GarytheGolf

I'm also very sorry to hear your news Malcolm.  

Thoughts are with you for a positive outcome  

Best wishes
Andy

Thats a shame about the AGM Malcolm, but family comes first. Was looking forward to seeing a gleaming Gary and having a chat with you. Like Andy says, our thoughts are with you for a positive outcome.

Seems such a long time since I posted. I was very disappointed that I could not make the AGM with the recent bereavement and other issues.

At the same time I had to give up the Mancave so Gary (Mk1) is back in the garage at home. Things are quite tight with me having to roll him in and out. There isn't a spare inch in there!.

I had to distribute a few things around the family and sell surplus items on ebay.

Had a couple of 120 mile runs to see the daughters and grandchild over the latter months.

I have been using Gary on good days and this weekend is one of them.

I actually did some minor work today in cutting off some surplus headlining at the door frame seals.

A few days ago I took some photos for the insurance agreed valuation only to find out I did not need them after all.

Though I spent much more, I have an agreed value for £6K, not realising I already had a market valve of £3K during the restoration.

Anyway a few photos.

The new home: Note the bonnet stay is in the centre as I am maintaining the battery with a charger. Didn't want the bonnet to twist.



They should have been taken near a Mansion, anyway a Garden Centre instead:





















Still need to do the same treatment and refurb on the rear seats and despite not having too many issues during the Summer, hopefully change the Pierberg to a Weber.

Nice to see some pictures of the car again, let's hope next year we can see it in the metal at the AGM.  I think I have said it before, but the work you did on those front seats was amazing.

Good to see you back Malcolm, and Gary is looking stunning in the sunshine car park shots. Keep the updates coming.

Welcome back Malc, I hope that life is on more of an even keel for you now?

The car is an absolute credit to you and all your hard work - it looks stunning!!

I can't wait to see it in the flesh  

Did a few hours on Gary today, I took advantage of the dry weather. I miss the Mancave!, so it's in the back garden.

Decided it was time to refurbish the rear seats.

The seat backrest before dismantling:



The following applies to both the seat base and backrest. Get your fingers in and roll out the cardboard attachments.





Lift the frame up and pull out the back rest panel. (only for the backrest)





The sides are also undone, for the backrest this needs to be done before pulling out the panel.



Pull off the material from the seat attachment brackets.



Remove the frame:





And you are left with the foam.



I removed the scrim of the backrest to allow new foam to be glued on. It can be replaced later.



Here is the seat base and new foam spayed with glue, do the same with the backrest:



The seat foam and new foam stuck together:



This is the seat base trimmed. I left about 1/4 inch all the way round.



When I did the front seats, I put the seat material in the wash machine, however the pieces of material are smaller.

With the rear seats these pieces are much bigger and no guarantee that they would be washed fully in a small machine.

I took the seat material to the launderette. I spoke to the lady to see if there were any objections.

An £8 wash in a big machine. A half hour later and bingo, nice and clean. Don't use the tumble dryer! let them air dry.

Just a reminder in the wash process the cardboard around the edges does break up into little sections, but is still attached to the material (apart from a small piece that I will replace).

Also what ever foam was in the seat material after 32 years will wash away. When dry any remnants can be hoovered away.



That was quite enough for yesterday, I need to wait until the seat material is absolutely dry.

To be continued……………………………

Sorry, I missed two elements.

You need to disconnect the seat material attachment rods from the seat foam (a little awkward) and remove the rods from the material by closing one end.

nice work! just a quick tip for you if you need it, some of the mk2 golf seats use plastic strips instead of cardboard. its a fairly time consuming process sewing them in but its well worth it if your card strips are knackered like mine were

not sure if its only a 90spec thing, but thats where I found mine anyway

Great job Malc, nice little how-to  

(Top tip Jon   )

rubjonny said

nice work! just a quick tip for you if you need it, some of the mk2 golf seats use plastic strips instead of cardboard. its a fairly time consuming process sewing them in but its well worth it if your card strips are knackered like mine were

not sure if its only a 90spec thing, but thats where I found mine anyway

Jon, Thanks for the tip, I will take note of this.

Andy, thanks for the comments, my  next task is to get more oomph in the seat material.

A little update on the rear seat:

Started with the seat back. This is it after washing.

This is how it looks on the inside, fortunately the dark material is in good order.



So cut some foam to size. It needs to be about 14.5 inches wide and long enough to fill from the top to the bottom of the seat back.



Cut the netting under the dark material, this will allow you to hoover any remains of the previous foam.

It doesn't need to be too neat, the rough angles allow you to sew the netting back up in alignment.



Insert the cut foam and spread it out to fill the seat material:



Sew the netting back up, when everything is nice and flat.



Tack everything in place, note all the corners filled.







Bought myself a walking foot attachment for the machine:



Sew over the existing lines in the material





The only evidence that this material is 32 years old !! This is were the parcel shelf attaches to the rear seat.



A finished panel, repeated for the other panel:



Re-attach the material to the seat foam. This is a bit more physical than the front seats, a shower and a changes of clothes is required when finished!

The finished seat back, don't look too close, not the best stitching in the world.

Picking the right cotton and stretching the material when fitting produces the desired effect .



Still the seat base to do. Good winter project this.

Great job Malc  

Think you ought to consider doing this as a bit of a sideline, I am in awe at the way your seats turn out.

Thanks for the comments guys, but I am just managing to do this by the skin of my teeth, could do with a more heavy duty machine, it can be a bit fraught sometimes.

Had a good weekend, spent the day out with Gary. Gary is now SORN'd for the winter.

On Sunday, I met my second Grandaughter who was born in the early hours of Friday morning.

Met her on Sunday and issued her with the MK1 OC baby grow. A bit small to wear it as the moment.

Just finished reading the whole thread from start to finish and I just wanted to say I'm so impressed by your work. Love the car!

Greetings from Sweden.

Wow!, you must have had some time on your hands.

Thanks for the comments most appreciated.

I am still trying to find the time to finish the car. family commitments and other issues have taken my time.

I need to cure a few issues and finish off the back seat upholstery.

It is now SORN'd and garaged for the winter.

Haven't been doing much on the Gary with the Xmas and New Year Hols and our second grandchild born at the end of November adsorbing the time.

Gary is safely stowed in the garage on a battery maintainer. I miss the Mancave, so I can do the bits and bobs on a regular basis, being back in the home garage is very much subject to the elements.

I was so looking forward to the AGM and the new location this year as I had to pull out last year due to a bereavement. Unfortunately my nieces wedding which was booked last year has thwarted me coming again.

I could have made it on the Sunday but the wedding is at the Grooms home in Switzerland, so we had to plan a holiday either side to warrant the expense.

Hopefully I will get back on to Gary, I still need to finish the back seat, change some gauges, fix an annoying rattle in the dash and a broken passenger window winder mechanism.

I was only thinking at the weekend what's going on with Malc!!

Good to hear form you and all is well.

It's a real shame that you can't make the AGM again! I'm desperate to see the car now!! Perhaps bring it to another show this year. Stanford Hall??

Andy,

Never been to a show before, the AGM is my only experience. I assume the club has a stand?

From the website, I see that the show is on Sunday 1st May, it would be something I would consider.

Malcolm