1966 correct seat covers (and door panels)

Sahara74 · Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:06 pm Post subject: 1966 correct seat covers

Greetings to all who have kept up with this quest for a more accurate interior for our 66 Beetles. Kudos to TMI and Mario for making it happen. You guys rock !!! I finally finished my Pearl White's Pigalle interior and man am I stoked !!! This project had its challenges but I feel it was worth it.

My beetle has many survivor qualities like OG paint and interior panels but as far as the original red carpet there were only remnants on the channels and most remaining in the back. It had been overdyed black which mostly came out. I decided to create my own "partial" carpet kit from German square weave. I made my own patterns and dyed my own cotton twill tape binding to match. For the OG style front heater vent grommets I relied on the generosity of a Samba member in Georgia whose name I've lost. I made a mold from the borrowed grommet and cast my own in plastic, colored to match as per original.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

As far as the original style red rubber floor mats, I still have the rear although it degraded and fragile. For the front, I bought WW's excellent version in gray and colored it with SEM's Color Coat in Portola Red. 3 coats and so far it's holding up great.

Finally came the long awaited seat covers. I used WW's fiber pads and TMI's Bright Red (Pigalle) covers. This car is no show stopper but I just love bringing it back a little closer to original one bit at a time. Couldn't happen without the support of the VW/Samba community and industry support like TMI and WW. Thanks !

fla2smoker · Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:38 pm Post subject:

I ordered pigalle door panels and seat covers from JBugs last Friday. Thanks Mario!! Still can't order the bright red arm rest for the passenger side, JBugs hasn't been too helpful with the special order for that. Will post pics when everything arrives.
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TMI Products · Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 4:05 pm Post subject:

fla2smoker · Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 4:56 am Post subject:

Make sure that when you order your seat covers through whomever that they use the right part number! For the bright red (Pigalle) with basket weave the part number is 44-1136-957-057, not 44-1136-957-57!! 057 is the basketweave and 57 is velour!

Thanks Mario and JBugs for straightening this out. The door panels and arm rest look great!

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fla2smoker · Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 5:26 pm Post subject:

I forgot to post the pic of the passenger armrest. Very well done! I ordered it directly from Mario at TMI.

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graysky · Samba Member Joined: August 11, 2011 Posts: 253

fla2smoker, the interior of your car looks really nice. I'm impressed with the little tweaks you made in order to get it just right! Really nice work.

fla2smoker · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 2:39 pm Post subject:

graysky · Samba Member Joined: August 11, 2011 Posts: 253

fla2smoker · Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 6:53 pm Post subject:

graysky · Samba Member Joined: August 11, 2011 Posts: 253

Sahara74 · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:45 am Post subject: Correct Seat Covers for 66

Thanks graysky for the compliments. I thought I should pass along something that I learned with the TMI covers, specifically the rear seat bottom cover. When I first installed it, I realized it was it was a little larger than the original on the width of the outside panel. It just wouldn't tighten down smoothly over the frame.

After measuring my original cover, I ended up cutting off about an inch all the way around on the new cover and sewing a new channel. I also think it works better to use a wire in the channel rather than a string. It was how my original cover was done and allows you to really pull it tight before you stab the little tabs in.

Check and make sure you need to do this before you cut. Yours might be the perfect width, mine needed a tweek. Good Luck !!

graysky · Samba Member Joined: August 11, 2011 Posts: 253

marklee · Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:46 am Post subject:

Hi guys, which of the TMI reds is closest to the original Pigalle colour, the 957 bright red or the 17 red?
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Sahara74 · Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 4:32 am Post subject: Correct color match for Pigalle

I think Bright Red nailed it.

bluebus86 · Banned Joined: September 02, 2010 Posts: 11075

That is a beautiful interior!!!!!

Nice job, over the top nice!!!!

you made the heater vent surround, supper nice. May ask you for instructions on how you did it??? Photos of the process, or mold you made???

Would you be interested in make some more (in the green / blue color that was used on the L380 turquoise 1961 bug that had color matched interior)???

