Author Topic: Rag top install  (Read 36286 times)

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Offline Randy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #30 on: February 21, 2014, 10:05:28 AM »
Caution: Be careful if you are using the perforated vinyl, do not overdo the glue. It will seep out the holes and then becomes a bitch to clean off.
Guess how I know.

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #31 on: February 23, 2014, 04:51:19 PM »
Well spend 5 hours welding up the rag top. Got in primer and that is it for the day. I need to warm up or get a heater in the garage to do the body work and paint.

Going to start making up the mechanism and cover to keep me busy in the mean time.
58 Beetle

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #32 on: February 26, 2014, 06:18:39 PM »
Received my new interior from TMI today, thanks to Gary at CIP.

It's a big change from the red interior but looking forward to see what it looks like.
58 Beetle

Offline jim martin

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #33 on: February 26, 2014, 06:43:04 PM »
great work love seeing someone take on a project ,especially one that can really go south damb quick .
do me a favour and keep your old carpets for me , will call you later




the 'WOK" June 2006 Hot VW's feature car  9.830 sec at 143.44 mph.
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Offline josh

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #34 on: February 26, 2014, 11:59:29 PM »
Nice work man, that gotta feel good!
55 ragtop T1
56 kombi T2

Offline steveo_32

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #35 on: February 28, 2014, 10:06:36 PM »
WoW, Looks awsome.....i changed my battery all by myself.......i lied, uncle lester helped a bit......
Totally cool dude, and looking good.
1958 Samba 23 Window
1963 Ghia
1965 type 3 wago
1971 KG14 convert
Looking for a barn find oval!! something un-screwed with(or split)

Offline Jeremy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #36 on: February 28, 2014, 10:31:41 PM »
That's going to look real nice.
'59 Beetle
'59 Single Cab

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #37 on: March 04, 2014, 05:31:25 PM »
Got a little work done on the car this weekend. I started stripping the interior out of the car. I dropped off the park brake handle with Russ today to get it powder coated.

I laid out the sunroof parts to figure out how to put back together and what parts I'm missing.
58 Beetle

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #38 on: March 06, 2014, 06:52:15 PM »
Got all the interior and windows out. Found out when I got the windows out I had a little paint issue under the rubber. I think it was just bad paint prep as paint peeling off under rubber. I was told this car was dipped which makes sense as there is no trace of colour under panels but maybe surface not prep good for paint. Got it cleaned up and just needs paint.
58 Beetle

Offline bwaz

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #39 on: March 07, 2014, 08:57:05 AM »
Looking mighty fine Thomas!
brian waz

Offline Jeremy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #40 on: March 07, 2014, 09:38:30 AM »
Oops. Made a comment about liking the door panels but then realized they were the old ones. They look good too. HAHA.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2014, 10:07:18 AM by Jeremy »
'59 Beetle
'59 Single Cab

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #41 on: March 09, 2014, 02:14:36 PM »
Well I put together the sunroof together today so I could do a dry run before body work and paint. Had to guess on a few things but worked out OK. Will have to adjust a few things but happy with most of the job.

58 Beetle

Offline silas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #42 on: March 09, 2014, 05:12:52 PM »
beauty!! looking good Thomas!!

Offline 57rubindub

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #43 on: March 10, 2014, 01:39:46 PM »
well Done!!  :party1:

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #44 on: March 10, 2014, 05:12:05 PM »
Found this video that help solve a couple of the questions and problems I was having.
http://www.kustomcoachwerks.com/movies/ragtop.mov
58 Beetle

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #45 on: March 15, 2014, 01:33:35 PM »
Well haven't had the weather for painting and body work yet so I have been working on the interior. My back seat and front seat bases were in rough shape so out came the zip cut and welder. I spent my Graveyard shift at work hammering things back to straight again. Luckily I have collected a few front seat bases over the last couple years so I able to make a good set out of all of them.

Where I had missing upholstery hooks I made up new ones and welded them in place.

Got my Emergency brake back from Russ.

