The interior restoration is finished

Today I finally picked up the car from L and S, with finished interior. It looks very much like my design, except for the strip in the door panels and the armrest being black. At first I was surprisedby this, because that wasn't part of the plan. I does look nice, so I will try to live with it for a while. It wasn't easily possible to put a round bass speaker in the front of the side panels, so they had to be put in the back. Also Wally's guys discovered a very rusted area underneath the driver's side, which they replaced with a part of some metal door. They added sound proofing, which has made the ride quieter, but not by as much as I had hoped. The passenger side belt buckle that the car came with was broken and couldn't be repaired. I am still looking on for a replacement. I have one person whom I paid already, but there have been delays.

The color treatment of the plastic and all the other color related treatments look absolutely perfect. I'm very happy with it. It's actually strange to see it done, since I've been visualizing it for so long. When I show it to others, they view it as perfectly normal, as if the car had always looked like this. That's actually a good sign, because I didn't want to go overboard on the restoring, rather, keep it as if "in original condition" so some extent.

Picture 1: Before. Original, but sprayed over, "Autumn Tan". Very seventies.

Picture 2: My mockup in Photoshop. Disregard the steering wheel cover.

Picture 3: The interior gutted. A frightening sight. Notice the rusted floorboard.

Picture 4: A job well done. Looks too perfect to reveal all the work that went into it.

Interior restoration: finding the parts

I have been in touch with Wally at L&S here in Gainesville about getting the inside of the car redone. I had toyed with the idea of doing it myself, which would have been educational. I am trained as an artist, after all, so I should be able to restore the inside of a car to some extent. However, there is a lot to know about taking the car apart and back together again, and most of my attempts just to remove the dash have failed. And restoration is a skill set, and talent, which takes decades to develop. I think if I were able to do it at all, it would take me a very, very long time. In any case, L&S will do a great job.

I showed Wally the car and he had reservations about the dash, and many of the plastic parts. The plastic had been painted once before and it is very difficult to remove that paint. It has to be removed, not painted over, because the plastic actually gets more stained than painted, if I understand correctly. The dash also has cracks, which can't really be fixed. Plastic shrinks and expands daily and over the years, so any fix to the crack, will also move, but differently, and eventually show another crack. He did a test on one of the pieces and said he wouldn't be willing to go ahead with it as is, because it wouldn't be a good job in the long run, and his reputation is at stake.

Wally recommended finding again all the major parts, like the dash and the front pieces again, somewhere, with the original color on them.

This was a major blow, and I started imagining having this crummy, smelly interior to live with. Eventually I did find a seller on VWVortex.com who seemed to have all kinds of parts. His name is Scott and he is located south of Orlando. I contacted him via the site and instant messaging several times, but communication was slow.

After a lull in communication (and trips to New York and Europe, which put me out of touch), I asked which day of the week was good for picking up and we were able to agree on thursday. He was reluctant to ship, and I wanted to see what other stuff he had, so driving out seemed best, despite the long distance. In any case, I drove out there (3.45 minutes from Gainesville) with my son Bruno. Scott had all the interior parts, except the seatbelt and seatbelt components, in a very nice greyish blue, which was almost exactly the color I had imagined for the truck. This would mean that whichever stain went on top of the first color would work much better in terms of possible unevenness. He even had the window washer reservoir, which I had been looking for. He also had the AC vent knobs that I was in the middle of recreating. It was very exciting to assemble all these parts which had been hard to find for so long. Things sometimes become worth more than gold, because one has looked for them for so long. His backyard was like a priceless treasure in my eyes. Never before had I seen an assortment of car related objects that seemed so familiar to me — familiar because he, too, was dealing with the same model car. He had several VW caddies in various states of disrepair.

He was nice enough to accept my offer of $120 everything. At first I said $100, but I was so happy have completed so many of my searches, that I gave him a little more, for the great condition dash and all the interior parts, plus steering wheel, fluid reservoir and AC knobs. Individually I would have had to pay more for each, and he was glad not to have to list them all on ebay or elsewhere.

Must have truck tool box!

My current obsession is truck tool boxes. The caddy has very little room in the front and in the bed, everything just rolls around. So, as a substitute for a trunk, as a place to put tools, groceries, anything that one doesn't want taking up space in the front cab, one needs a truck tool box. There are many kinds: some go across the sides, some sit along the sides, some just sit inside. There are also many kinds of door systems: some open as one piece, others have a "butterfly" system. And there are generally three classes of quality: "good," "better," and "best," as in lower class, middle class, and upper class. The class system seems to mainly refer to the way the metal is treated, and most noticeably what kind of latches are used. The best of them have very smoothly operating latches, the worst (a.k.a "good) ones have tinny, easily sticking latches. Oh, and there's the rattling. A good box won't rattle due to all kinds of seals and buffers.

Yesterday I went to Sears. I had researched online truck tool boxes again and came upon Delta truck boxes. Sears seemed to have a lot of them. I went to the store and discovered they only had three in the showroom. The sales woman kept me waiting for a long time, but was very polite. She remembered a box that was in the back, a returned item. She took a while (forgiven) and then returned with a packaged truck box. I helped her pull the box out and she went to get the measuring tape. She returned a long while later (forgiven). We measured the box and it fit my truck perfectly. I thought that the fact that it was a rejected item it could be reduced in price, but not so. They wanted about  $279 plus tax.  I left my name, mentioned returning. The saleswoman asked for a call back if I didn't want it. In the end I found another store selling a similar item for less, and gave her a call back to say I wouldn't buy it (am I forgiven?).


