Rear seat bottom sits at a strong angle - is that fixable?
Asked by Lblossom Dec 12, 2023 at 09:24 AM about the 1971 Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
This 71 super beetle has cloth seats. Does that indicate they are
replacements? The rear bottom is too wide (front to back) to settle down into
the box on the floor that contains the battery. If I inset the seat bottom flange
into the box on the floor I cannot get the back of the seat under the rear of the
upper part of the seat. The thing sits at a strong v shape and that won’t work
for the dog.
5 Answers
Someone has changed out the stock seat. If you can’t find a rear seat cushion frame and have to redone you may have to have one custom made. Back in my bug days I used a piece of 3/4 plywood and foam padding and some upholstery material and made a flat seat bottom, mostly to keep the battery covered. If it’s just for a dog that might be the best thing to do. Or have someone redo what you have to fit.
My kind of guy. That is exactly what I planned to do! The dog rules. I just got the battery out and put it on a tender. I put the cover on, drove it onto a clean tarp and used bungee cords to attach the tarp to the rear bumper and brought it up onto the running boards and left the front open for air. The water will come from the rear. I found that I could not get it into first gear and the parking brake does not work. Are ebay sellers required to disclose things or is it just bad luck when they don’t?
VW’s never had good park brakes cause the brakes are so small but it should hold if you set it and try to push it, if they don’t then it needs reworked, probably cables. As far as shifting check the linkage, there are rubberized joints that do get weak and may not be moving properly. Otherwise it’s in the transmission. You can try asking the seller what’s up with it. If it get awkward then use EBay’s services. It’s usually a big hassle but it’s your car and your money that you spent.
