Bronze 87 Clipper - redoing interior

Right well my roof has been leaking since before I've had the car, it's approaching 23 years old, it's got a few dents and isn't very reliable… Let's say that every aspect of my car needs a bit of a refresh, but I like it and I've finally sorted a garage to keep her in.

I've decided to start off fixing up the interior - in particular the seats as they're dirty and torn, which is a shame because I actually really like the fabric, it looked like this:


I had seen a previous thread where someone put leatherette covers into his rivage and it looked good! So went down the same route, getting covers in a darkish beige as it'll fit in with my interior - the covers were supposed to have brown stitching but turned up without which was a little annoying but they're nice quality and look great.
I got myself some hog clip pliers off t'interweb (they've been amazing) & started with the back seats which came out easily and following tips off here I managed to recovered in a few hours time and am really pleased with the result:
  

today I took the front seats out (I need new foams but after a scary encounter with my bank balance I figured I could get these later) anyway I thought I'd strip down both seats and see if it was possible to get 1 good foam set from both chairs… Unfortunately having looked through posts on here and the trusted haynes I can't figure out how to separate the back and base… Humpfles.  I read that the adjuster knob should pry off, but mine won't and there's a delightfully threaded screw in the centre! If anyone has a clue please let me know!


On a brighter note though I lifted the carpet and despite being soggy, the car floor is solid and rust free!

Also if anyone / people need bits of my old seat covers to repair theirs, please let me know - free to collect or however much to post / DHL

Good job mate, refurbishing the interior can be a big job but it's well worth it. What about the roof? You said it was leaking, is this sorted now as I wouldn't advise sorting the interior until it's sure to remain dry.

As for the seats, I'd just keep my eyes open on ebay etc as you never know what will come up. I got a rip free interior off there for £35, just needed a clean and in it went.

T

Cheers, where the roof is leaking I think it can be sorted with a bit of adjustment and new seals and the membrane thingy which goes under - have ordered a roll. The roof itself needs replacing as it's cracked in a few places but on the whole quite good.  Going to try and replace with a mohair when the funds allow.

The reason I've started on the interior is because it's garaged now and so hopefully won't be seeing any rain, the inside at the moment is quite shabby and not a nice place to be and feel like I can sort on a reasonable budget (hence leatherette lol).

A new drivers seat would be nice as it doesn't have the tilt adjust and being an 87 clipper it should do.

Think I'll have one more look at getting the seat apart tonight then retire with a whiskey for the night!

I put my first post up using my phone (and its camera) - just noticed how rubbish the photos look, so sorry about that - I don't have internet at home at the minute which is frustrating!  I think I've found out the way to get the headrests out - have to release the prongs from inside the seat with a socket? But still no joy on seperating the back from the base    meh…

Anyway, I was considering retrofitting heated seats as I like to use the car in the cold as well as warm (top down, heaters on…) and a hot bott might help me convince others to join me, there's a set from a company called Waeco who apparently supply VAG with their heated seats?  And as I'm having the seats apart anyway, I thought it might be a good time to pop them in.

They do a set which comes with all the wiring, its own relay etc, which can be found on ebay brand new for about £60, does anyone have any experience with this, the wiring diagram looks simple enough, but then I don't really have much experience with electrics, so would I be better off stealing well clear and leaving my electrics alone?

This is the diagram:

Hi mate I re did mine a while ago.
It shows in my thread how to seperate the bases etc.

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=59405

Good job on yours mate, where you get your covers from?

Aha! Your guide is exactly what I was after - don't know how I didn't find it!  Got the front seats apart and retrimmed one of the backs, but now I'm stuck again, the plastic trims that the seat backs latch on to won't come off - your guide says they just slid off after you undid the screws, but none of mine will budge - getting concerned they might have been glued on  :dontknow:

I got the covers from a company called euro covers - they're on eBay, was a shame to go away from standard but I'm hoping they'll look ok and not stand out as such.

Thanks for link it's been a great help!

Looks like you're making a good start!

Mine was in a similar state to yours when I got my cabby  

http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=68393&highlight=

But I've got it looking pretty reasonable now.

Do you still have the sticker in the boot? If so, could you have a look and make a note of the codes please? There should be one that relates to the type of fabric and I'd like to see if it matches mine (for future use).

