Let the TMI bashing re-commence.............#$!@*&

[blackfordd]

Just received my new panels from TMI everybody..............and NONE OF THE HOLES LINEUP!! I was quoted 2 weeks for delivery of seat covers and panels...........8 weeks later I receive everything and the holes don't line up. I don't even want to deal with Jbugs or TMI so I am going to screw them on like they did on the earlier buses. In the long run it probably will be better for the panels anyway when I need to remove them.

DON'T USE TMI!! BOTTOM LINE!

Signed,

Extremely PISSED
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66 Porsche 912
2001 Suburban

[Devon-Dyno-Soar118]

Don't screw them on! I'm getting my panels stitched for me and making the wood myself- sounds like you couild have done that in the time its taken you to get those!
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71 West coast Kombi
54 Oval, 60k km from new
Daves 68 Bug Project
Rust Collector.

[steponmebbbboom]

I hope you didnt put your order in after the other TMI post...

[blackfordd]

It was already a couple of weeks in.....and yes Devon, "I could have done that in the time its taken you to get those!"

Hindsight is a bitch isn't it???????????
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66 Porsche 912
2001 Suburban

[velokid1]

I'm the poster of the original TMI Panels & Fury thread. I spent five hours in my neighbor's bus (my old bus) Sunday, determined to make them work somehow. I reached the point where I realized that TMI had me by the balls... they were going to make dealing with them such a pain in the ass that no matter how hard it was to move Heaven and Earth to make the panels fit, it would still be easier than having to deal with TMI.

In five hours, I got halfway done. Here are the things I found:

A) The kick panels do not fit. I don't care what TMI says. I laid mine in the sun for 30 min before putting them in and I cracked the "wood" in both panels installing them. And I was as careful as a person could be. The kick panels are about 3/8" too wide. I got them in, but the cracks are visible.

B) The holes are not offset properly. What this means is that on every panel you are going to have a clip or two or three that will be centered in the hole in order to match up with the holes in the body. If you've had experience with the clips you know that if a clip is centered in the hole, it will fall out. I didn't figure out a way around this.

What I did was to first install clips all around the panel, eyeballing the holes in the body and guessing where to offset each clip in relation to each hole. When they're all in, hold the panel back up to the bus and try to get even closer to having a match (it won't be perfect). Then, beginning with the bottom-most clips, snap them into their holes. Work your way up to the tops carefully matching the clips to the holes. The clips will falling out, behind the panels and you have to use your Go Go Gadget Arms to dig them back out, etc. It's a lot of fun!! I finally got the panels installed but in the places where the offset isn't correct and the clips won't attach, you can tell because the panels bows away from the body. For me, that was good enough because I'm done f**king around with these things.

C) I used a 9/32" drill bit to ream the holes in the body. It's a tad small, so you have to ream them a little by moving the drill in circles. But 9/32" was just about right.

D) The proper way to install the panels involves plastic sheeting behind the panels to protect them from moisture coming down from the windows. Trying to do this job properly using TMI panels would take six months and more patience than I have ever witnessed in a human being.

To be honest, I cut TMI a little slack because the bus isn't mine. It took some compromising to get them in and, frankly, if it were my own bus, I wouldn't be happy with the compromising. I would want every clip to secure to the body the way VW designed them to. And I wouldn't be satisfied with doing without the plastic sheeting. Especially since the quality of the TMI panels is poor that just a couple drops of water and they're going to crumble.

I feel for you. Installing the panels will be a tough job and dealing with TMI will be even tougher.

~Greg
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1976 Westy... almost there.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/210442.jpg

[josh]

F@#$ TMI. I just had to join in.

Seriously, this is unacceptable. Any monkey should be able to use the masonite from an old door panel to make a good template. For a bussiness that specializes in this type of product there is really no excuse. They should ship you panels that fit overnight after the trouble they've caused.

You guys should see what kind of legal measures can be taken against them. If this is really common a class action suit may be proper. Not simply for revenge but to stop this from happening to others.

[Devon-Dyno-Soar118]

[banana3]

I would like to eventually replace my door panels, but I guess I won't bother with the TMI panels. My question is: does anybody make a decent one? If not, this seems like a great opportunity for some business.

Is the alternative to make my own. I would actually like to, but I like the look of the vinyl with the embossed line in them.

Suggetsions?
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George

[Lui]

[stevemariott]

So the holes in the TMI panels plain don't line up with the factory holes in the doors? They are slightly off, as in you can adjust the angle of the clips so they "work", or they don't line up at all and they can't possibly work period? Bummer, I was planning on using their panels/upholstery on my bus...

Sewfine products anyone?
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1963 Manx copy
1968 Bus

[blackfordd]

I took my stuff to ISPWest to double check. They couldn't believe how far off they are.
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66 Porsche 912
2001 Suburban

[velokid1]

Ron, Sewfine is probably the way to go. I need front door panels for my bus and will definitely be giving Sewfine a try. No matter how spendy they are!

If you're familiar with the panel clips you know that they hook into the hole and then can swivel 360-degrees in a circle. This gives you plenty of "leeway" and adjustment to make the fit work, provided that the hole in the body is offset in that same 360-degree arc.

The problem is this: imagine if one of the holes in the panel matches the hole in the bus body perfectly. If that's the case, and the clip is offset, the hole in the panel matches the hole in the body... but the clip won't meet the hole in the body. So the offset is critical. Maybe you have to see it to understand...

I feel like if pressure were put on TMI it wouldn't make a difference. They don't seem capable of doing the panels the right way. And they certainly aren't motivated to change their ways because they're the only game in town and they know it.
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1976 Westy... almost there.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/210442.jpg

[Amskeptic]

When I installed my TMI door panels, I used some silicone boot/shoe weatherproofing spray on the backsides of the panels as well as plastic vapor barriers. "Nice," I said, "Good to go." Three years later, the adhesive is letting go all over the place
Colin
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www.itinerant-air-cooled.com

[BitterMormon]

blackfordd I sent you a PM
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____________
Zach
1970 Westy

[cree]

I used Sewfine a few years ago on a Bug. The fit and finish was perfect. I had my headliner and panels done in a lt and dk tweed. Also the seats with new padding were just great. I don't know how the pricing is compared to the other manufactures but I would not use anyone other than Sewfine. Cree in Co. 79 Buses

[blackfordd]

I went down to ISP today. The old screw in look is pretty cool. I got the vintage panels that have a beading around the entire panel and not only do the holes not line up but the panels don't even fit in the recessed form that the panels sit down in. The clips they gave me are too big for the hoes in the bus and in the panel opposite the sliding door the holes for the armrest are an inch and a half off. Probably why they put the holes for the armrest in the masonite but not through the vinyl itself......so you can create your own holes later. *sigh*

Luckily they will look pretty good just scrtewed in.
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66 Porsche 912
2001 Suburban

[velokid1]

[blackfordd]

Me too........especially anywhere near any kind of "order desk".
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66 Porsche 912
2001 Suburban

[stevemariott]