I bought some heater vent covers and retaining clips off of TheSamba.com. Getting bug parts in the mail is just like Christmas. A rustier, dirtier Christmas.
Not sure what color they should be. Black? Gray? Should they match the carpet? Pearl White, like the body? Don’t know yet.
Add $40.75 to the Bug Bill.
Disassembly continues with the dash components. Removed the radio (I keep calling it a stereo) the grilles on either side of the speedometer, the fuel gauge, the ashtray, and the speaker. Tried to make a bunch of photographs to document how everything was hooked up.
A couple of observations: the radio is not original. There are markings on the case, ones says “Gadsden” and the other says “won’t play.” Since I have to guess — the bug was in Gadsden, and sent off the radio to some other city/dealer for repair. The original radio was a “Wolfsburg” (Blaupunkt, I think) according to the birth certificate that indicated code “M-95”. Also, the front windshield rim rust areas are rusted through to the electrical area, but there’s not widespread rust/damage underneath. That’s somewhat encouraging. It makes me think that once the windshield area cancers had eaten through the shell, the car was put aside, or mothballed, or whatever. Because it seems like the rust would’ve continued unabated and done a lot more damage. Although the speaker paper cone was completely gone, there’s not a lot of water damage in behind the dash.
Work time: 45 minutes to an hour. Photos following:
I started cleaning out the interior today. Floor pans are a little worse than they look from the bottom. (Some holes just aren’t visible when they’re covered by that tar board.) I was first thinking that a half-pan replacement near the battery would be all that was needed, but it’s obvious that both full pans will need to be replaced. Not that big a set-back. Other areas, happily, are rust-free. Like the luggage compartment, for example. The interior is not too bad, overall. Front seats need to be cleaned, back seat needs some filling replaced, and a little bit of sewing, but it should be ok. Replacement of the upholstery may be an option down the road but for now I can get by with what’s there. Rubber mats may clean up ok; the front mat is torn in half, but it may not even been noticeable when put back clean. The carpet is going to be replaced. There was never a floor-carpet, only some trim pieces around the upper edges of the interior and the luggage compartment behind the back seat. Mats and carpet will not be too expensive.
Work time: One hour. Photos following:
Three of the four interior panels look ok, and re-usable. But the back of driver side door panel is broken and flimsy. I think the vinyl could be cleaned, and would probably still have some life in it.
The backing looks like masonite. If I can safely separate the vinyl from the backing, I think I could get a piece of masonite from Lowe’s or Home Depot and use the existing backing as a template for making a new one.