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New 67 Beetle - TMI Kit Install
chickenfillet - April 5th, 2009 at 02:15 PM

Hi Guys,

Picked up this '67 a few weeks ago from a lovely lady in Canberra who had owned it for the past 37 years and has really taken great care of it but the interior is pretty stuffed.

I went to order a TMI seat & door card kit but I can't seem to find the matching seat style. I'm guessing the front seats are not correct for the year? Does anyone know if I need to order the 56 to 64 or the 65 to 67 kit? They both don't look right to me.

Any help would be really appreciated,

Cheers,
Kevin


chickenfillet - April 5th, 2009 at 02:17 PM

the seats...


chickenfillet - April 5th, 2009 at 02:19 PM

the seat types...


OZ Towdster - April 5th, 2009 at 04:03 PM

Your seats are the 65 to 67 model , the ealier seats have a noticable rounded corner that yours don't have


Joel - April 5th, 2009 at 04:12 PM

looks to be a 67 custom
good to see one in that condition, theres not many left around

aus bugs were slapped toghether with leftovers and are way behind US and euro bugs spec wise
67 customs are the perfect example of that

front seats are right, they have just already been recovered once
there also put in arse about
thats the passagers one on the driver side and vice versa
is it just a flattering photo? upholstry actually looks better than most bugs around


chickenfillet - April 5th, 2009 at 04:30 PM

Thanks guys,

The fronts are not bad but have a few stains and I wanted to tidy the whole lot up as this is going to be my daily drive.

Good spotting on the seats being the wrong way round, didn't even notice! And it is a 1300.

Has anyone recovered their seats using the TMI kits, they look fairly straight forward.

Will be ordering tonight!!!

Thanks again,
Kevin


sander288 - April 5th, 2009 at 06:15 PM

nice looking 67 good to see another one on the road! I too had some issues with parts, interior though is 58-64 door cards and the seats are as said before 65-67 but to be honeset when ordering from within australia just say to them that you have an Aus '67 and they know what to give you, i've found vintage vee dub to be the best with correct parts


vw54 - April 5th, 2009 at 07:13 PM

Order from Vintage then you wont get that problem


grumble - April 5th, 2009 at 07:47 PM

watch the carpeting TMI carpets are made for the US market i.e for left hand drive. This gives a cut out section near the pedal cluster and L/H carpet.


chickenfillet - April 5th, 2009 at 07:56 PM

Cheers Guys,

I'm going to call around a few places tomorrow and see if they have the colours I am after in stock, planning on either red or blue basket weave. Any idea what a good price to pay is in Australia? I have seen US sites seem to vary massively, from $128US to over $300US for the same TMI brand seat kit.

Kevin


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:22 PM

OK so I picked up the TMI kit from Vintage VW in Campsie, a bargain at $285+gst for both the front and rear. The first step was to put the new covers in the sun to warm them up and make them a little more pliable. Then I pulled the seats from the bug and started stripping the old covers....


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:25 PM

Next step was to cut a layer of high density EVA foam over the rear seat pad to help cover the horse hair and make up for the loss of 'spring' in the old seat.


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:27 PM

When I first tried to pull on the cover they were still a little stiff so I popped them in the dryer for a couple of minutes.


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:30 PM

Once warm they slipped on a treat and I pulled them tight onto the seat hooks.


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:31 PM

A little bit of adjustment and they looked great!


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:32 PM

Now onto the fronts, if anyone wants the old front covers feel free to drop me a line on 0409 767 048...


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:34 PM

Again stripped off the old covers, added a little foam and then the layer of EVA foam


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:54 PM

I tried slipping on the seat back - then found I needed both an assistant...


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 02:59 PM

and cling film the top of the foam so the cover slides on.


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 03:00 PM

Then the rods from the old covers need to be reinserted, folded over and clipped in place.


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 03:02 PM

Finished front!


chickenfillet - April 11th, 2009 at 03:04 PM

The finished seats in the bug, I am planning on new carpet kit but the German square weave is stupidly expensive, I have been quoted $1200 so may have to be a cheap cut and loop for now.


Flintstones - April 11th, 2009 at 09:34 PM

turned out nice!:)
cheers
D


sander288 - April 12th, 2009 at 07:09 PM

like the pros! noice let us know how the carpet goes...


65busser - April 13th, 2009 at 03:06 PM

Nice job Kevin. Looks the goods. Btw, TMI do a 10 piece RHD carpet kit which is reasonably priced and comes in plenty of colours. Have to do cut-outs for handbrake and gearshift if you're using the tunnel piece, and also need to do cut-outs for the vents in the footwells, but at the price it's still good value.
Brad


chickenfillet - April 13th, 2009 at 03:56 PM

Hi Brad,

That sounds just what I am after, I have asked a few Sydney based shops about TMI carpets but they seem to only have a cheap marine style carpet in a dark grey/black.

Do you know any shops around your way that sell the kits?

Cheers,
Kevin

:EDIT: Sorry Brad I just clicked your busnbug link, your work is awesome, any chance you can supply the kit or do you just do the install?


65busser - April 13th, 2009 at 04:47 PM

Kevin. Check your pm's.