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UMP Glove box door and door pocket covers
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Pinky
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Joined: December 31, 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:11 pm    Post subject: UMP Glove box door and door pocket covers Reply with quote

Hi Thing friends! Very Happy

Though our little echoing buzz buckets have many endearing flaws, one of the most annoying is the lack of secure storage.

Like everyone here, I've fawned over glove box doors, and those super-cool locking door pocket covers that started popping up for sale a while back.

The factory glove box door is tough to find, and though they're out there, the last one I saw for sale went for roughly $330, and that was before the international shipping! Shocked Other glove box doors available in the past have been functional, but left a bit to be desired in fit and finish.

I have a metal-cutting bandsaw and considered trying to fabricate something myself, but my Thing is at a body shop 150 miles away, and I knew I wouldn't be able to experiment with fitting and have something ready in time for paint. Plus I doubt I could make something of this caliber!

I ordered two door pocket covers, and one glove box door from Samba member Smog, and since there doesn't seem to be much information on here about them, I figured I'd do a little write-up.

Here is Smog's Samba profile:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=209051
And here is his business website.
http://www.u-m-p.de/seite2.html

Maik speaks English well if your German is rusty. Wink

My total cost including shipping from Germany was $195ish, and I will now have 3 lockable storage compartments! Dancing

There are a few folks producing this sort of thing, but what attracted me most to Maik's products are that they're made of metal!!! And they're done really well! I ordered them raw without powder-coating since they will be painted to match my Thing.

The door pocket covers are made of aluminum, which is nice since it won't add much weight to the door when you're pulling them off. They're very rigid, very strong, and made from a single, continuous sheet of aluminum. The locks can be removed and replaced should you choose to use a different latching mechanism, though the ones installed are very nice. I plan to use these on the rear doors, and will mock up some sort of handle for them so that rear passengers can still easily close the door. I'll probably use some suitable cabinet pulls for this task.

I will also likely coat the pivot arms with some sort of plastic dip to try and minimize wear on my Thing's impending paint job.

Pics!!!


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The glove box door is REALLY well made too! Ooh-la-la!!! Drool



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It's made of thick-gauge steel and is very, very, very sturdy.
I've always been bad at estimating metal gauge, but it's as thick as a quarter!


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It's made of one continuous piece of sheet metal with crisply bent edges. I unfortunately no longer have access to a welder, so I'll ask my paint & body guy to weld the corners up to make it a bit more presentable. It's very nice on it's own though.


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For you poor souls that don't have the cool post-74 hamster cheeks, there's a cut-out for your heat/defrost lever, so don't worry about any interference. Nice touch, and it shows that Maik is a Thing guy making a product for other Thing guys.


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The glove box latch goes in this little hole. I think it uses a regular contemporary bug latch. Two circular pieces of cut-out steel are included that do something with the lock, but I dunno what yet. There's a duckbill sort of latch as well, I guess it's supposed to be mounted to the ceiling of the glove box for the lock to grab on to. The Thing's glove box light will likely need to be relocated, but mine isn't here to test fit, so that's just an assumption.


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The glove box door mounts to the dash with two bolts. Again my Thing is currently 150 miles away, so I can't test fit it. With the attention to detail given in constructing this thing, I have a good feeling that it will fit well. I'm hoping that the support system will be strong enough to act as a shelf too, 'cause I REALLY want to mount some sort of cup holder to it! I'm thinking some of these cup holders with some strong magnets glued on the bottom: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014BBFJE/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Maik also can do precision stencil type cuts into the door, should you desire a VW symbol, or 181 or Thing script. I opted for a plain plane though.

Uuuuuuum... What else?

Well, overall, I am very impressed with the quality of workmanship, and I feel very comfortable about spending $195ish on this set rather than trying to fabricate something myself. It would take a lot of prototyping for me to make something of this caliber, and some semi-expensive tools that I don't have. Though I unfortunately have not had a chance to test-fit this to my Thing yet, it seems to be a very quality bit of kit, and I'm really looking forward to fitting these to and using them on my car. It's not an original glove box, but this seems to be the next best thing, and it's exceeded my expectations so far!

Sorry, I know that it's super annoying to read a review and you don't even know if the dang thing fits, but them's the brakes folks! I'll update this thread once I fit these parts to the car.

Hope you enjoyed, and make sure to check out Maik's site for more cool fabricated 181 parts! Very Happy

http://www.u-m-p.de/index.html
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Al Capulco
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hope you get a chance to fit test that glove box door before your painter paints your Thing. I think you may need to weld a tab on the right side of the opening so you have a place to attach the door. Most '73 and '74 don't have enough metal to drill the proper hole. Good luck.
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Pinky
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Al!

