The Elusive 1966 VW Beetle Mosaic Teak Interior

[seibert66]

To paraphrase the Grateful Dead...it’s been a long, fun trip since the day I became the proud caretaker of Magel, an unmolested 1966 Sea-Sand beetle. The change of ownership happened about ten years ago, just a few yards away from the ocean-battered cliffs of Point Loma, California.

This 1966 Euro beetle didn’t have much of a paper trail, but it seemed to have spent the majority of its life in Northern California. The birth certificate showed a shipment from the VW factory to the medieval town of Göttingen, Lower Saxony.
The facts got a little fuzzy after that. DMV records and oil change stickers suggest an early life spent near Palo Alto, California.
At the time of purchase, I was not familiar with VW Euro interiors, and it hasn’t been easy to get educated on them. The car was in stock condition, with mostly all-original interior, but the seat upholstery was missing. I was determined to rebuild the seats the way they came out of the factory…but that turned out to be a challenge of enormous proportions. Fortunately, requesting a birth certificate from Germany was the first step in the right direction.

Magel was originally built in early August; the official date of birth reads August 6, 1965…that was the first week of production for the ‘66 model. It was sent to Göttingen only three days later. It was an early ‘66 Type 1, sporting a luxurious interior called “Teak Mosaic”!
But what exactly did a “mosaic” pattern look like in 1966? And what about the “teak” color? What shade of brown could that have been? Lots of questions, and not many answers. Back then, I sent a few emails to several VW shops in the U.S., but I couldn’t get any useful feedback about the missing mosaic upholstery.
Having the correct name of the fabric was a starting point, but where could I possibly find the material? What were the chances of a forgotten roll of Teak Mosaic fabric still existing somewhere in the world?
I searched incessantly for five years to no avail. I inquired with several vintage upholstery shops in Germany, England, Italy, Hungary, and Australia… but Teak Mosaic fabric was nowhere to be found.
In 2021, my search shifted back to U.S. soil. A few more inquiries and, lo and behold, three yards of Mosaic Platinum cloth were for sale near Portland, Oregon. I seized the opportunity and had the material shipped to California. I finally had the correct mosaic pattern in white wool and black nylon! All I had to do was dye the material the proper shade of brown.
A serendipitous connection with another VW owner turned out to be crucial for this task. He was able to retrieve a square-inch remnant of the original teak fabric from under his car seat.

Now I had the correct color to match. The wool-dyeing process seemed daunting at first, but once I ventured into the fascinating world of natural dyes, I was able to find the right person for the job. Alison, a local artist, was up to the task, and her results were excellent. Now, the Teak Mosaic fabric was finally ready to be tailored around the original seat frames.

I needed photos of original European interiors to match the proper placement of the period correct stitching. I will always be grateful to several VW owners in Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and the U.S. for providing detailed measurements and photos that became absolutely instrumental in the rebuilding process.
When we reflect on Volkswagen upholstery at that point in time, it becomes clear that European buyers were offered some truly elegant choices. Mosaic fabrics like “Amazon” or “Platinum” combined with color-matching vinyl come to mind; and let’s not forget the vibrant “Pigalle” leatherette, if red was your color of choice.
In 2025, I was finally able to bring all the materials together and start the rebuild process according to period-correct specs. It was time to cut the vinyl and fabric to match the original template. I trusted the experience and skills of an acquaintance of mine. I kept the horsehair from 1966 and retained most of the original edge padding on the seats.

The rear bottom bench was the first step, it took four hours to complete. The next day we tackled the rear top, which took approximately three hours. We purposely left the seat backboard unfinished so the carpet could be glued and left to dry overnight.

The following day, the front bottom seats were completed in about four hours.

On day four, the morning was dedicated to the front top seats. That step also took around four hours, with a few setbacks when two metal hooks underneath the frame snapped off. Two rivets had to be drilled into the frame as substitutes.

The afternoon was dedicated to solving the complexity of the infamous rear seat backboard. I had to make sure the luggage strap was properly secured to the board, replicating the way it was originally done. The metal clamps had to be reinstalled in their correct positions. Finally, the top and bottom metal bars were secured to the seat frame using the original screws. It took approximately two hours to fit everything correctly.

It’s been so rewarding to see all the pieces finally come together after sitting in boxes for so many years!

Time to get back on the road now, for a few more adventures with good ol' Magel…

[OldSchoolVW's]

I really admire your tenacious commitment to this project ... and the magnificent results! Beautifully done!
_________________
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

[seibert66]

Thanks! A few times I felt like giving up...

[busdaddy]

Wow!, well done
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[René R.]

Incredible dedication, and incredible results. It looks absolutely wonderful!
_________________
Gone but not forgotten: 1950 Hoffman split (restored in 1966) - another 1950 Hoffman split (restored in 1996)

[seibert66]

Thanks René, I'll try to give updates once in a while...and add a few more pics...

[seibert66]

[seibert66]

[Helfen]

Really nice-looking Beetle inside and out. I wouldn't place much faith in the birth certificate though. I have a 64 deluxe and a 65 1200"A" "Custom" (that's a model FYI) 1200. Both cars I have done two certificates on each car and two different each with different information plus I knew both original owners who both corroborate completely different story histories- one picked up his car at the factory.
Just a FYI, seibert66 missed an interior color in his list of colors. The one he missed was 83 mesh grey/platinum for leatherette and 55 platinum grid for cloth interiors. Those interiors are the only color for the 111, 112, 115, 116, 117 models and the 111, 112, models of the Custom.

[seibert66]

Thank you for your feedback, Helfen! Much appreciated!