Thanks,

Dan

I don't think my sticker is there - will look next time I go to the garage where I store it, just looked at your pics and I'm sure it is the same fabric, have taken a close up photo of the fabric on crappy phone camera if that helps, it looks a bit darker than it actually is:


mine's all a bit grubby but if you just need it for bits and bobs here and there then you can have it no probs.

I've still got one entire front seat and a seat base to strip though!

1st baggsies on some fabric if it's going then!!!!

Thanks for the close up photo, it's does look the same doesn't it? I think it's called Gazelle.

Cheers, Dan

yeah you can have it no probs!  I've just got to figure out how to get these last couple of nubbins off the base and it'll all be off.

Finally got all the covers off, a big stumbling block were the plastic headrest holders at the top!  Had read that these are difficult to get off without breaking, so having read through a few tips on here, I've finally figured it out… There are some metal clips inside the plastic headrest holders that need removing, then basically once I'd detached the fabric from the seat, I pulled it all back, so it was literally just held on by the headrest clips.

Then I turned the seat over to access the bottom of the headrest holder located beneath the metal (see blue arrow in image below) which have 4 clips that all need pushing together in order to retract from the frame.

I pushed onto these using a socket - 12mm - this pushed them all together at the same time, then pushed through.  There's a hollow chamber, which you can access by pulling back the foam (see red arrow), then with a bit of rotation, they came out.

Having finally got the covers apart I need to source some new foams, so packed all my rubbish away and was quite shocked at all the dirt that fell out the seats and onto the floor* they never seemed that dirty inside the car…

Next job - well the seat bases are quite rusted, so think they need a good rub down and some hammerite before they go back together… nice li'l job before i get the foams.



*the sweet wrapper did not come out of the seats, but rather a pack of cadburys heroes and now feature miniature creme egg twisted - AMAZING and essential to munch on whilst getting frustrated at a b*%$*^d seat that won't come apart.

sooooo the interior got a bit delayed…

the carpet and underlay both too a little longer than expected to arrive, but finally got them last week.

So today I went round to the garage with a load of parts amassed since christmas and set to work, started off my ripping out and cleaning up the floor, then popping in the underlay


Then I popped down the new carpet and in with the back bench.

I still need 1 foam for 1 of the front seats, so I made up just the drivers seat so that I could get the car out for a bit of a spin… however, if you look carefully at the picture below, you might notice my deliberate mistake with regard to the seat I made up….



I'm not sure about the seats, they don't look as tight fitting as I had hoped, however they don't have massive holes in them and so will be a good stop gap solution until I can afford to get them professionally recovered.  My dad took the piss out of my leatherette upholstery and so brought me a leather scented magic tree…. git



I also thought I'd give Greta's outside a bit of loving, so fitted new trim clips and chrome strips and some polished, shiny P Slots I brought off here, the car was on a driveway so I haven't been able to even see for myself properly, but here's the best pic I could get:


at that point i lost feeling in the end of my toes, but alas, the car looks more like a car again!

Now that seat mistake is funny man, love it! :lmao:

Seriously though, the seats don't look bad at all, good job so far I'd say. Did the underlay come pre-cut or is it something you cut yourself?

T

took me a while to spot it LOL,
are the metal rods in the sleeves still in place on the seams on these new covers? They are on the original seat base cloth. If not they will need transfering over, as these hook onto the wires in the foam base and pull the material into the grooves between either side of the base and the bolsters? they pull the material tight to achieve a smoother finish.
Is there a sleeve that runs around the bottom of the base covers, that should have a wire through them to pull tight. The wire wraps arond the seat legs at the rear?
What I am basically getting at are these complete with all the fittings that were on the originals?

chortle said

took me a while to spot it LOL,
are the metal rods in the sleeves still in place on the seams on these new covers? They are on the original seat base cloth. If not they will need transfering over, as these hook onto the wires in the foam base and pull the material into the grooves between either side of the base and the bolsters? they pull the material tight to achieve a smoother finish.
Is there a sleeve that runs around the bottom of the base covers, that should have a wire through them to pull tight. The wire wraps arond the seat legs at the rear?
What I am basically getting at are these complete with all the fittings that were on the originals?

I'm gonna need your help soon as I'm gonna replace my foam in the drivers seat soon.

