This is just what I needed to finish off my seats. The cover was loose and I wanted to re-fit the cover. I found a broken tang and will use a self tapping screw as you suggest. I wondered what that bit of silver metal was right at the end of the video - it fell off under the seat before I took out of the seat off the car and had me scratching my head as to what the heck it was. BTW I used some thin wire instead of the string to give it more strength. Thanks so much for your help and time!!
I own a 1971 Super Bug, and have just replaced the driver seat padding and also fitted a new coconut fiber base. I noticed that you had re-upholstered the same type of seat base. I just wish that you had shown also - an easy way of re-attaching the Seat Back with headrest built-in. The rear of the seat base at the narrowest point is 440mm. But the two arms of the seat Backrest are only 400mm! I have done this once before, by using a very large G - Clamp and two pieces of thick plywood. I find that I need to 'crush' the newly - upholstered seat base, by 40mm, in order to get the arms for the seat backrest to pass over. It would have been great if you could have done a short video on just refitting the Seat Backrest, and how to do this without causing trauma to the new Seat Base. There really must be a better way than my 'brutal' method! Thanks for a great, helpful video. Greetings from Australia.
nice video chris a and tony. Good to see you guys getting into these. I have been doing uneditied stuff for years. little ad money never hurt anybody anyway...
You all prolly dont give a damn but does someone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account..? I stupidly lost the login password. I would love any help you can give me.
@Emerson Devin Thanks for your reply. I found the site through google and im trying it out atm. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Chris, zig zag spring replace, have yu ever? I bought new straight ones on Amazon. The problem is trying to bend them back to oneself to create the 45° spring action affect. Any help would be appreciated. Maybe a torch to heat them. This is tough steel
Great video! What did you use for the under layer? If you said it, I missed it. Thanks! I did my back seat awhile back and I guess I used sisal. That looks like leather... (?)
I used the same horsehair (coconut fiber) pads as the guy in the video. The problem was not with the pads--they were perfect. The issue I had was my seat springs--although not broken--had sagged somewhat over a forty-year period. The result was the seat covers looked a tad too large in the sitting area. Not much--but not perfect. The fix would have been to top off the horsehair pad with a one-inch high-density foam pad. Two inches would have overstuffed it, and I would have gotten a seat that looked more like ... well? ... and overstuffed seat. We've all seen those. But a good one-inch high density pad would have filled out the sag issue perfectly.
you have to look at the springs, they could be broken on that one side. Sometimes you can weld them, but many times you would need to find good used springs.
On the front passenger and driver seats,there are two (2) different wire gauges of the Springs, with the (outer) seat springs being heavier. My bug is a 1971. I will bet that your broken springs are the lighter gauge. I had two (2) of the lighter gauge springs that broke, and both springs broke 50mm from the top looped portion. So I used a pair of Vice Grips to pull each broken spring upwards to hold it about 50mm above the seat. With a gas blowlamp, I simply heated the last 20mm of each broken spring - and formed new 'loops'. I then simply looped the new loops around the adjacent spring. Everything went fine. I hope that this helps, because it isn't an easy job to find (or even make and fit) new springs. I had the most uncomfortable Driver's seat for 15 years. A new replacement coconut fiber base was also fitted under the seat cover.
Chris, i need some advice please..my 73 dual port beetle..has a generator thats slightly loose..i didnt want to just tighten the belt without addressing the alternator/generator being loose..(when i give it gas it doesnt shake)..the generator has about a 1/4 inch of play in it..and i know if i tighten the belt it will go away..but that doesnt solve the "genny" from being loose..how can i get the play out of the generator??..i didnt want to mess with it until i hear from you..thanks again..
OKAY..I FOUND A 13MM BOLT THAT HOLDS THE HOUSING OF THE ALTERNATOR ON..AND IT WAS A BRUTALLY SMALL SPACE..TIGHTENED IT WITH A SCREWDRIVER THRU THE WRENCH BECAUSE NO SWIVEL SOCKET WOULD FIT...SHES TIGHT AS A DRUM NOW...AND THE BELT WONT KEEP COMING LOOSE...VERY HAPPY TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED..
My question about the pliers was answered here, but what kind of clamps are those you're using? And where can I find them? Thanks for making this video, btw. I've been searching for hours and it's the best one I've found.
we have almost completely rebuilt our 73 with your helpful videos..interior and all...
excellent video! Tip that I've seen guys do,when you tie the string off,have a buddy sit on the seat,and the tie off will be secure for years.
Great video! I'm SO glad I watched this video before attempting recover project. I usually watch videos to find out where I f'd up!!
This is just what I needed to finish off my seats. The cover was loose and I wanted to re-fit the cover. I found a broken tang and will use a self tapping screw as you suggest. I wondered what that bit of silver metal was right at the end of the video - it fell off under the seat before I took out of the seat off the car and had me scratching my head as to what the heck it was. BTW I used some thin wire instead of the string to give it more strength. Thanks so much for your help and time!!
Again, yet another useful edition to the repository of knowledge
I own a 1971 Super Bug, and have just replaced the driver seat padding and also fitted a new coconut fiber base. I noticed that you had re-upholstered the same type of seat base. I just wish that you had shown also - an easy way of re-attaching the Seat Back with headrest built-in. The rear of the seat base at the narrowest point is 440mm. But the two arms of the seat Backrest are only 400mm! I have done this once before, by using a very large G - Clamp and two pieces of thick plywood. I find that I need to 'crush' the newly - upholstered seat base, by 40mm, in order to get the arms for the seat backrest to pass over. It would have been great if you could have done a short video on just refitting the Seat Backrest, and how to do this without causing trauma to the new Seat Base. There really must be a better way than my 'brutal' method! Thanks for a great, helpful video. Greetings from Australia.