 I want to install a Stereo but I'm trying to figure out a hidden location for it. Looking at mounting under the back seat. I'm also using the opportunity to rewire  some stuff that you normally can't get too. What started as a sunroof project is turning into so much more .... oh well it's only time and money.
58 Beetle

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #46 on: March 15, 2014, 01:42:38 PM »
Forgot that I'm looking for some of this material for headliner padding. Can't seem to find any around Cloverdale. Does anyone know I can pick some up. Thanks Thomas
58 Beetle

Offline kirin

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #47 on: March 15, 2014, 07:26:02 PM »
I had some of that stuff come in a "Headliner padding kit" from wolfsburg west
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Offline HotSauce

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #48 on: March 16, 2014, 07:55:22 AM »
It's called jute or auto carpet underlay. Any hot rod shop has this stuff in 4'x6' roll and sells for about 20 bucks. KMS Car parts has it most of the time just ask for Jody he's the only strait shooter down there to deal with.
Luke I had your father

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #49 on: March 21, 2014, 12:56:46 PM »
Well finally got some nice weather to start the body work/paint part of the job.

Got all the seats repaired and paint. Next step is putting the cover on.

The nice weather is starting to inspire me to get the job done.
58 Beetle

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #50 on: March 30, 2014, 10:40:40 AM »
Well got the seats done and happy with the color choice.

I did the paint work today. Ended up having to paint more of the roof then I would like but had issues with the paint lifting off where I put to much heat from welding. If I had done it slower it would have been better......I don't have much for patience. Having trouble getting the paint to lay down. Using a new gun today and can't seem to get it working right or I'm off on my paint mixing. Oh well just put on lots of paint and break out the sandpaper and buffer tomorrow and see what I got!
58 Beetle

Offline Geoff

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #51 on: March 31, 2014, 07:56:29 AM »
Looks great!

Offline Jeremy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #52 on: March 31, 2014, 11:38:31 AM »
Fuck Yah! Seats look awesome Thomas. Love the colour.
'59 Beetle
'59 Single Cab

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #53 on: April 13, 2014, 12:32:40 PM »
Well I invented something new this weekend while working on the car so I thought I would share with other VW people out there. It is called Tom's one night headliner. I will tell you for free how to do this in a few easy steps.
1 set aside a whole weekend
2 install padding Friday night
3 Get up early Saturday
4 Install headliner
5 Rip headliner by trying to force it the wrong way
6 Spend the rest of the day trying to fix your fuck up
7 Try to slept that night by spent your time thinking about your fuck up
8 Wake up at 5:30 thinking about your fuck up
9 Go to garage and hope the VW fairy fixed your fuck up overnight
10 Realize it is still fucked up
11 Rip out your fucked up headliner
12 Explain to wife why you have to spend more money on your car (by explaining how much it would of cost you if you used someone that knows what they are doing)
13 Spend half your Sunday cleaning up the mess you made
14 Get out your wallet and Visa and order another headliner and hope you learned from your mistakes.

This is how you do a one night headliner.

Hope this information will help out a fellow VW person. Cheers Thomas

 
58 Beetle

Offline buddy boy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #54 on: April 14, 2014, 12:03:09 AM »
#12 sounds familiar .. Lol

"only dead fish swim with the stream"

Offline Jeremy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #55 on: April 14, 2014, 09:35:52 AM »
 :41: :41:
'59 Beetle
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Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #56 on: April 18, 2014, 11:26:16 AM »
Well after taking a week off from the car to reflect where things went wrong here we go again. One thing I was having issues with last time that started the train to my problems was the missing corners from the front of the sunroof. They don't help support but hold the corner of your headliner (that is my guess because I don't have an example to look at). I'm going to have to make something to replace these so I have made a jig and then fabricate something. I was not happing with the job I did with the padding either so I removed all of it and starting with a padding kit from Wolfsburg West (waiting for it to show up) and I also paid the extra one dollar for their headliner instructions to help me. ;D


58 Beetle

Offline BUSDADDY

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #57 on: April 18, 2014, 01:43:25 PM »
Doesn't that plastic strip clip over the top edge/lip of the existing roof structure where you have the cardboard stuffed in in pic 3? Get your padding in first because once you shove it in far enough and it pops over the edge there may be no civilised way to get it back out.
RUST NEVER SLEEPS

Offline Jeremy

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #58 on: April 18, 2014, 05:10:42 PM »
Sponsored by Leeman beer I see. :singing:
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 05:14:38 PM by Jeremy »
'59 Beetle
'59 Single Cab

Offline Thomas

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Re: Rag top install
« Reply #59 on: April 18, 2014, 06:42:22 PM »
Yes working on the car sometimes causes you to drink.
Well I think I got it figured out for the front corners of the headliner. After an afternoon of cutting, hammering and welding this is what I came up with.




I made it removable just encase it doesn't work out and the hole was already there. Now all I have to do is build one for the other side. Well that's enough for one day...time for a Leemans!
58 Beetle