# How to remove the front wooden panel with the chrome clockring?



## AudianerA6 (Sep 19, 2007)

How can I remove the wooden panel the the clock is? Because, at the current low temp outside, the wood got a big crack. Now I have to see if I can find a new panel, but before that I would like to know how to remove the old one.


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

I haven't done it, but it seems you must first remove the grey trim, then remove the adjacent trim carrier (B in middle diagram) that traps the mounting, then the screws (A in bottom diagram) will let the whole assembly come forward. That reveals the three screws that hold the cracked timber trim part.

Hopefully someone who has actually done it will give more effective help.

Cheers,
Chris









Image (c) Volkswagen


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## vinyin (Feb 28, 2010)

Paximus said:


> I haven't done it, but it seems you must first remove the grey trim, then remove the adjacent trim carrier (B in middle diagram) that traps the mounting, then the screws (A in bottom diagram) will let the whole assembly come forward. That reveals the three screws that hold the cracked timber trim part.
> 
> Hopefully someone who has actually done it will give more effective help.
> 
> ...


Do you have images how to remove the grey trim? Mine is a bit scratched


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

I found this - but maybe there's other stuff to remove first. I suggest you need more guidance from someone who has done this.

Cheers,
Chris










Image (c) Volkswagen


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## AudianerA6 (Sep 19, 2007)

Thanks for the help, but I still can't figure out how to do this.


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

The manual for LH Drive car says there are several stages to this whole operation (surprised?) 

1. Remove the button on the left of the instrument binnacle (prise off the cover, 2 bolts, pull switch forward and remove the cable, set the switch aside). 

2. Remove the frame encasing the instrument speedo etc binnacle (2 bolts underneath, pull frame out). The instructions helpfully comment that there's no need to remove the steering column assembly, just move the wheel position fully out and down... 

3. Remove the J523 Radio/Nav etc Panel (Remove ash/coin trays, pull off frame trim, pull out temperature sensor assy, release footwell cover, cut 2 cable ties, remove 5 screws, pull unit forwards, unplug and set aside) - note several Forum posts on this, not difficult once you read them - beware scratching wood trim surfaces. Special VW tools suggested, but can be got round. 

4. Remove button on the passenger side extreme right on the grey trim piece that runs across the car (2 screws, separate the cable, set aside) 

5. Remove the long grey trim piece (2 further screws, 3 buttons with cables remain attached, but it doesn't make it clear if they are attached to the car or to the trim) 

6. Remove wood trim piece in front of passenger position (2 screws, rotate off from below) 

7. Remove plastic retainer panel for the previous wood trim (6 screws) 

8. Remove the entire central 'clock/vent' cover housing assembly (2 screws, pull forwards, disconnect cable, pull out) 

9. Remove veneer clock panel (2 screws) 


"Installing is the reverse of disassembly" as they say! Plastic trim screw torque is 3.5 Nm. 

Please bear in mind I HAVEN'T DONE THIS, I'm only interpreting the instructions, and I am only a vulnerable human being. 

Have fun! 

Chris


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## AudianerA6 (Sep 19, 2007)

thanks for the step by step. One question left. Do I need to disconnect the batteries for this?


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Tha manual doesn't tell you to disconnect the battery, except as a generic warning when doing stuff. However, pulling plugs and waving switches around might make it a good idea, even with all the temporary 'faults' that will flag up after you reconnect.

Please disconnect the batteries in the correct order, see various threads - this is in relation to the pyrotechnic device in the battery lead.

Chris


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

*Trim pieces*

Can the trim pieces be refinished? The cracking only appears to be in the clear coat.


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

*Pictures*

Is there a manual that these pictures came from? How can I get a copy of such a manual?


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Ernie,

There are specialist shops that will repair polyester resin car veneer trim, for example see here.

It might be cheaper and more likely to achieve a match to the depth of gloss if you import a used trim part from ebay.de or allegro.pl, especially if your wood is not too rare a type. Try this search or this one (100zl=£20).

I hope that helps.

Chris


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

*Got the trim out*

Thanks Paximus for the Allegro site. They have the trim pieces, but I don't know what I'm reading. 

The trim came out pretty easily, except for the far right piece. I simply could not find the 2 screws they mentioned below. I was able however to bend the long grey trim out of the way and get to the screws holding the big piece of trim in place. After that it was very easy to do. 

Now to the refinishing, unless I can find them on line.


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

It will be really interesting if you can take some photos during re-assembly of the trim parts to show how it is done and also what happens with the resin repair.

Are you repairing the centre panel around the clock? This is reported to be the most vulnerable to cracking, so I am sure there will be a couple of owners either now or in the future who would be interested.

Regarding the web searches you can translate the pages using the Chrome browser direct, since Google Translate has problems accessing the web site frames, particularly on eBay.

Cheers,
Chris


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## Cantrellc123 (Aug 5, 2012)

I'd really like to know how the refinish goes as I've got 3 pieces with cracks. The clock trim is not one of those pieces.
Updates would be appreciated.

