New Owner, 70' Fasty

Fastback, Squareback, Notchback, T-3 Karmann Ghia.

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Sat May 16, 2020 6:03 am

Guests are never a problem, let me know when your schedule falls in place. The only calendar item for September is my daughter's wedding, if allowable by then...
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:00 am

So started working on reupholstering the rear seats, fun job vs. welding, etc. Waited more than 5 weeks for delivery of TMI square weave (apparently they produce only once they have a confirmed order), product seemed to be okay although difficult to determine until install starts. Unfortunately during install of the rear, back seat found that the fit was not acceptable, not possible to "stretch" to make it work either (it was 85 degrees out at the time). The distance between the vinyl strip (tucks into flange at back top of seat) and the step out on either side of the seat was at least 1.5 to 2 inches short. After doing 3 previous VWs with their product I realize the fit is tight, but never to the point of having to rip the material, obviously stopped short of doing that. To check the issue I attempted to fit the cover installing the bottom first, the fit to step out was perfect but obviously not enough material to tuck the vinyl, confirmed that the cover was made incorrectly.

I checked dimensions against my original (which was dirty but in good shape) and confirmed again that the cover was way too short. Contacted TMI more than a week ago and finally receive a reply that I would be receiving and RMA (a little disappointed that they didn't call to discuss), problem being that I have already installed the arm rest cover which requires poking holes in it for the rod. Hopefully they don't use this as a reason to reject a return as I see no reason to pull the arm rest apart, the fit is okay. I do note that they do not included the weave on both sides of the arm rest like the original, only on the side that shows when the arm is up, I suppose I can live with that.

Will advise as to outcome. Still haven't checked other covers, rear bottom and front seats, hopefully they are okay. Also note that I ordered the carpet from JBugs but it was TMI built. They sent me the entirely wrong carpet set, although I have to say JBugs was very responsive, within a day they shipped out the correct product, including a prepaid return, thank you JBugs.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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Amskeptic
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jul 05, 2020 10:42 am

wdollie6 wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:00 am
reupholstering the rear seats, product seemed to be okay although difficult to determine until install starts. Unfortunately during install of the rear, back seat found that the fit was not acceptable, not possible to "stretch" to make it work.
I ordered the carpet from JBugs but it was TMI built. They sent me the entirely wrong carpet set, although I have to say JBugs was very responsive, within a day they shipped out the correct product, including a prepaid return, thank you JBugs.

I have found tight dimensions on seat upholstery and decided they were trying to prevent wrinkles or sags. I sit on each surface with all of my weight to compress the springs, then get the attachment points squared away. Are you saying the cut-outs for the hinges were too high up?

TMI ... "annoying customers for over twenty years now!"
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Tue Jul 28, 2020 8:01 am

After poor customer response on their part I forced the cover to fit, albeit poorly. Again, not my first rodeo putting fabric on seats so realize that some amount of stretching (using hair dryer) and compressing of springs is necessary. Along the top back of the rear seat the fabric is stretched completely taught, almost to the point of tearing, but is almost 2 inches too short side to side. This caused problems with material availability down the seat toward the bottom which made it almost impossible to fit. I'll add pictures.

Needless to say I am disappointed with TMI, especially after I was willing to provide my originals as patterns so they could get it right. In reality I probably should have waited until the COVID crisis had waned as I am sure they had limited, experienced, man(person)power available to them.

Pictures later today.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Wed Jul 29, 2020 8:09 am

Pictures of fit up (or lack thereof) of rear seat covers. As I mentioned the top back of the rear seat was way short which left the material way short to go down the sides. The little step out on the sides of the rear back seat were more than an inch off even after stretching as much as possible (left in sun and used blow dryer on high). At the bottom I had to stretch to the point of failure at the seam because of lack of material. Deep disappointment in the product and the response of the company.

The good news is that the rear seat bottom fit okay, not great, okay. Working on the front seats now, hoping for the best, expecting less.

Sewfine will be my go to upholstery company in the future.
Attachments
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Bottom Tears Caused by Force Fit
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Bottom Tears Caused by Force Fit
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Right Side Rear "Step"
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Left Side Rear "Step"
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Left Side, Rear Top
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Right Side, Rear Top
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1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Fri Aug 07, 2020 7:41 am

Finally tackled the job I have dreaded since I bought the car, cleaning the undercoating from the frunk. As several suggested gasoline is the best solvent to remove this sticky, gooey mess. I soaked a small area in gas wait 3-4 minutes then wipe with an old cloth (many by the time I was done for the day), worked great with no scraping necessary, however still took several hours. Note, it is a must to be outside when using gas with no loose electrical nearby, battery negative removed of course.

To be able to move the car to the outside I finished up the caliper rebuilds, installed with new rotors and temporarily slapped on the tires. Still have to mount the master cylinder and run hard/soft brake lines but am waiting until I can remove the rest of the undercoating in the area below the fuel tank, maybe later today as more rain is forecasted. For the lower area I plan on cleaning up using a primer, followed by a chassis black type product. Same for the front end components.

