webthread

Sahara was actually one of my top color choices, I find it classy and vintage. Plus I was specifically looking for an automatic, so my challenge was literally to find a drivable undesirable in a category of undesirables.

those look great! Your pic also shows a good example of his stitching capabilities, it's very tight and uniform.

thanks guys, I had the outer pieces done by a guy in Washington and he shipped them to me. He does a lot of recover jobs for the VW guys so luckily he didn't need my old ones as a template. His company name is JJ Custom Interior and if you're not in a rush, I would highly recommend. I'm not saying he's slow, he'll tell you up front he's super busy so that's not necessarily a critique, just an observation. Just be sure to try to pin down a timeline. The stitching is top notch, it looks really nice and professional, and there is no bunching anywhere along the seams. He can do lots of different options, different colored stitching, etc. I almost did tan stitching, but I figured it would eventually get dirty since this is my daily driver, and I want to keep the seats "versatile" since they may go in another car some time. He has recovered plenty of other Recaro seat models, you can see his work on his website, he has closeups, etc. I had the centers done locally. My wife was going to do them because she does sewing/crafts as a hobby and the pattern is pretty simple, but she decided she would rather have someone else bear the brunt of my criticism. The guys' name was Amadeus on Manhattan Beach Blvd in Lawndale, not too far from where I live in Redondo. He was ok, but I ended up having to go back over there to discuss next steps more than once, as if it wasn't already a pretty straight forward job (but what do I know about upholstery) so that was kind of annoying to me. They look great though. My only critique would be the corners of the tan centers stick out a little at the top, but I'm probably the only person it bothers. Also, you can see that the centers look a little "puffy", but that will change once they're a little "lived in". I drive my car less than 50 miles a week, but it's a daily, I just don't go far. If I had to do it over, I would probably have JJ Interiors do the centers as well just because of their familiarity with them. It's hard to pinpoint a price because I spread the costs over a long period of time and there were lots of random bits such as the new Recaro badges in the center pieces I had put in, as well as the lower driver's side seat bolster foam needed replacing, etc. I would probably rather not know the total cost. I can tell you that I paid $300 for the seats in almost mint condition which seems to be pretty standard on craigslist and vwvortex.com. You can probably resell the fabric and power bases if they're in good shape and recoup some of the money.

I had these seats sitting around for quite some time from a previous project that was never finished, they were originally the grey velour seats out of a 91 VW 16v GLI. I finally got around to having them recovered and they came out looking really nice, installation with Aardvark's sliders was a cinch. I don't plan on discarding the original seats, but they need restoring/restuffing anyway so I'll eventually get to them. I mainly just wanted something a little more comfortable for tooling around since this is my daily driver. I don't plan on doing much else to the car. It's almost completely original. [/img]

In the attached picture, can anyone tell me how/where to purchase the black plastic strip that I've circled in red in the picture? It is sewn to the center fabric and holds the center foam and fabric in place. if you look at it from the side, it is a U-shape. Does anyone even know what it's called? I've been on a few upholstery sites and can't find a picture of it anywhere. I think I need about 80 or 90 inches of it because I need it for the upper center pieces as well. My wife is recovering the center pieces of the seats for me but I need these pieces to be able to finish the project. Thanks, Jay

I also have a BMW nardi horn button if your deal with him didn't go through.

i have one with a BMW logo if you're still interested, you can email me at webthread @ aol dot com

UPDATE: I met up with Miked2002 yesterday morning and put in the crank before noon, it was much easier than i imagined, Thanks everyone!

Thank you very much, i'll send you an email to coordinate. I was able to position the arm on the inside so that it is holding itself up right now.

(nt)

ok, i found a pic of what i need on another post, the big wheel with the teeth has broken from the rectangular panel that bolts to the door, so i guess I'll be going over to the "parts" forum now.... it looks like the metal literally just broke off at the center. there was also evidence of a previous repair where someone used a 1977 penny as a shim. needless to say that wasn't in the previous owner's notes... (haha)

Kind of having a "911" sitaution here, i was halfway through with my xmas eve errands today and when rolling down my pass window i rolled it all the way down and hurn a clink, and the crank spun freely. I just got it home and took off the door panel and looked inside and the coiled spring was laying in the bottom of the door. Of course, this is xmas eve and i have other stuff to do, i was looking for the diagram of a member on here that was restoring a red car and he had the mechanism completely out of the door, which is basiclaly exaclty what i need. i at least need to get the window up for the night. if anyone has a "quick suggestion" or knows what resto pics of the red 02 I'm talking about, that would be great. I searched and found tons of advice for the windows, but nothing with a clear picture of what it needs to look like when i put it back. thanks in advance and happy holidays. i would just deal with this tomorrow or next week, but i can't park it inside.

I'm sure she's a nice girl, but I don't think my wife would appreciate it i think you missed your chance - she already graduated

does the fan make any noise?

congrats, where did she graduate from? I'm heading back to college in January for my MBA

post a pic of it here, i want to see

Ok, there are so many choices for Recaro seat adapters, has anyone experienced more than one in person where they could make any sort of a comparison? Pros/Cons? Sit too high/low? It would be nice to have all of this info in one place. There could be more, but below are the options I've seen so far. I don't want to quote other people's prices, but what I've seen is Wedge is the priciest and Aardvark is the cheapest, but cheapest isn't always best. I'm assuming ease of installation is about the same for each. - Wedge Engineering - Aaardvark - Massive - Eurotrash I actually want to keep my car as original as possible, but I already had a set of recaros sitting in my garage, and my 02 seats need recovering, so might as well go with the recaros and the added comfort for now. I will keep my original seats to be recovered at a later date if/when I do a full restoration.

Very nice, thanks for sharing. I lived in HHI for 2 years 2005-07.

it's already been said, but they go nicely with the rest of the car.

Hey Matt, my Sahara was parked kittycornered to your Dad last weekend at the show. I kept waiting for him to come around so I could introduce myself since we live so close in the South Bay but never caught him. There was also a man and his son from PV with their 99% complete restoration project, I think it was a 72 or 73. The car was immaculate, I wish I'd grabbed a picture.

lookin good, saw it last weekend JP

I just put my spare tools, coolant and oil in the trunk so I'm ready for the trip up the 405, I look forward to meeting everyone. I'm actually already getting up early to watch the Arsenal v Chelsea match!

i went to a 1552 event last spring, they're a good group of guys!

i'll be there, I'd be happy to meet up if you're near the 405