Very hard Decision, what do you think ?

[Russell]

As you know ive managed to get my hands on Arnies Molhams DKP 1 67 beetle, which is still in stunning condition, however during the 1st few years of storage, a mouse invaded it and has made a few holes in the roof cloth, Arnie has given his blessing to replace it but Im kinda of nervous about doing this. I spoke with Ivan (volksworld) last week when i was in the states (glad it was his call) and he thinks it should be left as who really looks up anyway !

However i wont be able to keep my cool when people express there opinion and say nice car pity about the roof cloth !!!!!!

Wanting some valued comments guys as i dont really what to mess with this unique bit of our History ? but it is the only thing that lets the car down "apart for the alledged repro wings on the front which still look pretty original to me !"

[Russell]

the f^%ker chewed that as well !

Will post pics when the car arrives in around 6 weeks, but its not pretty.

[larry mck]

Replace it. That is just maintenance. If you don't keep up with it the whole car will soon be junk.

[Lee.C]

if it was me I would leave it dude, I think they call it "patina"

You see I used to work for a company restoring Old Ferraris and Porsches and Jags including a couple of 250 SWB's and a Real 550 Spyder and even a REAL 250 GTO and I saw alot of case's of "OVER RESTORATION" Owners of newly aquired SWB's etc would bring them in and these cars were AWSOME most had raced all their lives then been locked away - they had so much history to them it was UNREAL and the Owner would want us to completly strip the thing to every last nut and bolt and rebuild it  To me this was sacralige as you would never never get this old original race car back no matter how hard you tried.

I know this story is alittle off subject but i think it should give you some idea of what can so easily be thrown away 

Don't do it dude 

Just my 2 cents.....

[Cornpanzer]

We are talking about the headliner, right?  If so, take it out and have the damaged pieces replaced.  This way you maintain the original.  
Somehow I missed this......how did you manage to buy this car?
Surely you have pictures of the transaction, right?

[Zach Gomulka]

Im with Larry. Its nothing more than maintenence.

If it is the original, repairing it is almost impossible. Removing a 40 year old headliner and keeping it intact is only part of the problem- The old material can simply turn to dust when you try to sew it. Then try pulling it tight to reinstall it?? Not going to happen, it WILL break apart. Even if you get by those 3 hurdles, the replacement piece(s) will most certainly not match the rest of the old headliner, and it will look shit. If the existing headliner is less than 10 years old, you *might* get away with repairing it.

So have it replaced- but replace it with the style that is currently in the car, be it original style, or one piece.

[jick]

fucking hell Russell....just keep it as it is, its not like you dont have any tidy cars.....

[speedwell]

call ace ventura ...   the pet detective   

[Lids]

I would repair it

[JS]

Change it, but do it beacuse YOU want to and not a bunch of other people. If you are going to keep the car and use it is bound to break down sooner or later and then you´ll have to change parts of it anyway.

[Cornpanzer]

Im with Larry. Its nothing more than maintenence.

If it is the original, repairing it is almost impossible. Removing a 40 year old headliner and keeping it intact is only part of the problem- The old material can simply turn to dust when you try to sew it. Then try pulling it tight to reinstall it?? Not going to happen, it WILL break apart. Even if you get by those 3 hurdles, the replacement piece(s) will most certainly not match the rest of the old headliner, and it will look shit. If the existing headliner is less than 10 years old, you *might* get away with repairing it.

So have it replaced- but replace it with the style that is currently in the car, be it original style, or one piece.

I dont totally disagree, but I think that repair is worth investigating.  The factory VW vinyl is quite sturdy and I have yet to see any turn to dust (perhaps this is an Arizona problem)  There are ways to age new vinyl to match older vinyl, so this shouldnt be a huge hurdle to overcome.
 Re-stretching the headliner back in place may be a problem, but since it has been installed for so long, there isnt a whole lot of stretching neccesary.   The reason you have to tug a new headliner so much is that it is a flat piece of vinyl in a round car.  In this case, the original headliner will have long ago taken the correct shape.
As time goes on, these original unrestored cal-lookers will me more and more valuable and I honestly feel that a new repro headliner will detract from the originality. 
Imagine a 50s era hot-rod that may have been uncovered from a barn, perhaps a 32 Ford three-window.  Imagine the beauty of faded original paintwork, the patina'd interior, the dulled chrome.......and (gasp) a brand new headliner.  It would ruin the whole timewarp effect of the car.
Anyway, my two cents.

[Zach Gomulka]

Maybe it is an Arizona problem, but I dont see how California and Nebraska are much different (where the car was/is). Believe me- Im all for being original wherever possible, but I just dont see repairing as a viable option. Old headliners are incredibly fragile, and have yet to find new headliner material that is an accurate representaion of the original- side by side, even if the color was matched, you would be able to see a difference. How about this... install a new headliner and give it faux patina??

I guess there is no harm in giving it a try though...

I would like to see pictures of the damage.

[Cornpanzer]

I want to see pics of the car, not just the headliner.....hint hint

Hey Zach, you always teh glass half empty guy?   

[bullitt]

eh, russ, stay quiet...itis just an old beetle......
take it easy friend...and do what YOU really want....
my opinion is that i would change it...
it is not  a  car owned by steve mc queen.....but by arnie.....that could be a nice fellow to have a beer with........but i can bet nobody would spend money for his dirty jogging t-shirt!!!!!!

[bullitt]

afraid of having no patina? just smoke a lot and u will have patina in two years.....relatively quickly...isnt it?

[stealth67vw]

It's not like you are repainting it purple with pink scallops. I would replace it.

[streetvw]

why not talk to a reputable trim shop and ask them what your options are? there are loads of specialist in the UK and I'm sure one of them would be able to carry out a repair. my brother used Martrim http://www.martrim.co.uk/ for the seats on his zenith blue 67 and they did an awesome job they may be able to help. (they are a bit of a drive from Scotland though )

[Fastbrit]

It's not like you are repairing it. I would repaint it purple with pink scallops.

[alex d]

leave the headliner alone, but that pink scallop idea sounds cool 

[pre-cal]

Hi Russel
...leave it as is.
It´s better to leave and eventually replace it later, but do it now and you might regret it in 2 years time... .

Paul

[Trond Dahl]

I'm pretty sure Arnie would have changed it, without anyone saying to him "no you are ruining the history of your car"... so go for it if you want to Russell.

It's different if you wanted to make a roadster og buggie of it...

[autobarnhauler]

do what ever makes u happy with the car, but in my opinon leave it as is, its all history on the car. think of it as a battlescare

[henk]

i should leave it as well and if it really boders you ,you can always repairs it but you can never get that mouse hole in it again

[Diederick/DVK]

where does all the sympathy for mice come from? i have my own room (in the town where i go to uni) and i can hear mice walking around between walls when my tv is off and i'm browsing the lounge, i focking hate em.
get that headliner sorted if you want to! it has absolutely nothing to do with the car's history! it's pure maintenance i reckon. the history is in its exterior looks, no one would notice if you'd get the headliner done, it will still be a legendary car - in spite of micky's return!

[Zach Gomulka]

So Russ, whats the verdict??

[Russell]

New OEM Headliner on order to be kept in case one day i decide to replace it. Car will be at EBI with Mouse holes, however i have almost 99% arranged to fly over Arnie to EBI to take his car a spin up the strip for all us die hard cal look fans to watch....................

I reckon thats cool.

[ESH]

...i have almost 99% arranged to fly over Arnie to EBI to take his car a spin up the strip for all us die hard cal look fans to watch....

Hiope that works out, would be pretty cool! 

[Lee.C]

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