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Wolfsburg Westy Sewfine Upholstery Project
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Sjwillis
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Joined: April 23, 2014
Posts: 53
Location: New Jersey
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any thoughts about the headrests you put back there?

I did something similar with the far left seat and built out a headrest there on the cabinet front with some padding for my one son and my other son sits in the jump seat. I have most of the pieces to do the headrests but I mocked up the design and went out camping and taking the headrests out each time we folded out the bed was a bit of a pain in the ass and so was storing them.

What has your experience been?
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Read about our Vanagon family travels and road trips at A2OT: www.AllTogetherOutThere.com

1986 Wolfsburg Weekender aka Obi Van Kenobi
1972 MGB
2003 Subaru Forester
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joetiger Premium Member
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sjwillis wrote:
Any thoughts about the headrests you put back there?

I did something similar with the far left seat and built out a headrest there on the cabinet front with some padding for my one son and my other son sits in the jump seat. I have most of the pieces to do the headrests but I mocked up the design and went out camping and taking the headrests out each time we folded out the bed was a bit of a pain in the ass and so was storing them.

What has your experience been?


Similar. I stopped using the clips that hold the headrests in. That way they're easy to pull out, and I just throw them on the floor in front of the driver's seat to get them out of the way. I've read here that you can grind the bottom notch out and they'll just slide out but haven't gotten around to that.

As far as the rigged-up headrest mounted to the cabinet, it's on my list to have Sewfine make a matching headrest/cushion for me. I think I can figure out a way to mount it. I've hesitated on that part because the current set-up has been trouble-free to this point, albeit rather ugly.

The one thing about installing those headrests on a Weekender, though, is the fact that there's a heavy steel u-channel piece that rides on the top of the back bench; it has to be removed in order to cut the notches for the headrests. This is not the case with full Westies, I assume because the back bench is narrower and therefore not as flexible.

I ended up deciding that while Westfalia had good reason to reinforce it, having headrests with a weakened bench back was more important than having no headrests at all. It's a very stout piece of wood, in any case, and I've had 250-lb idiots go flying into the seat back there without hurting it.

I also looked at a bench seat from a newer Carat (not a GL--GL seats are wider and won't fit with the Weekender plastic panels) that came from the factory with headrest mounts. I figured I would just recover it with matching fabric and install. But, those seats are completely different, made of steel and springs instead of wood and foam, and the folding and locking mechanisms are different than on the earlier Weekenders. It would have required more modification than I could take on.
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'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
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"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

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Jake de Villiers
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Joined: October 24, 2007
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Location: Tsawwassen, BC
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BoneMachine wrote:
Jake,
My van goes to eleven. Very Happy
That's awesome, Bone! I don't know how I missed this post!!
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'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
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