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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 11:47 am Post subject: 1966 correct seat covers (and door panels) |
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[ note: I posted this to the 1966vwbeetle.com forums, but I figured it would be useful to repost here as well ]
Wondering which suppliers folks are using for 66-correct TMI seat covers. I originally ordered a full set of 43-1124-Basketweave covers through JBUGS. These have the basketweave pattern all across the seat faces (where you sit and your back rests), with piping around the sides and across the seam on the top of the seat back. Clearly these are not correct for '66 but these are the only ones JBUGS sells as "1966" covers.
I believe my '66 has the OG covers on them; basketweave centers that rollover the top to about 3" down on the seat back. The rest of the seat back, as well as the "margins" of the seat faces, are smooth. This matches what I've seen in other 1966 Beetles and pictures online, so I've always considered this the OG style for 1966.
After getting on the phone with JBUGS and TMI this morning, I discovered that TMI has recently come out with a new "rollover" style (43-1135) for 65-66. These look fairly accurate for 1965 but still don't match well for 1966. This design stops the basketweave pattern on the front face of the seat back, with the smooth "rolling over" from the rear, and no piping across the top at all. Although this shape is slightly more correct than the previous 65-67 style from TMI, it appears to be 1965-only. Here is a photo of the 43-1135 from TMI's customer service rep:
My next step was to reach out to Mario (VW Division Sales Mgr) at TMI. I described my seat pattern and he replied back with a photo of their 43-1014, which looks identical to my original seats. This is supposedly their '67 style. According to their website they only offer this style for the front seats. Mario claims that the matching rear seat is 43-1115. Note that JBUGS doesn't list either of these codes on their website, but I'm sure they could order them if I call them directly. Here are pics from Mario of the 43-1014:
These are the closest to any I've seen of a true 1966-correct seat cover. They have the correct pattern on both the front and back, with no piping across the top of the seat back.
Anyways, I don't really have a question per se, but I thought perhaps this information might be useful to other '66 owners. I'd like to hear back with your own experiences with any of these seats and if you're aware of which style is canonical for 1966, and perhaps if there were any mid-year changes (my '66 was built in January 1966). As I managed to scratch up one of my new seats anyways, I might end up ordering the 43-1014's and re-reupholstering again.
1966 VW colors
Some ordering information from later in this thread
Wolfsburg West offers 1966 Panels - http://www.wolfsburgwest.com
TMI:
TMI panels do not have door trim but it is available from Wolfsburg West:
_________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona"
Last edited by obfuscurity on Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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theastronaut Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2007 Posts: 1629 Location: Anderson, SC
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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I think Wolfsburg West sells correct '66 covers. They also have the trim pieces for the door panels. _________________ Strive for perfection in everything. Take the best that exist and make it better. If it doesn't exist, create it. Accept nothing nearly right or good enough."
-Sir Henry Royce, co-founder of Rolls-Royce
'64 Beetle Sunroof OG Bahama Blue
'63 Beetle Vert
'66 Beetle
'88 Festiva L
'89 Festiva L
'64 Chevy C10
'66 Chevy C10 |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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You're absolutely correct. Like others before me, I've always been confused at the price discrepancy between WW's covers and the generic '65-67 covers sold by JBUGS. So I finally went and called WW to get the actual TMI product numbers for their '66 covers. Turns out they're using the 44-1124 custom covers with the 12" inserts (basketweave). These particular covers are less expensive with WW than JBUGS. This explains a lot. _________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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RareAir Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002 Posts: 14576 Location: 18 miles North of the border
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 3:13 pm Post subject: |
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I ordered a set of TMI 1966-only covers from Wolfsburg West back in 2012. It has the smooth vinyl on the outside, with a basket weave in the center. But it features piping
Hopefully TMI will step up soon and get some proper 19066-only door panels in their inventory. Here's what they currently offer-
_________________ 1947 Typ 11a
1954 Typ 117
1956 Typ 151
1959 Typ 117
1959 Typ 265
1961 356B
1966 Typ 151
1966 Typ 241 |
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TMI Products Samba Member
Joined: February 14, 2014 Posts: 744 Location: Corona, Ca
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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RareAir wrote: |
Hopefully TMI will step up soon and get some proper 19066-only door panels in their inventory. Here's what they currently offer-
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What do you mean by proper door panels? Do you have a pic of what it should be? _________________ Mario De Leon
1965 Turbo Mustang Fastback
1966 Type 3 Fastback
VW Division Sales Manager
[email protected]
TMI Products
1493 Bentley Dr.
Corona Ca, 92879
1-800-624-7960
951-272-1584 FAX |
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stale air Samba Member
Joined: August 23, 2007 Posts: 5148 Location: Senoia Ga, formally NorCal
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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_________________ WANTED: Henry Veale Santa Rosa plate frames
WANTED: Brittsan Motors Fresno plate frames
WANTED: Any Georgia plate frames
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TMI Products Samba Member
Joined: February 14, 2014 Posts: 744 Location: Corona, Ca
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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thanks! _________________ Mario De Leon
1965 Turbo Mustang Fastback
1966 Type 3 Fastback
VW Division Sales Manager
[email protected]
TMI Products
1493 Bentley Dr.
Corona Ca, 92879
1-800-624-7960
951-272-1584 FAX |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like RareAir beat me to it, but here are some closeups from my '66.