My apologies for the lack of pre-clean up pictures.
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1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Fri Aug 28, 2020 6:44 pm

While repairing some additional rust holes that were well hidden, found this script, any ideas?
20200828_102636.jpg
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1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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Amskeptic
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:40 pm

wdollie6 wrote:
Fri Aug 28, 2020 6:44 pm
While repairing some additional rust holes that were well hidden, found this script, any ideas?

20200828_102636.jpg

VW had painted numbers on subassemblies. My Squareback has them on the rear suspension and front suspension and the factory engines had the same font for the engine emission code numbers.

Your welding seems to be getting more professional based on the weld seams in the photos.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Sat Sep 19, 2020 4:03 pm

Better grinding not necessarily improved welding.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:48 pm

While in FL for a a couple of weeks I worked on the 72 Super Beetle. After one of the old Phillips headlights died on a quick trip decided it was time to upgrade to LED, similar to the change I made on my VW Bus. Found out the hard way that the wiring on the passenger headlight was backwards, apparently has been like this since I finished the car several years ago. High beam on the new LED headlight wouldn't work, swapped wires on the connector after verifying fuses, relay, and switch were ok and all is now good
20200919_174207.jpg
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Also finally decided to address the fuel gauge issue that has been a problem from the beginning. On a full tank the fuel gauge maxed out at 1/4 tank, obviously not reliable. As a first step I checked the in-situ resistance of the sending unit, was around 38 ohms which didn't make sense as the tank was about 3/4 full. Since I had a new vibrator (have had for three years) I replaced to see if it made a difference, no change in gauge operation. Next step was to remove the sender (carefully) and during the removal process discovered I had installed it incorrectly, i.e. positioned the floats in the wrong direction. Apparently they were binding in a way which wouldn't allow them to move beyond a certain point. After reinserting correctly the gauge now reads as below:
Attachments
20200919_174449.jpg
20200919_174449.jpg (418.75 KiB) Viewed 55176 times
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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Amskeptic
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Oct 02, 2020 6:45 pm

wdollie6 wrote:
Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:48 pm
While in FL for a a couple of weeks I worked on the 72 Super Beetle. After one of the old Phillips headlights died on a quick trip decided it was time to upgrade to LED, similar to the change I made on my VW Bus. Found out the hard way that the wiring on the passenger headlight was backwards, apparently has been like this since I finished the car several years ago. High beam on the new LED headlight wouldn't work, swapped wires on the connector after verifying fuses, relay, and switch were ok and all is now good20200919_174207.jpg

Also finally decided to address the fuel gauge issue that has been a problem from the beginning. On a full tank the fuel gauge maxed out at 1/4 tank, obviously not reliable. As a first step I checked the in-situ resistance of the sending unit, was around 38 ohms which didn't make sense as the tank was about 3/4 full. Since I had a new vibrator (have had for three years) I replaced to see if it made a difference, no change in gauge operation. Next step was to remove the sender (carefully) and during the removal process discovered I had installed it incorrectly, i.e. positioned the floats in the wrong direction. Apparently they were binding in a way which wouldn't allow them to move beyond a certain point. After reinserting correctly the gauge now reads as below:

Did the LED headlights work out for you as far as visibility?
Glad you got the fuel gauge worked out. We late bus people have re-engineered senders that are now linear instead of progressively wound BECAUSE THEY FELT LIKE IT, and what a pain to calibrate at the gauge head.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:56 am

LED headlights are awesome! I had made this change to the bus (Fatboy) a couple of years ago and it was phenomenal, same results with the super beetle.

While the fuel gauge fix isn't perfect as far as matching level in tank it is a much closer. Will not be attempting to dial it in as frankly it doesn't get driven that much.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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wdollie6
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by wdollie6 » Fri Oct 09, 2020 5:42 am

Back to the Fasty!

Spent time, as available, to open up back, passenger side, inner quarter (vent intake and drain areas), complete additional weld repair. To do this it was necessary to remove the "cover" which had almost 30 spotwelds that had to be drilled. Once open made repairs, rust converted, covered with a coat of urethane primer, then seam sealed, followed by a final coat of urethane. Welded cover back on and seam sealed along with a final coat of urethane. This should up for a while.
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Also decided to open up the same location in the drivers side (looked good from the outside) but turned out to be just as bad or worse, what a mess. Finished up the front half, hopefully finish the rear this morning. Fitting up the repair metal is challenging because of all the curves and sub pieces.
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Still not sure how to address the issue of the cavity that the rear bumper mounts are welded to. The passenger side (previous picture, earlier post) is completely rusted through on the bumper mount side. Driver's side is solid but still need to open up the cavity to treat the area, somehow...
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20201009_081005 - Edited.jpg
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1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

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Amskeptic
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Oct 11, 2020 8:28 pm

It is a pleasure to watch you prevail. What is the rear bumper mounting about. Is there a boxed bunch of sheet metal or a rudimentary "frame" section?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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skip
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Re: New Owner, 70' Fasty

Post by skip » Mon Oct 12, 2020 6:05 am

Is that silver paint Rust Bullet or Master Series ?
Complexity is the enemy of reliability.

76 Westfalia
74 Type 181

RinTinTin in Waldorf Astoria 1956

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