Arm rests and ashtrays?

[onetuza]

I have only come to recently realize that my '65 has neither the arm rests nor the rear ash trays that I see in others. I can only assume that when restoring her, the PO didn't feel the need for them.

Would it be possible to obtain them and install them, modifying the existing door and rear panels in a suitable way, or would I have to buy four new panels??
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When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather . . . .
Not screaming, like the other passengers in his car!

[Todd66]

Modification is not a problem. just 2 holes in door panel for armrests. You might have to add a bracket on the inside of the driver's door as it is my understanding/experience the passenger side is the only one that came with an armrest from the factory. As far as the ashtray I know the TMI panels have the spot you need to cut already perforated where you need to cut the hole.

[wayne1230cars]

Agree with Todd66. My '60 did not have a rear ashtray installed as the PO chose not to reinstall it when he put in new TMI panels. I bought one from the Samba classifieds, removed the new TMI panel and sure enough there was a perforated area making ashtray installation very easy. I had the same situation when I installed a driver's side arm rest. I found a bracket in the classifieds and again the TMI panel had the holes already there. Simple install.
I know the driver's side arm rest was not factory but I like it. It makes door closing easier as well.
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1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible

[wayne1230cars]

Here is what the bracket looks like as well the installed repro armrest on the driver's side. Make sure you get the plastic reinstalled. I was just test fitting the bracket at this point. The bracket works on either left or right side. This bracket fits my 1960. I am not sure if it is the same bracket for your later door or not. Perhaps others will chime in on that question. [img]

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1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible

[wayne1230cars]

Sounds like you would need the later style bracket. It is actually more of a clip than a long style bracket. Give these threads a read for further info. There are some good pics of the clip/bracket and door frame.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=521504&highlight=armrest+bracket
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=496611&highlight=armrest+bracket
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1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible

[onetuza]

Is it easy enough to pop out a corner of the door panel to see if there is an arm rest bracket in place and then put it back, or am I going to need new door panel clips to put it back? I think maybe I'd like to just do the passenger side arm rest and from the looks of the owner's manual, there was only one rear ash tray, on the passenger side. Can anyone with a 65 confirm?
_________________
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather . . . .
Not screaming, like the other passengers in his car!

[wayne1230cars]

I believe there was just one rear ashtray on the passenger side. Usually I have been able to reuse the panel clips but it probably would not hurt to have some extras. The passenger side should have the bracket welded in place on the door unless someone has removed it by drilling out the welds(unlikely). I think it would be difficult to see the bracket by just popping a corner of the door panel. I am not sure on that. The window riser and door handle hold the panel pretty tight and they can be a pain to install if they have the pins.
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1960 beetle
1970 beetle convertible

[NewVWFan]

Only one ash tray on the Pasd side. Ive found that these are the first things to go on a referb.. decent ash trays can be hard to find. I found a nice one in the dollar bucket at local swap meet.

[onetuza]

Got the ashtray installed and it looks great. There was a cut punch out in the panel that made it easy.

Now I'm seeking the parts for the armrest. I partially popped off the door panel and see that there is no bracket in place so I need to find one. Also, unfortunately, there are no punch outs nor marks on the back of the door panel for the armrest bolt locations. I assume I will have to measure very carefully to get them in the right spot.
_________________
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather . . . .
Not screaming, like the other passengers in his car!

[panicman]

I found reassembling the door with an armrest to be very difficult. My paint is new, and I put all the clips into the panel, and as I offered the panel with the armrest bracket in it, I couldn't get everything in place without raking those clips all over the new paint. I finally ended up removing the clips, and installing them after the panel was in place. What a pita. Is there some trick that escaped me?

[Todd66]

You can bow/bend the door panel. Pull top and bottom out and push center in. I also double layered tape on paint to protect.