Headrests for rear bench in ‘75 Westy? Need to fit three kids.

[bretthale]

Anyone know of a solution to add headrests to the rear bench in a Westy? I have the full width bench that seats three.

I found a lot of threads on headrests but almost all of them where about front seats or non-Westy benches.

Thanks!
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'02 Eurovan MV - Sold
'02 Eurovan MV - Sold
'02 Weekender - Sold
'75 Westy - Sold
'88 Vanagon Doka Syncro

[jtauxe]

All the headrests are the same -- front or back.

If your rear bench seat is '73 or later, it will have the integral tubes for accepting headrests. You could feel for them along the top of the seat. If they are not there, you need to start looking for a >='73 bench.

If they are there, then you will want to cut small holes for the headrest tubes to penetrate, and you will need the black plastic tube liners to fit over the upholstery and into the tubes.

At that point, you could use either the early headrest style (into 1975) with vinyl zip-on covers, or the later one-piece molded style. The advantage of the early style is that you can get new covers for them, to match (if you are lucky) the upholstery of the seat.

EDIT: Oops, I just now realized that you said it was a Westy. I have no headrest solutions for a simple Westy plywood folding seat. I can't imagine anything that would hold up to the force of a head slamming back into the headrest, and anything short of robust would be false security.
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[busdaddy]

Sounds like a job for some sort of box or tube brackets bolted through the plywood and custom headrests or a continuous second cushioned board with legs that slide down into the brackets, whatever it is it has to come off to fold the bed down.

I'm not aware of anything you can buy pre made, I forsee sparks and sawdust in your future.
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[bretthale]

Thanks busdaddy and jtauxe. Is there an option to replace the westy wood bench with non westy bench that still folds out to form the bed? I thought I read something about a metal framed be that would to that (maybe a z-bed)?
_________________
'02 Eurovan MV - Sold
'02 Eurovan MV - Sold
'02 Weekender - Sold
'75 Westy - Sold
'88 Vanagon Doka Syncro

[Wasted youth]

A true Z Bed is actually not a storage box bed at all... but may be your best answer, because a true Z bed hinge frame apparatus is applied to a regular bench seat. This mechanism allows the factory Volkswagen rearest-most bench seat to fold up and out a little bit to where the back rest and the seat bench are now level with the cargo deck area. I had this set up on my 1977 Sunroof bus, which I no longer have. SG Kent has this similar arrangement, and you can hit the classifieds and also the photo gallery. Start the search engine on this... Just be aware most people call the Westfallia plywood bench arrangement a Z bed, but it really is not. The bed was an different company with a completely different arrangement.

So... With the two Z bed hinge arrangements fastened to your standard equipment rear bench seat, you can now have your post-1972 ‘three head rests’ on your regular rear bench seat and then you can slide off the head rests, fold up the bench seat into a Z bed and you now have what you’re looking for... except it won’t fit in the camper! You will need to modify your cabinets quite a bit to make this all work out.

[Casperl]

You can buy headrest inserts from a T3 and insert them in your bench?

like these: https://www.vwbusshop.de/255070211A-Westfalia-original-head-cushion-clamp-set

I just bought a pair of headrests and i'm looking for the same thing for the next summer vacation. Only for two kids

[alman72]

conduit clamps on the back of the plywood

[busdaddy]

[Casperl]

It looks like they are also sold at https://campervanculture.com;

I'm not really into the T3's, but I've seen T3 westfalia's with and without headrests (and holes). It might have been an option back in the days?

[Abscate]

I doubt those headrest provide any whiplash protection. If it’s a cosmetic look, ok, but I would not kid myself they add a safety factor. That’s engineering of the tubes in the seat.

As far as I can remember there were no safety requirements for rear seat occupants in the 70s , we didn’t even get seat belts until 1968
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.ssS!

[Casperl]

Recently put my new interior in the bus and used the headrest clamps mentioned. I forgot to make a picture before they were in the bench, but they look quality engineered. The upholsterer told me this was also the way they were put in T3's.

[jtauxe]

They look nice, but...

The real test: Punch each headrest as hard as you can with your fist, like you mean it. If they fail, then they were not worth using in the first place.
_________________
John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD