Project Car...The Beetle.

[Zcarnut]

Yeah..His Veedubs do look good.
Ive never owned a regular Bug myself.

[JWC]

Well, tomorrow I'm off to the salvage yard to check out seat options.  I'm looking for Civic-style seats, non-power of course.  Civic seats tend to be the right width for a Beetle, but others fit also.


I'm not buying any interior parts until I settle on the seats, but I'm leaning toward gray or charcoal.  Those two colors would be easy to match or compliment another color.  Say a dark gray with light gray door panels and headliner.


Any suggestions on what would be a good choice for durability, comfort, and style? 

[Soup DeVille]

Well, tomorrow I'm off to the salvage yard to check out seat options.? I'm looking for Civic-style seats, non-power of course.? Civic seats tend to be the right width for a Beetle, but others fit also.


I'm not buying any interior parts until I settle on the seats, but I'm leaning toward gray or charcoal.? Those two colors would be easy to match or compliment another color.? Say a dark gray with light gray door panels and headliner.


Any suggestions on what would be a good choice for durability, comfort, and style??

The '02-'05 Civic Si seats would work very well: all of them were gray in the center and black on the sides and back with red accents, and were very supportive. Also a lot of people replaced the stock seats with racing (ricing?) type Sparcos or similar, so stock seats on eBay are pretty easy to find.

edit: oh, hey, here's a pair: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Civic-Si-Front-Seats-Driver-and-Passenger_W0QQitemZ150127961392QQihZ005QQcategoryZ33701QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[JWC]

The '02-'05 Civic Si seats would work very well: all of them were gray in the center and black on the sides and back with red accents, and were very supportive. Also a lot of people replaced the stock seats with racing (ricing?) type Sparcos or similar, so stock seats on eBay are pretty easy to find.

edit: oh, hey, here's a pair: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Civic-Si-Front-Seats-Driver-and-Passenger_W0QQitemZ150127961392QQihZ005QQcategoryZ33701QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Nice seats, but $300?  I talked to the salvage yard owner yesterday and he said any pair of seats out there, if they are in good shape are $40.

Which reminds me.  The boyfriend of my daughter's best friend has a Civic Si, 2006.  The seats look very close to those. He said that they ran $6000...special edition for the Civic Si. 

When he said that I just walked away.

[Soup DeVille]

Nice seats, but $300?? I talked to the salvage yard owner yesterday and he said any pair of seats out there, if they are in good shape are $40.

Which reminds me.? The boyfriend of my daughter's best friend has a Civic Si, 2006.? The seats look very close to those. He said that they ran $6000...special edition for the Civic Si.?

When he said that I just walked away.

Hmmm, $6000 seats in a $19000 car, huh? Sounds pretty spiffy to me.

And yeah: 'm sure you can find cheaper ones: that was just an example for what I was thinking of.

[JWC]

I think I found the best, if not perfect seats.  Two-tone gray, lumbar, reclines, and tilts forward for access to the back seat.  They are currently in a Eclipse, 1994 model.  Though the car odometer shows 174,000 miles, the seats are in really good shape.  The do need a good cleaning. The windshield and roof are damaged on the passenger side and appear to be leaking.

I couldn't pull them today, I have to go give blood.  I talked to the owner of the yard, I know him through work, and he said he'd keep an eye on them and call me if someone   

[Danish]

Nice find!

Are you going to reupholster the seats?

[JWC]

Not if they clean up.  The seats are in really good shape.  I was really surpised when I checked the VIN for the model year.  I saw the car and checked the seats before I checked the model year.  I thought the car was a lot newer based on the interior's condition.

Before I spend a couple of hundred bucks on reupholstery, I'll just toss these (or sell them on Craigslist) and try again.  At $40/pr, I'm not afraid to experiment.

I"m trying to determine if there is anyway to make the rear seat and back fit into the VW, that would be nice.

[280Z Turbo]

Not if they clean up. The seats are in really good shape. I was really surpised when I checked the VIN for the model year. I saw the car and checked the seats before I checked the model year. I thought the car was a lot newer based on the interior's condition.

Before I spend a couple of hundred bucks on reupholstery, I'll just toss these (or sell them on Craigslist) and try again. At $40/pr, I'm not afraid to experiment.

I"m trying to determine if there is anyway to make the rear seat and back fit into the VW, that would be nice.

I'd love to get Integra seats or Miata seats for the Z someday. My vinyl looks bad and is cracked. Aren't DSM seats a little low for a Beetle. I'd look at Saab 9000 or Ford Focus seats if those don't work.

I'd like to find a replacement backseat for the Z as well, but it's so narrow and deep dished that I doubt that will ever happen.

A Beetle should be just a flat bench in the back, right? That shouldn't be hard.

[JWC]

My concern for the rear seat and back are width.  Depth is going to be close because there is a heck of a bolster at the front part of the rear seat.

I'm thinking of dismantling the original seats and using the base assembly as the starting point for attaching the DSM seats.

[Zcarnut]

I bought a pair of "universal" seats from a ad in Samba.The tracks are only about 13 inches wide and fit in my buggy perfectly..So we know they work in a Bug too.They have sliders built  in but DO NOT recline.
Height is comparable to stock seats and they are $150 delivered for the pair.
Color is black cloth.

[JWC]

Well, I picked up the front and rear seats from the Eclipse this morning.  Still hard to believe how clean they are.  I picked up the rear sections because he only wanted $10 more for the whole shebang.   I'm only out ten bucks if they don't work and....maybe I can make them into a unique love seat for the office.

