Background The dreaded soft-touch coating has a silver lining: most of the plastic must be chemically cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and repainted and this opens up interior color choices. Plastic paint options Readily available spray paint that adheres well to plastic and doesn’t require separate priming coats makes sense. The Rustoleum...
Continue reading...Kriss Motors
Cab surround fitment
Background The fiberglass cab surround with the rear window is one of the more challenging fitment tasks. Refer to roof skin cut details of the “metal sandwich” that the leading edge of the cab surround must fit into, as well as the third brake light post covering customization and the rear...
Continue reading...Front vs cargo cam
Background The Jensen CMM710 head unit that replaces the original VW radio has the capacity to view two cameras. The rear camera embedded in the roll pan cover is triggered when the transmission is shifted into reverse. The other camera can be selected for viewing at any time.
Continue reading...Tonneau cover?
Background Tonneau covers, from the French word for barrel, were invented over a hundred years ago to protect rear passengers in open air vehicles; the material was often draped in a manner resembling a barrel and the word stuck. Early race cars used tonneaus to smooth out air flow over unoccupied...
Continue reading...Third brake light
Background The New Beetle hatch lid has an embedded elongated and slightly curved third brake light that can be relocated to the fiberglass section above the cabin rear window. The light’s curve closely matches the profile of the roof line. One advantage of this relocation is that the existing wiring harness...
Continue reading...License roll pan cover
Background The rear roll pan cover extends under the tailgate and contains an slanted indent for the license plate. The rectangular indent just accommodates a standard 6×12″ U.S. plate and there isn’t enough room left for most license frames. The Smyth Ute kit includes two LED license plate lights that, when...
Continue reading...Panel fitment step 2
Background Review panel fitment step 1 and harvesting of the fender edge strip before proceeding. Positioning the quarter panel fiberglass shells is difficult because there are few “hard” reference points. The two door tabs must match the B-pillar raised surfaces and the front edge should be aligned with the door, but...
Continue reading...Tail light
Background The New Beetle large oval shaped tail lights cannot be reused on the Ute transformation, so new pigtails must be fabricated for an appropriate substitution. We’ve selected the classic 1962-67 Beetle Euro style lamp because it was originally mounted on a sloping fender much like the Ute’s design and fits...
Continue reading...Roll pan brace
Background The gap between the rear tray and fiberglass roll pan cover is filled by the aluminum roll pan brace. The brace mounts from the inside of the tray side and then attaches to the top of the fiberglass roll pan cover. Rivets can be used, but a better installation method...
Continue reading...Side marker lights
Background The Smyth Ute kit does not specifically address the side marker lights. Pre-2006 models can re-use the elongated oval side markers because their contour is close to the curve near the end of the Ute quarter panel; later Beetles switched to curved parallelogram-shaped lights that are more difficult to incorporate...
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