If not, I could follow your method maybe. What material did you use and how did you color it for the heater vent surround ???

I also need to make the green floor matts as mine are worn thru, what do you use to color you matts? I assume I would buy a black matt and need to color it.

Back some 30 years ago I made a silicone mold for the passenger grab handle (above glove box) as collage project in a polymers class. I colored it the blue green and it turned out ok, but after several years in the sun it got soft and sticky, now I have a reproduction black one. The original one was color matched to the body color just like the floor matts (VW did this for the first few months of 1961 only) The original handle turned brown after 20 years or so (hey it lasted long than my home made one!!)

My car was bought new by my Dad and I have had it for about 35 years now. I sure would like to restore the interior, but it is full of special color parts. In addition to the handle and floor matts, it had a colored shifter boot, and uniquely colored seats. even the running boards were color matched to the body (I scored some of the running board mats some years ago) The car now has 330,000 miles I put more than half them miles on it.

the carpet was a special color too, along with the green colored heater vent surrounds.

any way if you would be so kind to show us how you molded the part and what you used for material, and how you got the colored floor matts, that would be of great help, and most appreciated!!!!

thanks

fla2smoker · Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 8:53 pm Post subject:

That brings up a point Has anyone found a matching paint for the seat frames for scarlet red? I have bought about ten different spray cans from HD, Wallyworld and Lowes with no success. I cringed with some of the builds where they changed the color of the original scarlet red (wishing I could have traded frames).
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View my 66 build thread here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=507996

wcfvw69 · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:32 am Post subject:

Sahara74

Hey bluebus86, I appreciate your interest in my faux grommets so here is the process in more words than pictures. I'm not planning on making any more of these so good luck and give it a shot. Easy peezy actually.

You will need an original grommet in pretty good condition( mine was borrowed from a member) a small quantity of plaster of Paris, some modeling clay, a little scrap of cardboard and some InstaMorph moldable plastic. I bought mine on Ebay. The 12oz. bottle is more than enough.

Start by rolling out your modeling clay into a 5 1/2" x 4 1/2" section at least a 1/2" thick. You then press the original grommet into the clay to set it up for the molding process. The grommet should be face-up.You will need to shape the clay up to the edges of the grommet so that it is sealed down. Just make sure all of the original grommet shows on top of the clay. Cut the cardboard into a strip, at least an 1 1/2" wide and long enough to go around the clay base. This forms a fence to hold in the plaster. You can tape the ends of the cardboard but make sure it's pretty tight to the clay.

Mix your plaster and pour over the grommet. You might want to tap the mold to make sure any bubbles release from the grommet. Once the plaster has cured and you have removed the grommet and clay, you will need to seal the mold with paint like in the picture. Now comes the fun. InstaMorph is amazing stuff. You soften it in hot water and mold it into any form you desire. In this case, you will push it into the open face mold you just created but you have to work it thin and quickly. It cures as it cools. If you screw up, no problem, just throw it back into the hot water and soften it up. After a few tries you will figure it out. I colored my grommets with SEM Color Coat. It's a high quality vinyl and plastic paint that comes in many colors. They have color charts on their website.

When finished, I glued my grommets on to the carpet section with contact cement. I then cut out the carpet showing in the center of the grommet. On the back of the carpet, I glued a rectangle of canvas, similar to the picture, to seal the edge of the carpet.

As far as the rubber mats, I just painted a Wolfsburg West's grey mat with SEM Color Coat. The trick was to wipe the mat down with acetone first and then build up four layers of paint following the instructions on the can for drying time. Good Luck and let everyone know how all this turns out .

bluebus86 · Banned Joined: September 02, 2010 Posts: 11075

Thank you for the information. Brilliant!!! Idea

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bluebus86 · Banned Joined: September 02, 2010 Posts: 11075

The plastic that was used melts at 140F, the manufacturers website says it may melt in a hot car heated by sun. Have you experienced any melting while heater is on, or car in the sun on a hot day??? My heater I suspect gets close to that temperature.
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Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022


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1966 correct seat covers (and door panels)
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