I was really looking forward to buying that toolbox. But we needed some feed from Tractor Supply Company. I had checked out their boxes a few times, but couldn't make up my mind. I decided to see their inventory in person one more time. It turned out they had a Delta truck box as well, and it fit perfectly. It was a pleasant experience, not only to finally use the truck for getting feed, but also to get the box at a decent price. It was $229 instead of the higher Sears price of $279. But they tell me there's a difference in the latches, etc.  I guess I'll be the wiser when things become annoying. 


At least I finally got the truck box in place. It looks great. Gives the whole truck a different feel. "In the right light" the truck "almost looks handsome" quoting Lawrence of Arabia, in this case the diamond pattern of the toolbox reflects on the back of the "cab," joining the composition. I went to the supermarket this evening, for no real need, just to see if the supermarket bags would fit. They didn't. But they will with a little adjusting (crushing).  


I also considered the depth of the truckbox. The deeper the truckbox, the more you can put in it. Sorry about that obvious bit of information. However, the more shallow the truck box, the more you can put into the truck bed, like the things that are long, such as lumber and drywall for example. What is the ideal shallowness of the truckbox? If you buy 4x4's or a lot of drywall then the truckbox could get in the way. This is the variation that you see along the streets of rural America. Each person has to decide which is more important, the length of the truck, or the height of the space underneath the toolbox. Well it goes on, and until you actually have to deal with your particular problems as a craftsman of some sort, you won't really know why certain choices are best.  People can tell a lot about you from your truck box. Each pickup truck is a reflection of that person's needs and purposes, as well as his/her economic ability or desire to meet those needs. Ah, the signifiers of the country side, an entire world to explore.

Toolboxe and bedliner.

We ordered pizza from our new favorite New York style Pizza place in Gainesville, "I love New York Pizza" (although Satchel's still has the best Pizza over all). They don't deliver. I took this as my chance to employ my pickup, which I trust on a short trip like this. 


But first I went to Tractor Supply Company to check out their pickup bed toolboxes, just in case they have a decent offer. I really like the white steel crossover, with single lid or "butterfly" doors. But they only had the "full size" version. According to the catalogue, version that fits my bed would be the same price, around 190 something. I was tempted to buy something, but if it didn't fit, there was no choice. Should I go with the popular steel look for the toolbox? Presently I prefer the cheap white crossover single lid boxes. The steel look may have many advantages, such as scratches getting ignored by the pattern of the metal. 

I am looking into getting the truck bed lined. Tomorrow I plan to go to Alachua, Southern Customs, recommended by George Frazier, our friend and helper when it comes to all animal issues. He had them quote a $300 figure. I drove the opposite direction past the house to get the pizza. On the way I confirmed what i had been suspecting for a while: that my stalling and my stick shifting problems were due to the fact that I let go of the clutch first and too slowly. Now, instead I've been giving gas first, and letting the clutch go a bit more quickly, after some confirmation. Give gas, let go of clutch, instead of clutch/gas at same time. Before that I had been hearing a strange whirring sound attributed to a belt problem, when I don't do this. But let's see.

Regarding the bed liner... Should I go with a professional spray-in (Line-x, Rhino, Herculiner) or do my own (several brands are available, some have two different kinds of coats). Or keep the sides free using only a bed mat? Or just mess up the bed? I don't like the bed being all white and seeing it scratch up over time. I love the idea of it being ready "for anything". Even putting a bedred (a kind of rubber mat) on top of the spray in might be a good idea, so the kids can ride in it comfortably. 

I am really falling prey to country consumerism, accessorizing my pickup, and all, but I have my rationalizations.

Biofuel lines, cleaning the inside, and the woodgrain dash

I emailed Greaseworks, a place that sells Viton fuel lines. These are the lines that don't corrode with biofuel. Normal diesel fuel lines will corrode gradually with biodiesel -  I suppose because biodiesel is more oily, and the lines are made of some rubber. Biodiesel can be used as a paint remover, it turns out. Anyway I emailed them but haven't heard back. My mechanic also wrote back saying it's best that I buy the hoses and have them sent to him.

Smitty recommended a guy, Emmit, to do detailing, i.e. cleaning the inside of the car thoroughly. He did a great job. The car really needed a good washing on the inside. Now it smells less of that old car smell, but the aroma is still a little bit there, just for atmosphere. He explained that the dash had been stained with a special paint just for plastic and that if I wanted to, I could buy that stuff and do the same, but I'm not sure I want to go down that road. Right now the dash matches everything else.

The woodgrain for the dashboard came in — it looks really nice. It'll make the dash panel look a little less taped together, and a lot more early 80's. I had to pick up one of my sons (while the Honda was being detailed) with the pickup. The radio came on by itself and played Smoke on the Water in perfect bad speaker pitch.

The first "mod"

I finally reached Hilltop Motors. This is another place that Smitty has recommended. They sell VW parts and are located in nearby Jacksonville. I want to get a fake wood dash panel, which I've seen on many other caddies. My current panel is black with painted-over crud on it. This could be my first and simplest modification. I had emailed back and forth with them, but it was dragging out too much. As usual, calling did the trick. I ordered a fake wood dash, original part for rabbit.

original dash:

wood panel found on Ebay superimposed in Photoshop