This is just what I need to see before starting my Thing seats.... much easier than I imagined.
nice video chris a and tony. Good to see you guys getting into these. I have been doing uneditied stuff for years. little ad money never hurt anybody anyway...
Greatly appreciated buddy. You're a saint and scholar
I'm glad you mentioned seat tracks. My seats are appropriate for the tracks, but I cant get them to slide on. Any tips?
Beautiful job Chris!
You all prolly dont give a damn but does someone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account..?
I stupidly lost the login password. I would love any help you can give me.
@Jonathan Graham Instablaster =)
@Emerson Devin Thanks for your reply. I found the site through google and im trying it out atm.
I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Emerson Devin It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thank you so much, you saved my ass !
@Jonathan Graham You are welcome :D
Chris, zig zag spring replace, have yu ever? I bought new straight ones on Amazon. The problem is trying to bend them back to oneself to create the 45° spring action affect.
Any help would be appreciated. Maybe a torch to heat them. This is tough steel
Looking to reupholster my seats very soon. I hate the original seat padding they use. It leaves a mess when it gets old.
Great video! What did you use for the under layer? If you said it, I missed it. Thanks! I did my back seat awhile back and I guess I used sisal. That looks like leather... (?)
Yeah this is Wolfsburgwest video. We personally like to use burlap or a jute material.
I used the same horsehair (coconut fiber) pads as the guy in the video. The problem was not with the pads--they were perfect. The issue I had was my seat springs--although not broken--had sagged somewhat over a forty-year period. The result was the seat covers looked a tad too large in the sitting area. Not much--but not perfect.
The fix would have been to top off the horsehair pad with a one-inch high-density foam pad. Two inches would have overstuffed it, and I would have gotten a seat that looked more like ... well? ... and overstuffed seat.
We've all seen those. But a good one-inch high density pad would have filled out the sag issue perfectly.
just what i needed i was gonna rebuild my 68 seat next paycheck
Auto Zone no longer carries the thin black carpet. Just tried to get some. Discontinued.
By the way, I loved the video, just what I needed.
Thanks for sharing!
What about when the seat bottom sags to one side? How do you fix that?
you have to look at the springs, they could be broken on that one side. Sometimes you can weld them, but many times you would need to find good used springs.
Ok cool. I retire next week and since we're in our rainy season in Oregon and my wipers don't work, I have a new project to fix on my bug. Thank you
Some of my springs are broken. I wish he would have addressed that in the video. Good video anyway.
On the front passenger and driver seats,there are two (2) different wire gauges of the Springs, with the (outer) seat springs being heavier. My bug is a 1971. I will bet that your broken springs are the lighter gauge. I had two (2) of the lighter gauge springs that broke, and both springs broke 50mm from the top looped portion. So I used a pair of Vice Grips to pull each broken spring upwards to hold it about 50mm above the seat. With a gas blowlamp, I simply heated the last 20mm of each broken spring - and formed new 'loops'. I then simply looped the new loops around the adjacent spring. Everything went fine. I hope that this helps, because it isn't an easy job to find (or even make and fit) new springs. I had the most uncomfortable Driver's seat for 15 years. A new replacement coconut fiber base was also fitted under the seat cover.
great great video, where did you order the basket-weave fabric from and what color is that?
Good video.....thanks for the tips!!!
Great job, thanks for sharing
I thought this would show how to cu;t and sew the upholstery. Do you ever do that?
no need, there are places that specialize in bug seat upholstery. Sewfine I use in colorado, they do incredible work.
I used the old seat covering as a pattern.
Chris, i need some advice please..my 73 dual port beetle..has a generator thats slightly loose..i didnt want to just tighten the belt without addressing the alternator/generator being loose..(when i give it gas it doesnt shake)..the generator has about a 1/4 inch of play in it..and i know if i tighten the belt it will go away..but that doesnt solve the "genny" from being loose..how can i get the play out of the generator??..i didnt want to mess with it until i hear from you..thanks again..
OKAY..I FOUND A 13MM BOLT THAT HOLDS THE HOUSING OF THE ALTERNATOR ON..AND IT WAS A BRUTALLY SMALL SPACE..TIGHTENED IT WITH A SCREWDRIVER THRU THE WRENCH BECAUSE NO SWIVEL SOCKET WOULD FIT...SHES TIGHT AS A DRUM NOW...AND THE BELT WONT KEEP COMING LOOSE...VERY HAPPY TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED..
what was that od smell the old seats gave off during the summer did they use ground up horses hair for the stuffing
Yes exactly
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing!
Where do we buy the premade upholstery?
what material did you use for the first layer at 3:14
La housse et déchirée u coin gauche arrière
How can I clean the coconut fiber? mine, is in good shape, but it smells rack urine.
I could not figure out what kind of pliers he is using.
They are called hog ring pliers. Home Depot and harbor freight carry them for $10
My question about the pliers was answered here, but what kind of clamps are those you're using? And where can I find them? Thanks for making this video, btw. I've been searching for hours and it's the best one I've found.
where do you buy the seat springs from?
I don't really, I reuse the original seat springs. If you need springs, you would need to buy a used seat.
You can buy springs from mattress makers.....if your lucky enough to find one where you live!....just tack weld them in!
cheers :)
Thanks, thumbs ^