[T3] New up date

[Soren Jacobsen]

On Jan 1, 2013, at 8:24 PM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:

> The OG stuff is glued together coir, the fibrous stuff under the 
> outer husk of a coconut. By now, most of that stuff is pretty broken 
> down, and whatever is left will probably disintegrate pretty quickly 
> once you start to drive that car.

Sadly true.  And unfortunately, no one makes original style seat pads for T3s.  My Variant is in _desperate_ need of seat reupholstery.  I don't currently have a passenger seat due to lack of usable pads, and my driver seat is, well, I'll let the photo speak for itself: http://blef.org/vw/t3/20120618-sweatshirtseat.jpg

I'm loath to go with foam pads for these seats.  Wolfsbürg West makes excellent fiber pads for Bugs and Buses.  T3 seats are a bit wider than a Bug, so I was thinking it might be possible to stitch/glue together some Bug pads to make them fit.  I'm not sure how the Bus pads compare.  Has anyone found a new fiber pad solution for T3s?

> You'll need to do something new in there, if only to keep the spring 
> wires from wearing thru your new seat covers. I always start with a 
> layer of really good carpet scrap, sewn around the outer wire rim 
> with the nap side down, then some cushioning from a upholestry shop. 
> I used to be able to buy some green fiber stuff that didn't look all 
> that different from the OG stuff, and then maybe a little foam rubber 
> over that.

When I did the seats in my Bug last year, I used canvas between the seat springs and the seat pad, and 3/16"ish thick felt wadding between the seat pad and the seat cover.  The seats came out wonderfully.  They look great and are a pleasure to sit on, even for 800 miles a day.  Passengers often comment on how surprisingly nice the seats feel.

The felt wadding can be bought pretty cheaply from Wolfsbürg West: http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111881800

Sisal padding is another option, available (misspelled, though) here, for example: http://www.jbugs.com/product/43-4411.html

I had a Dasher for a while, and although my first impression was that the seats were more comfortable than the Bug's, my back would get sore after an hour in the car.  Chalk up one more for "you just have to drive a bunch and see how they feel."

Soren