San Diego 1964 Father-Daughter Resto Project

Lee Hedges · Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2015 4:10 pm Post subject:

We'd bought the Silver-Beige spray paint from Wolfsburg West for about $13/can. Two cans easily covered the seats. Allison hung the seats from our front yard tree and took her time applying two coats of paint & one clearcoat. The results look very acceptable for Allison's driver restoration. We plan to let the paint dry for a couple days then begin the upholstery process.

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chrismredsox1 · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 8:25 am Post subject:

So happy to see Allison making so much progress of late - just be careful around those spray paints (I had to line a soccer field for my daughter's team a couple of months ago and I really wish I'd had a surgical mask!). My daughter's softball team qualified for the CA State Games so we will be heading to San Diego in two weeks.

61Ragster · Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 3:52 pm Post subject:

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 9:42 am Post subject:

Ah, thank you Michael for the answer! I checked the ads and couldn't find even one Beetle with this chain attached. Could it have been an accessory? Or was it installed onto every Beetle?

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 1:30 pm Post subject:

4th of July weekend! Our family is celebrating the holiday with our freedom in-mind, recalling the bravery & courage of the soldiers that have given their lives to maintain the American way of life. We're so thankful to live our lives in this safe & democratic country.

Allison & I spent Friday assembling the front seat backs. Because the back rods were not all that great, it was a real struggle to get them secured without exposed seams or ripples in the upholstery. Turned out great!

Saturday we assembled the front seat bases, and that went much easier than the backrests, thankfully. There were many broken barbs on the seat frames so we reinforced the edges with wire and crimped them to the inner springs. They both turned out really nice! We mated the backrests to the bases & installed the seats into Ellie.

For the first time in two years Allison was able to sit inside Ellie. What a major improvement the new front seats are! Matches really well with the original door panels, gray dash knobs, Silver-Beige steering wheel, & under-dash parcel tray.

Tim Donahoe · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 2:45 pm Post subject:

The seats look great. Now all you need is the VW Towel. I've had one in every bug I've owned. In the summer, I use it to cover the steering wheel so it's not so hot on hot, sunny days. I'ts also good for laying on the seat when wearing shorts if the seats are really hot and sticky. In winter, it's good for wiping the interior windows when they fog up.

It sounds silly, but it works. Too bad they don't have one with a VW monogram.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

rcroane · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 2:57 pm Post subject:

After a quick search..... Cool

http://vw10.drivergear.vw.com/Catalog/Sport/View_all_sport/DRG017497
_________________
'65 Sunroof Bug

Tim Donahoe · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 4:25 pm Post subject:

That's one giant towel!

I've always had one that was a bit smaller--a bit more manageable, that is. But I'm putting that one on my Birthday list. It's a bit more suited for the pool. Expensive for a towel--but not too much as a gift.

By the way, Wolfsburg West sells those seat barbs for when you have some busted off or missing. They require welding on (which I had done for me), or you can drill the seat and barb and attach with a screw.

Tim
_________________
Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

61Ragster · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 8:36 pm Post subject:

charley497 · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 5:34 am Post subject: chain

I own a very original 67 bug and it has that little chain. I've always wondered what it was for. Thank you for the insight.

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:27 am Post subject:

Here's a pic of where the spare tire chain is mounted. Still not sure if it was an accessory item sold by VW dealers or if it was a standard equipment item.

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:18 pm Post subject:

Sunday is a BIG day, as Allison finished the rear seat upholstery AND the US Women's National Soccer Team plays Japan for the World Cup Championship! The game wasn't on till 4pm so we had time to get the rear seats assembled.

Allison glued the liner pieces onto the upper & lower rear seat horsehair pads. She used the hognose clips to attach the liner & pad to the metal seat frame. Then she slid the Gray seat upholstery over the frame. We pulled the material tight & clipped the edges over the metal tabs. Then Allison pounded the clips down to hold everything in-place. The rear seats were the easiest of all to assemble.

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:25 pm Post subject:

Allison & I pulled-out the front seats and installed the gray rubber floormats (WW) that were donated by Leanne in Carlsbad. Fits perfectly and really makes the interior look complete. Front seat rails were greased and the seats went back in. The rear seats installed easily. And the last touch were the plastic boards that mounted under the rear seat bar, sealing-off the battery area for a polished look. Allison was thrilled with her new gray interior!

chrismredsox1 · Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:05 am Post subject:

Looks fantastic! Great job!

matthew henricks · Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:25 am Post subject:

Looks great. Reminds me of 30 years ago when i did the same to my grandpa's 64. It is now in storage waiting for my oldest to take his turn. I need to show him this thread when he is ready to get the old girl out of storage.

Big Thumbs up...

Jon Schmid

Allison and Lee,
What a fantastic job you have done so far. The car is looking great--I look forward to your posts. Keep up the good work! Cool

Corney13 · Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:59 am Post subject:

Great work! Allison is going to have the coolest car in her school! Cool

I bet she can't wait to drive her, especially now that Ellie has seats. What is your plan for seat belts? Lap only, 3-point, retractable 3-point? I bought non-retractable 3-point belts for my fronts and lap only for my backs. They have yet to be installed, so I'm not sure if I will like them or not.

Looks like that e-brake handle could use a splash of paint... and maybe a button?

Lee Hedges · Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 1:20 pm Post subject:

This morning I had Allison installed the two front seat return springs to help her move the seat forward. They clip on the front of the seat rails & then to the tab on the underside of the front seat base.

We discussed the seat belt options: lap only (how I drive in my vintage VWs), three-point un-reeled, or three point auto-reeled. She felt (as did her mom) that the three point would be safest. Since we wanted new seat belts (vs vintage ones), she looked at Wolfsburg West's color options for the three-point belt and selected the gray ones with the black buckle & Wolfsburg crest decal. They'll be here in a couple days. Since we don't plan to have Allison driving anyone in the back, we'll figure out the rear seat belts later.

The emergency brake handle had never been hooked-up properly when we bought Ellie. The Gray-Black original paint was there but in poor condition. We'd bought the gray ebrake button with a set of gray knobs, and we had the spring-loaded trigger rod already.

So Allison removed the four 10mm nuts holding the ebrake cables onto the handle, then removed the C-clip from the pivot, pounded-out the pin, and carefully removed the ebrake. We ordered the original Gray-Black L43 spray paint from WW and she'll prep it once the paint is delivered.

The Gray-Black spray paint was delivered today so she sanded the ebrake handle with 1500-grit sandpaper for a smooth finish on the primer and painted three coats of the Gray-Black. Then she added a thin clearcoat to prevent the seat belts from chipping the paint off over time. After it dried we removed the passenger seat for the installation. Tightened the dual 10mm nuts over the cables and covered the ebrake base with an original 1964 T34 black boot.

Lee Hedges · Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 1:37 pm Post subject:

Allison decided to recycle the door edge seals that came with Ellie, as they were soft & complete without tears. We'd done a careful job removing them, thankfully, so it saved us a few bucks. She was easily able to apply some black 3M adhesive goo into the channels and fit the seals into place. Nice to have a quick & easy job for once!

Lee Hedges · Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:00 pm Post subject:

With Michael's help we learned that the spare tire chain was a VW dealership accessory first available in 1964 and ran through 1969. It was designed to prevent the spare tire from being stolen. The chain is attached to an aluminum plate which is mounted to the left-front fuel tank bolt. The chain end is pushed through an open lug hole on the spare tire then a padlock keeps it from being removed from the car. We were able to find one of these original chains from Mike Ray in Southern California and it cleaned up nicely. Now we need to find a 1964-era padlock to complete the look.


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San Diego 1964 Father-Daughter Resto Project
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