Yes, there's a bit more metal work to do, and it's at a friend's shop that's taking his time, so we'll make sure it fits correctly and that I'm satisfied with the mounting system before painting the Thing.
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Ron Domeck
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have a painter that's takes his time? Done a 1960 Cad. a few years ago. He told me to take my time, he got it back 7 years later.
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Pinky
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ha!!! That's why my Thing has been sitting in his shop since 2004! Laughing Laughing Laughing

The more money I give him, the less time it takes! Laughing
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Walter Wiseman
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:38 pm    Post subject: Great write up! Reply with quote

This is great! I just ordered 4 pocket doors and the glove box door from Maik. With shipping, powder coated, locks keyed the same, and a VW logo and Thing cut out on the glove box door it came to about $350.00.

The only bummer I see is the non welded corners, if I had realized that I would have them come as bare metal. I have a great tig welder and ok skill.

Can't wait until it arrives!
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Fun 181
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for posting this. I wish I had the cash to order a full set, but will have to wait a bit.
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strelnik
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 5:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Great write up! Reply with quote

Walter Wiseman wrote:
This is great! I just ordered 4 pocket doors and the glove box door from Maik. With shipping, powder coated, locks keyed the same, and a VW logo and Thing cut out on the glove box door it came to about $350.00.

The only bummer I see is the non welded corners, if I had realized that I would have them come as bare metal. I have a great tig welder and ok skill.

Can't wait until it arrives!


I looked on the wbsite and saw no ordering information.
Does Maik take Paypal? check? CC? trade for unruly children?
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Walter Wiseman
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 10:47 pm    Post subject: Ordering Reply with quote

I emailed Maik, told him what I wanted and how I would like to pay. He emailed me a price, I sent the money. He emailed he received it and would get it out soon. A couple of days later he emailed me again and stated the package was on it's way. I am patiently waiting for the package to arrive!

I think I got his email from his website or off the Samba classifieds.

I'll post when it arrives!

Walter
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Smog
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Strelink , yes Paypal is ok !!!

Send a Mail to [email protected] and tell me which parts you want .......

Greets from Germany Smile

Maik
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Smog
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

@ Walter ..... the Parts arrived you ?

Greets Maik
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Walter Wiseman
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 7:07 pm    Post subject: Have parts arrived? Reply with quote

Maik,

I think so. When I got home tonight there was a notice saying I had a parcel I needed to sign for. My post office is only open 4 hours a day so I'm hoping to get home early and pick it up tomorrow!

I will let you know,

Walter
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Walter Wiseman
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:50 pm    Post subject: Got my stuff!! Reply with quote

I finally was able to make it to the post office when they were open.

I have to say the quality of the items I have received far exceed my expectations.

They are professionally done, and I can't find a flaw (either in workmanship, or paint quality).

It is a little pricey at ~$370.00, but I have been looking for awhile and have found nothing even close to this. To me it is worth every penny, and I would buy them again.

For the record I received:

4 pocket doors, painted black, and keyed the same.
1 glove box door painted black with a "VW 181" cut out with a yellow background.

The price included shipping to California from Germany.

The only thing I would want to make someone aware of, is it takes awhile to get here from Germany (I think a little more than a month).

I am very pleased.

Walter
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Banker
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Walter: Can you post some pictures.....
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Walter Wiseman
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 4:49 pm    Post subject: Pictures Reply with quote

Just saw this, I will try to post pictures. I've tried before and was successful but it took awhile. Not sure why it's so hard to post pictures.

I've installed the pocket door and the fit and finish could not have been easier or better.

Maik has the tabs slightly tilted so that when you install the door there is natural tension and the doors do not vibrate.

Have not installed the glove box door yet (been too damn hot here, had the highest recorded temperature in the 12 years I've been here). Have tended to stay right in front of the swamp cooler.

I will work on pictures.

Walter
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Smog
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Walter ..... Pictures ? Very Happy

Smog Wink
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Smog
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 8:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello together ..... has anyone pictures of installed u-m-p parts ?

Greets Maik
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Rabid Irish
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great looking products! I would like to see these mounted. Could they be made like the old Thing Shop ones that would mount a CD player?

On another note for anyone interested I have a NOS VW Thing glove box door w/ lock+ keys that I would be willing to sell if someone is interested. Feel free to PM me about it.
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Smog
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 1:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

.......and someone has already Pictures ?

Greets Maik
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Smog
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 1:13 pm    Post subject: And now the Glove Box Door with Radio cut out Reply with quote

New Smile

.jpg[/i
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and Logo

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Greets from Germany Very Happy

Smog
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