Door Felt Installation - '63 Bug Sedan

[OldSchoolVW's]

I'm installing the long felt piece that runs along the top and rear of the window. It pressed into the channel pretty easily ... almost too easily. I don't recall seeing any adhesive residue on the channel when I removed the old felt, but I'm thinking I should use some to be sure the new one doesn't pull out when lowering the window. What would be the best adhesive to use in this situation? Weather strip adhesive? If it matters, I got the felt channels from WW. Thanks!

BTW ... this being the early style door, it has no provision for the "grabber clips" that grab and hold the felt in the channel and also hold the scraper/trim piece in place like the later doors have. I have those in my '69 and they grab and hold the felt very well.
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Tom

"Following distance is proportional to IQ."

"It's okay to think."

"If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do." Warren Miller

'63 Beetle Sedan
'69 Beetle Sunroof
'70 Beetle Sedan
'73 Type 3 Fastback

[viiking]

I don't know but I have disassembled a few doors and never seen any adhesive.
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1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[glutamodo]

Up through 1964 each felt channel had 4 screws that held it in place. Two on top and two on the side. It screwed through the aluminum trim/scraper piece and into the door, so if you've replaced that piece it's probably hiding the original holes.

They were oval head, (countersunk head) sheet metal type screws that just bored through the tar and the metal support cage. (myself, I have used modern self-drilling screws instead of trying to find the original holes)

I just looked up the parts book and pulled this out of the 1960 and 71 books.

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Andy T.

"What is Glutamodo, Horror of Toyko, besides total, fiendish, quality-a-you brain!"

[OldSchoolVW's]

[glutamodo]

I wonder if the felt had been changed before and the person doing it didn't know how it was supposed to go. Kind of interesting that VW didn't assign a hardware part number (N-series) to those 8 screws, but instead a full 9 digit part number.

I have removed original channels before and I have seen that the screws are supposed to be embedded in that rubber, which is why they had the countersunk heads on them.

I didn't even think to look in the 1200 Workshop Manual until now. No photos just two mentions of those screws. It says the screws are for the channel, and THEN it mentions they also hold the trim piece as well on De Luxe models.

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Andy T.

"What is Glutamodo, Horror of Toyko, besides total, fiendish, quality-a-you brain!"

[Käfer2]

[OldSchoolVW's]

I decided to pull the felt channel, remove the screws and reinstall the outer scraper trim and felt channel as the were meant to be with the screws passing through the felt to hold the felt and trim firmly in place. On second look, the screws appeared to be like the generic screws in Käfer's photo, so Andy is quite right. Somewhere along the line at least the felt channel was replaced and installed incorrectly with the non-VW screws. No telling what I'll find when I do the left door, but now it should be a lot easier to get it assembled correctly ... well, maybe not a lot easier, but at least correctly. Thanks for all the good info!
_________________
Tom

"Following distance is proportional to IQ."

"It's okay to think."

"If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do." Warren Miller

'63 Beetle Sedan
'69 Beetle Sunroof
'70 Beetle Sedan
'73 Type 3 Fastback

[Eric&Barb]

[glutamodo]

It's usually me who's posting photos showing the difference of specialty hardware like those channel screws. While I did wonder that it must be something unique, due to VW assigning a full part number to it, I was not aware of the actual difference until now. Thanks for that.

And that led me looking at the photos saved on my computer. In the 90s pictures were still on film and I never had anything beyond a point and shoot at that time. In 1991 I restored my 62 bug and that was my first experience in completely stripping a Beetle door. So that's when I encountered the felt channels being attached with those four screws. I had a couple of compartmentalized cardboard boxes that I put hardware into as I took the car apart, but the door stuff all got lumped in with other stuff. I have to admit I didn't note that those channel screws were unique at that time.

At one point I did lay out all my new and used parts prior to putting the car back together and took some photos. Including an attempt at a close up of the boxes. To my surprise, the higher resolution scan I later made from the negative was enough to show that I did, indeed have a few of those screws present. I make out three clearly and others are probably there.

Now, zooming in on that, I do recall seeing that style of screw before just not knowing anything about them. And in that car today, I have some tins and jars full of hardware and I just had a look in them... and I found one of those screws.

Then I thought of those cardboard boxes, I still have them, after the restoration I used them for other stuff. One is now for carburetor parts. The other has all sorts of stuff... and I just had a look in there. And wouldn't you know it, there was one compartment with mixed screws and washers with four more of those screws.

Like I mentioned before, I have used self drilling screws as a short cut to installing the felt channels, rather than try to line up with the existing holes. I don't think I knew that kind of hardware existed back in 1991 though, but I obviously didn't use the correct screws, or only just a couple. And at that time I might have actually tried to line up with the original holes. Later though, I'm sure that on my Baja bug I used self-tappers and I can't remember if I re-did the 62.

Now, I restored a 61 Bug at one point, and redid the doors on my Baja, so who knows if these all came from my 62 or not, but they could be.

_________________
Andy T.

"What is Glutamodo, Horror of Toyko, besides total, fiendish, quality-a-you brain!"

[Käfer2]

There they are! Very nice, well preserved, still with the original coating.
I see, nothing gets lost in your well-run household!