I was out there at 8:30 when the yard opened and was totally drenched in sweat in ten minutes.  It got really hot, really fast.  Fortunate also that the salvage yard owner knows me (his rollback is a '03 F450) and let me drive my Volvo to the back of the yard instead of having to walk the seats out.

Now I can wrap up the interior work and order the door panels and carpet.

[JWC]

Trial fitted the front and rear seats.  The rear seats are actually going to work.

[Raghavan]

Sweet. Post pics J.

[Zcarnut]

Ladies and gentleman..We have hood and electrical!

[JWC]

Well, here are the seats, not bolted in at the moment.  I've got to make some measurements and design brackets for them.  This is just set up to get an idea of fit.  The rear is probably going to be the hardest to come up with a system that allows the seat backs to fold flat.  I propped them up though and gave them a trial "sit".  I wouldn't mind riding in back, they're comfy.

[BimmerM3]

Are you going to reupholster the seats or anything? They look pretty clean but I'm personally not a huge fan of the color. I don't know how much upholstery costs though (or if you do it yourself).

[JWC]

Are you going to reupholster the seats or anything? They look pretty clean but I'm personally not a huge fan of the color. I don't know how much upholstery costs though (or if you do it yourself).

Upholstery or re-upholstery, usually runs about 300400 per seat. 

Actually, I was looking for black or gray, and will keep the seats this two tone, since the interior is going to be a tu-tone gray.  Choices today, usually run tan, black, or gray for interiors. Yellow with tan interior is just too predictable and hard to match.

The seats are also about two shades darker than they appear in the photo.

[heelntoe]

the seats don't seem to match the exterior colour of the car very well, are you repainting it or are you going to repair the current paint?

[SVT_Power]

the seats don't seem to match the exterior colour of the car very well, are you repainting it or are you going to repair the current paint?

Thanks  it's fairly clean.  Only a couple of minor dents and that rust spot on the front fender.  Original paint, never been wrecked.  I think it was a pretty good find. 

The ideal is for it to look similar to this in about a year.

[JWC]

Well...this project just got delayed a couple of months.  Which in a way is good, but personally disappointing.  I had cleared my schedule for July to work on this car and have it presentable by August, with the only thing remaining to be done would be the engine.  I've spent three days fielding phone calls about wedding photography and since these are people that have seen my wedding albums and were referred by past clients...I couldn't say no.

When I get back into it, I'll post the updates.


(The good part is the money I'll be making; pays for another camera, case, flash, and lens.)

[ChrisV]

Good score on the seats!!! Those are gonna look great in there. Can't wait to see them mounted. You gonna go with grey door panels and carpet, too?

[JWC]

Yep, I'm going to do a two tone gray for the headliner, door panels, and carpeting.    The dash pad is cracked along the top, not too bad, but enough that I'm going to replace it.  As an option, I am considering leaving the vinyl pad off and clean/spray the dash to match the yellow of the exterior and doors, with gray for the instrument panels and glove box door.  If I don't like it, I can always go back to the vinyl pad.

[ChrisV]

Yep, I'm going to do a two tone gray for the headliner, door panels, and carpeting.    The dash pad is cracked along the top, not too bad, but enough that I'm going to replace it.  As an option, I am considering leaving the vinyl pad off and clean/spray the dash to match the yellow of the exterior and doors, with gray for the instrument panels and glove box door.  If I don't like it, I can always go back to the vinyl pad.

Removed the pad on a number of my Bugs. Makes it look vintage.

[JWC]

Well, I did manage to spend a little time on the VW this weekend.  Wasn't productive though.  I'm going to have to figure out a way to reinforce the right side door sill due to rot.  Turns out rusted melted doesn't hold up to welding very well.  This car has got to get on the road within three months, even if it isn't exactly what I want,  are I'm going to go crazy.

Only progress made so far is tearing more of the interior out...namely the cracked dash pad.  I have to admit that I like the look of the dash minus that awful vinyl.  I just need to fabricate some kind of vent cover for the holes left behind.

[ChrisV]

I welded those holes up and bodyworked them before painting the dash body color. You might be able to fiberglass them from the backside and do the same job.

[JWC]

I welded those holes up and bodyworked them before painting the dash body color. You might be able to fiberglass them from the backside and do the same job.

I want to devise something that will still allow me to use the defrosters, even though they have always been weak on VW's. 

[JWC]

Just a quick update:

Over the past several weekends, I've managed to: 

Do a lot of sanding.

Replace the shifter bushing and shift rod coupling.  I got to hand it to the wife...she crawled under the car and helped get the shift rod through the bushing while I guided it through from inside the car. 

Repaired two rusted out panels and replaced the rear of the right side floorpan.

Dismantled all the original seats.  I decided the best way to install the replacement front seats while maintaining the correct height and rake,  (or close to it, the replacement seats will be about one inch higher than the originals, which I like).

In the coming weeks, will be sanding the interior and painting it.  Installing the new headliner and designing the bracket/hold downs for the new rear seats.  I want to install the headliner while the seats are out of the car.  All interior trim will be ordered, but not installed until the exterior is completed.

[Soup DeVille]

? I got to hand it to the wife...she crawled under the car and helped get the shift rod through the bushing while I guided it through from inside the car.?

That sounds dirty.

[JWC]

That sounds dirty.

You should have read the first version.  I had to go back and add in automotive terms to help clean it up.


Unless of course, your mind wasn't in the gutter and you were talking about all the grease we had to put on the rod to get it through that tight hole, through the tunnel until we finished together at the rear end.