_________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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TyeDyeBug Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2006 Posts: 236 Location: Coos Bay
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, orig 66 door panels are becoming harder to find. I don't like the puffy repops and wish somebody could duplicate the orig style....
John |
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TMI Products Samba Member
Joined: February 14, 2014 Posts: 744 Location: Corona, Ca
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Being that the panel for a 1 year only, there is very little chance we will go into development for this. Usually if it covers a couple years or more there is a better chance, but for the tooling cost, right now its not really a good investment unless we get excessive request for it. But things could change _________________ Mario De Leon
1965 Turbo Mustang Fastback
1966 Type 3 Fastback
VW Division Sales Manager
[email protected]
TMI Products
1493 Bentley Dr.
Corona Ca, 92879
1-800-624-7960
951-272-1584 FAX |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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Totally reasonable, but there are a very large number of 1966 (proportionally speaking, across the ACVW community) still on the road and begging for accurate repop panels. Just sayin.
Maybe we need a kickstarter for vintage repop parts? _________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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RareAir Samba Member
Joined: May 11, 2002 Posts: 14576 Location: 18 miles North of the border
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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TMI Products wrote: |
Being that the panel for a 1 year only, there is very little chance we will go into development for this. Usually if it covers a couple years or more there is a better chance, but for the tooling cost, right now its not really a good investment unless we get excessive request for it. |
_________________ 1947 Typ 11a
1954 Typ 117
1956 Typ 151
1959 Typ 117
1959 Typ 265
1961 356B
1966 Typ 151
1966 Typ 241 |
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bladerunner80 Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2011 Posts: 255 Location: Fife, WA
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for sharing this info! I'm getting closer to ordering my seat upholstery for my 66 and I was just going to order directly through TMI. I would go through WW, but I'm going to go with saddle colored seats (I think it will pop nicely with my bahama blue exterior. I too was planning on doing smooth vinyl on the sides then basket weave down the center, I'm not too crazy about the "rollover". I thought I found the product links on TMI's website, but I have been looking at something different. Anyhow, thanks for the part numbers!
obfuscurity wrote: |
You're absolutely correct. Like others before me, I've always been confused at the price discrepancy between WW's covers and the generic '65-67 covers sold by JBUGS. So I finally went and called WW to get the actual TMI product numbers for their '66 covers. Turns out they're using the 44-1124 custom covers with the 12" inserts (basketweave). These particular covers are less expensive with WW than JBUGS. This explains a lot. |
_________________ http://das-auto-66vw.tumblr.com/ |
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BWD Samba Mailman
Joined: August 23, 2002 Posts: 2154 Location: In bed.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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Mosaic amazon, PLEASE! _________________ BWD
JHC
member #2850
1966 Beetle
_____________________________ |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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Argh. Got the new covers in from WW today but they're the wrong style. These have basketweave on the front (5" smooth sides) and smooth back, with the seam on top of the seat back. They were supposed to have the rollover style, with basketweave rolling around to the back (e.g. TMI's 43-1014 I posted an image of earlier).
Called WW, they agreed with my description and suspect that TMI changed something along the way. He's going to check into it and get back with me tomorrow. _________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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graysky Samba Member
Joined: August 11, 2011 Posts: 253
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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obfuscurity wrote: |
Argh. Got the new covers in from WW today but they're the wrong style. These have basketweave on the front (5" smooth sides) and smooth back, with the seam on top of the seat back. They were supposed to have the rollover style, with basketweave rolling around to the back (e.g. TMI's 43-1014 I posted an image of earlier).
Called WW, they agreed with my description and suspect that TMI changed something along the way. He's going to check into it and get back with me tomorrow. |
Any updates on this? If it is possible to get the seat covers in the 43-1014 style shown in the pics you posted they will have another buyer here. |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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graysky wrote: |
Any updates on this? If it is possible to get the seat covers in the 43-1014 style shown in the pics you posted they will have another buyer here. |
Yeah apparently something changed with the model numbers as fulfilled by TMI. WW has ordered a replacement set for me from TMI and they said they would also fix it for future '66 orders. _________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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graysky Samba Member
Joined: August 11, 2011 Posts: 253
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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obfuscurity wrote: |
graysky wrote: |
Any updates on this? If it is possible to get the seat covers in the 43-1014 style shown in the pics you posted they will have another buyer here. |
Yeah apparently something changed with the model numbers as fulfilled by TMI. WW has ordered a replacement set for me from TMI and they said they would also fix it for future '66 orders. |
That is good news indeed!! When you get the replacements, let us know your impressions of them. Thanks for being the trail blazer on this. |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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graysky wrote: |
That is good news indeed!! When you get the replacements, let us know your impressions of them. Thanks for being the trail blazer on this. |
Will do. Now if we could just get TMI to make accurate door panels. _________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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obfuscurity Samba Member
Joined: December 01, 2012 Posts: 320 Location: Westminster, MD, USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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FYI the seats in RareAir's photos are the same style that WW sent me last week. _________________ 66 Sedan L456 "Ramona" |
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