T

A ha!
just read the add and these are meant to  just cover the old seats with the original ones in place.
I guess that you would need to transfer all the other stuff over and maybe pad the original foams out a bit to take up any space.

hi,

yeah the covers I got replace the old ones completely, they came with the seams so I transferred all the metal rods across, also invested in some hog ring pliers which made it a lot easier to attach, but still, it's not too baggy, just not the finish I was after.

They also do have the seam around the bottom for the wire, although I couldn't figure out how to get a wire back into it, so just popped a few hog rings round the base to keep it taut.

The underlay I got precut from BigBoysToys - it's got 2 layers to it and fits well, although I don't think it would take much to cut your own with the old ones as a template.

Felt like such an idiot when I put in the seat, I can't believe I did it!  I'll be an expert at dismantling and reassembling these seats when it's all finally done!

when I redid mine the wire was from wilkos (found it in the shed), you have to feed it through the bottom strip of the seat cover before you put it on the foam.
It is in my post.
I wonder if someone has mentioned the fit to euro covers as they seem to be baggy on yours and bochays.
I did email them to check the price as in the thread it states they cost £125.00 not £149.00.
I also asked if they would do a club discount, the only response was trhey would cost £149.00.
Worth a shot though. I was gonna offer to send them the old covers off mine to use as a template.
If only I had a  proper machine and a place to work from.
I have found a link to some bloke on you tube and he is looking at doing some kind of internet course, I think there are some deatails of the work he does. Brilliant little vids.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Cechaflo#g/u

There is another company in germany doing the same thingfor a while now but they are more expensive.

I am not sure about the translation but I think these are real leather? I  am sure someone will say different if thats the case.
They have a set on at £199.00 + postage, but again no door cards cover.
I am quite sure someone could produce a complete kit inc.

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/w-w-w-k-maniac-d-e__W0QQ_armrsZ1

When I spoke to a mate who works for BMW, how much he could get my interior done for in leather it was gonna be over a grand, so going the DIY route is something to think about seriously.

using the old google translater, it says LEDERAUSSTATTUNG means leather seats, so looks good - damnit!  If they are real leather than I'd definitely say it's worth the extra £50, and it'd be interesting to see the fit - plus the material mine are made of is called "glamouride" which just sounds wrong.

Eurocovers did make a mistake on the stitching on mine - I'd asked for brown stitching and they came with beige stitching in the middle bits and a bit of black stitching on the edges  :dontknow:

My dad seems to think that by applying a bit of heat it should make the fit better, so I might give that a go and to be fair, the bad fit could be my inexperience rather than anything else, I made a note and used hog rings in the same places, but I bet sending the covers to a professional trimmer would have yielded much better results - particularly for the front seats, which I bet wouldn't cost too much.

I would suggest investing in the hog ring pliers for doing it yourself, because they made it so much easier to get into the nooks and attach the metal rods to the wires in the foam.

well the seats are finally in and built correctly, whoop!  They don't look brilliant but I don't care, I've got seats and can use it at last!!



so very glad to have a complete car again…

In other news, I put on a Weber carburetor and after having not started for 4 months and been patchy reliability wise at best, I popped it on (with assistance from various intructions on this site) and the car started first time and drove brilliantly, it's like a different car, it's pleasant to drive, doesn't feel like it's going to conk out any second, accelerates smoothly, pulls confidently through all the gears…

I don't know why I didn't put on a Weber sooner, I did about half a tank of fuel round the warwickshire countryside, and it's amazing!

I love Weber.

Also I popped a new set of Hella H4 headlamps on as my remaining hella was held together with tape, and the other one was a random brand with a poor pattern on it, then also added a K&N air filter and new fuel return valve.

So here she is! Greta in her current glory - now completely useable and ready for the summer:


Next job… brake pipes.. although it needs new suspension (should I lower it a little bit??) & a new roof.

I've also accumulated a load of junk that people are welcome to if it's any good to them:
Pierburg 2E2 Carb - did work, just probably wasn't set up right (temp sensor removed as it was needed on the Weber) so good for parts etc…
Green Vacuum Ball thingy
Full set of black and chrome side strips
Old headlamps (1 x Hella H4 taped together and 1 x solex (neither are much cop))

If any of this is good to anyone let me know - it's located in Birmingham and I live in Warwick

Now all I need is good weather and an excuse to drive it!