OK, after posting a build thread on customising my L Bug dash ( http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=91433  ), I thought I would do a thread on the rest of my interior, most of which was done in conjuction with a full re-spray a few years later.

First up, I wanted to install electric windows, and I wanted some way to cover the 'lump' made by the winder adapter as it went over the splines of the window winder handle shaft, so I got some parts off the door cards of a Mazda 626 (I think), then worked out how to fit them.

I needed to change the location of the interior door handles so they would fit into the top of the new (Mazda?) arm rests, so I had some angle brackets made and the linkages modified so the handles would be horozontal instead of the standard vertical, and fitted the electric window winder mechanism from Autobarn. The motor mounts to the bottom of the inside of the door, and it has a sort of chain drive inside 'tubes' up to an adaptor over the window winder handle shafts.


I then fitted remote central locking which attaches to a bracket in the bottom of the door.


To run the wiring into the doors, I 'tapped' both the door jamb (A pillar) and the front of the door in a bit to increase the gap between them on the inside, then drilled holes in both that aligned so I could run a rubber tube between the 2 (fuel or oil hose I think). The side in the jamb is a tight fit with a gromet to hold the tube firm, and the side in the door is free to slide in and out. The wiring is then run through them undamaged.


In amongst this 'rats nest' of wiring is also an alarm.


This was all a few years before the re-spray etc. The first thing to do was to strip out the existing interior. In this shot of the back, you can see one of the old antena holes (I had 3 of them - HF CB radio, UHF CB radio, and mobile phone). I had them filled for the re-spray.


The back seat area.


In the area behind the back seat, you can see where I fitted the rear speakers years ago. It is a bit of a bugger in these later bugs with the flow through ventilation, as it 'broke through' into the vent area, so I had to make up and install shields inside the speaker holes.


The roof liner was stripped out (yeah, I know, more arial holes).


These are the Autotechnica seats I bought and fitted from Autobarn a few years earlier. We (my engineer welder mate Bernie did the technical stuff) modified and beefed up the original seat bases and bolted the seats to them. They use the original slides etc, and are excellent.


I wanted to put headrests in the rear seats, so I bought a pair of front seats with headrests that I liked from the wreckers, cut out all the back part of the seat with the headrest bracing and mounts, and fitted them into the existing back seat back. The rear seat base was also cut in half, and shortend by 25mm to make removal easier due to pockets I was fitting in the back side cards. Once again, Bernie did the welding etc. for me.


And close up.


The headrest tubes were then fitted.


Then the headrests themselves could go in.


So the whole setup looked like this, ready to be covered.


I had Rod at R & B Wild Interiors in Port Macquarie do the trimming for me. There was the back seat and headrests, front door cards ready for the (Mazda?) pockets to go on them, and the rear side cards, which I had modified for pockets also (from a Suzuki 4wd I think).


Rod padded and shaped the back seat quite a bit. My kids had grown up and moved out by then - they were a bit disappointed that they had put up with the old worn out padding for most of there kid lives. lol The grandkids reckon they are great though. :-)


I cut in and wired a 2nd interior light on the drivers side, then Rod helped me do the rest of the trimming. We glued carpet foam underlay on the roof.


and a lot of other places that needed padding, and fitted the headliner etc.


I then fitted the rear side cards with their pockets in them.


Sound insulation in the back area.


Then fitted the back seat.


And


The doors had a waterproof sheet fitted from up inside the inner window scraper to keep the water out of the electrics.


and from the top.


The electrics (central locking, electric windows, and courtesy lights) were then intalled back into the doors.

The door cards had the pockets installed, as well as a VW emblem with a hole and an opaque disk behind it.


And from behind, you can see the VW emblem has a light box behind it, and it has a green neon in it. The door pockets have a courtesy light in them as well, and both are connected to the door switches, so come on when the doors are opened. There is also a switch on the dash so they can be switched off if you have the doors open for a long time, such as when working on the car.


The door cards and associated hardware were installed - drivers side.


And passenger side.


So that in the dark the courtesy lights look like this.


And the front seats were installed.


This was about 4 years ago, and I have done a few other small things since then, so I will post more photos as I find them (and take them lol).

Wow, very impressive Jeff! You must have the most modern Bug interior around!

Jeff!

Thanks for posting this up, has given me ideas for my own door inserts!
I'd already planned an awesome parcel shelf area, but with your idea of the glowing VW emblem in the doors, that is definitely something I'm going to investigate!

Really want to see this car in person one day!

looks great Jeff mine goes in next week for a new interior

Damn, very sorry to hear about the rollover!

But those door trims, they are crazy goodness, so I'm definitely going to implement something very similar into my own door trims!

Thanks for sharing Jeff!

How are the repairs progressing, Jeff?

Talked to the panel shop last week - all dismantled and underway. Will possibly be a few weeks yet.

Hi there,
do you have any pics of how you mounted the seats to the 3 point mounts?
I have some recaros, that I am intending to mount in mine, and just wondering about the best way to do it.
cheers

Sorry Kafer Lover, I don't have any pictures of the mounts. I will take some when I get the car back.

Basically, a mate of mine with a welding/engineering shop worked with me to make the bases. We used the centre section with the adjuster holes in it and the 'ears' off the bottom of the legs (that slide in the tracks), and welded them into and onto a new frame that we made to suit the seats. We also put in provision for a 'skirt' to go on the outside of the frames (next to the doors - similar idea to the originals), but I haven't got them made or installed yet.

Hey Jeff, any particular reason you cut all that metal out starting from what looks like the speaker hole?

cam070, the hole I have cut in the inside door skin is for the pocket in the door card. You can see it in the later post of the door card, but I guess you can't really see how far it sticks out.

Lee, it does look like a lot of mods when you see them all in one go, but they have been done slowly over many years. I get an idea, then sus out how I might do it, source what I need to make it happen, convince the boss to let me spend money on it (that is the hardest part lol), then try and find the time to do it.

The next big thing I want to do is put an inbuilt GPS with a reversing camera (for reversing up to trailers several times a week) in the old CB radio hole in the centre console. I have been working on this for 3 or 4 years now, but they keep evolving faster than I can get it organised. lol

Not too keen on doing it that way - my duaghter did that for her Mazda, but it started to play up after a few months. They said they will fix it under warranty, but she has to send it back to China with one of their nominated carries - cheapest is $155.00. She isn't real happy about that, and there is also the time she will be without it.

Jeff, where did you get that centre console from?
Really keen in getting one the same, more room for some fancy gauges/switches.

Cheers!

I bought it from someone in Sydney who was making them (I think). It was about 15 - 20 years ago I think. I have a feeling it could have been Dave Birtchal, but I am not sure.

Interestingly, Dylan asked me the same question only about a week ago. I told him I was looking at removing it at some stage to have some of the holes filled etc, and we could make a mould of it then. It wa originally for a flat dash bug, and I had to cut the tops off the sides to fit it into the L bug. The original mould would be far better to use if we could round it up.

If we end up making a mould of it, I will let you know, or at least, post it on here.

Awesome!

Very interested in it, would just mean more room to have a couple of extra bits and bobs around the place...