How did they accomplish this?

[69calibug]

Maybe I'm just crazy, but my armrest has me stumped. The previous owner installed split Bus armrests on the doors of my '70 Westy. It looks OK on the passenger door, so I figured I'd leave it alone for now. But the drivers one is hacked up all around the armrest, and today I found out why .

I went to remove the passenger door panel today, to replace my vent window with the broken latch. After taking everything off the door, I realized that armrest is holding the door panel on. After examining the hacked-up one, I found out they're bolted on, from the back with bolts through the metal behind the door panel. I can't get the door panel off until I take the armrest off, but I can't get the armrest off until I get the panel off. Ahhh! Obviously if it went on, it has to come off somehow. I don't want to chop up my nice door panel, like the P.O did to the other one. Any ideas?

You can see the offending armrest behind the seatbelt in this pic. Don't mind the flower, its gone now I had to tape my window shut today with 60MPH tape so I don't have another snowdrift on my floor, so I really need to fix this thing.
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'69 Beetle, '69 Beetle Convertible

[tonguetwiztid]

i wish i could help ya on that one....are you able to kinda flex the corner down enough to squeeze an arm and a wrench behind the panel???
Did you get the post i left you about having a original plaid curtain?? By the way... what kind of heat do you have in your bus? Since we are in the same weather i was wondering what works good up here. I am in the process of getting a gas heater right now and figured that would do the trick. its a real nice used eberspacher that would go in the engine compartment to the left of the motor.
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1970 VW camper bus (Ol' Blue) with no heat
About to get a Bosch alternator kit installed


LONG LIVE THE AIRCOOLED VW!!!!

[orangeeyesore]

im guessing you already tried taking the window crank off as well as the other parts on the front section of the panel and then tried pulling it back far enouth to get inside????
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HBB

As it says, who have you got as a quote in your signature line and why?

[orangekoi]

Is it possible that the armrest slides onto the bolt? Have you tried sliding it up or down or to a side to get it off? Like you said, if it got on its gotta come off.

Maybe you can hack a bit further on the driver side door panel to figure out how to get the arm rest off...

[thenexttownshend]

THe door panel snaps into its place, unsanap as many as you can from the bottom and sides untill you can reach behind and undo the armrests
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Steve

-1973 Bus Type II

[69calibug]

I did take everything else off, and I undid the door panel. I'm afraid of wrecking it since they seem a bit brittle. There doesn't appear to be enough room for my hand and a wrench to get down there. But I should probably "practice" on the one thats already wrecked. I'm usually good at this stuff, this one really perplexes me

Tonguetwiztid, I actually haven't even tried the heat yet. I know some stuff needs to be hooked back up, after that I'll decide if I want a gas heater. If you get that gas heater, let me know how it works out. I found a guy who supposedly has a few around here.
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'69 Beetle, '69 Beetle Convertible

[Rocknrod]

Check to see if there are plastic plugs on the ends of the arm rest... if there are pop them out, might be screws holding it on.

That being said, given the struggle you've been through you've probably already checked!

[penthink]

I think we all need to pitch in and add a chapter to Bentley entitled, "Moronic Crap Dumb POs Did To Our Buses, and How To Fix Their Ef-Ups."
Hell, I could write a chapter myself!

[bdann]

[69calibug]