I learn the more I realize how little I know.

-- Scott

Reply to
Scott H

yes, that's interesting, but we're STILL looking for M11 x 1.75 nuts. we've already TRIED that size US nut (more than one, to be certain), and they _don't_ fit on those weird U-bolts...we've also held a metric-threads pitch gauge up against said saddled U-bolts, and said pitch gauges indicate 1.75 pitch metric threads...so, we've got the size we NEED correct...and, we're still looking, hoping...

the M11 v 1.75 size nuts we need is _not_ a "guessed size" or an "we think it's this size, more or less" type size; rather, it =is= the size we need, "known to be correctly stated"...

thanks :-)

Reply to
bill yohler

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 05:25:29 GMT, "Scott H" ran around screaming and yelling:

being the wiener of the contest, you are now entitled to one free year's subscription to RAMVA!!!!! enjoy it...hehe J

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

I went to talk with the owner of my local fastener wholesale business (screws, nuts, bolts, all that stuff) and he said it's not a listed item, they can't get it. Says it was probably special made for the manufacturer, many automotive manufacturers used special size fasteners at one point. He cursed all the french cars to hell and suggested you ask a Citroên dealer if they happen to know a source :)

We came to the conclusion that if these nuts turn out to be too hard to find, you could re-thread the U bolts for a more standard and easily available size.

Or if you know a milling company that makes threaded fasteners, you could have these made. I used to date a girl who's dad owned such a business with computer programmed milling stations (CNC) etc, and I could have anything made to my own specs.. not anymore though. The business went under, as did my relationship with the owner's daughter. (And that was a good thing).

Jan

Reply to
Jan

It would be a LOT easier to get a few pieces of round stock, run a die over the ends and cut threads of your choice in them. Then bend them around a bar and make your own Us.

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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Reply to
Jim Adney

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