Cantrell


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

*Trim parts*

There is a guy selling the clock trim on eBay. It doesn't say eucalyptus, but it looks like it. 
Look up phaeton wood trim. 

Ernie O

I will post some pictures of the removal and refinish when it is done.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Any update/pictures on this?? My centre vent has stopped working, 6 days after warranty expiration....


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## Jxander (Aug 5, 2008)

invisiblewave said:


> Any update/pictures on this?? My centre vent has stopped working, 6 days after warranty expiration....



Now that's karma or is it your warranty company's attempt at revenge.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

It might be worse than that, I have reason to believe it's the result of a recent trip to the dealer. After collecting the car, I noticed the license plate lamp hanging by its wires and discovered that the clip holding it in had been snapped off. Then earlier today whilst investigating the centre vent, I found the surround for the button next to it was unfastened and that the clips inside were broken. Looking at the screws holding in the buttons, it's obvious that they've previously been taken out....


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## Jxander (Aug 5, 2008)

invisiblewave said:


> It might be worse than that, I have reason to believe it's the result of a recent trip to the dealer. After collecting the car, I noticed the license plate lamp hanging by its wires and discovered that the clip holding it in had been snapped off. Then earlier today whilst investigating the centre vent, I found the surround for the button next to it was unfastened and that the clips inside were broken. Looking at the screws holding in the buttons, it's obvious that they've previously been taken out....


You have touched on my biggest complaint with dealers. At $100+ per hour labor rates there is no excuse to not perform repairs carefully so as not to cause much collateral damage. Nevertheless my experience is that they rush through every task so as to maximize earnings with little regard for due caution.

Oh well sorry for the "joke" about your misfortune.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Right. And at those prices they ought to replace the miscellaneous items they break! I think the rear light was broken while they were investigating the spurious voltage errors that always show up on a scan.


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## PowerDubs (Jul 22, 2001)

Jxander said:


> At $100+ per hour labor rates there is no excuse to not perform repairs carefully




The dealer charges $100 an hour.. the tech doing to work gets much less, and is paid by the job.. so it is in his best interest to rush through every job. If that means blindly throwing parts at a problem, or leaving a few screws out or something not aligned properly..well..

I'm not saying all techs are careless, but there are enough that are to have things like that happen commonly.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Well, after some fiddling, pushing, removing, etc, my centre vent started working again. When it wasn't working, there seemed to be some play in it, I could push it upwards by about 5mm, at which point I met resistance. I removed the parking sensor switch, started it, turned down the temp setting, and up it came along with the other two. Once it had worked, I tried pushing it when it was down, and there's no longer any play. I'm confused! I'm relieved, too, I wasn't looking forward to having to remove the grey trim strip. I don't know if the switch was somehow impeding movement of the wood, maybe someone who's seen it in pieces can explain it???


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## Gabs08PHTN (Jan 6, 2011)

Hi,
My experience with the left hand air cover was similar to yours. When it stopped working I could open it manually about 5mm. Sometimes after fiddling with it, it came back to life and I was not able to open it manually, but in the end it decided to no longer operate.
When I replaced it, I opened it up. It is basically a worm and gear reduction box, so the output shaft it is really torquey, that is the reason why when it is operating fine you can hardly open it. So I doubt that the parking sensor switch was the culprit, however it might not be your case.

Gabriel


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Yes, I suspect you're right, at some point I'll have to dismantle it. Did you post any pictures of your procedure?


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

Sorry, I don't have any pics. Glad you got yours working.

Ernie O


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## Gabs08PHTN (Jan 6, 2011)

These are the parts that the actuator is made of:










Well, actually the clothes peg is just for alignment purposes... 

Gabriel


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Good grief! Do you have any shots of the dash after dismantling?


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## Gabs08PHTN (Jan 6, 2011)

No. 
The actuator that failed was the left hand side air cover one. To remove it you jst have to take off the lower A pillar trim, and then remove the cover on the left hand side of the dashboard where there is an air vent for deffoging the driver's window.
The actuator is fairly simple to disassemble. You just have to undo four bolts, one per corner and open up four clips. Then you can remove both halves of the actuator casing (the large black bits on the picture above). In order to remove the gear assembly it is neccesary to remove four plastic spot welds. After that the gears and the electric motor can be taken apart from the casing. On the bottom side of the gear assembly is where the circuit board that contains the encoder sits. To take it off you just have to unclip it.
After reassembly, in order to align the actuator shaft with the aircover bushing you need to feed 12V on the two uppermost pins of the multipin connector.
I hope it helps.

Gabriel


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

If it eventually fails completely, my plan would probably be to replace the actuator assembly, so my biggest concern is dismantling the dash without breaking the numerous delicate plastic bits!


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## ThomaSX (Apr 17, 2014)

Paximus said:


> I found this - but maybe there's other stuff to remove first. I suggest you need more guidance from someone who has done this.
> 
> Cheers,
> Chris
> ...


Do you know Sir if the glove box needs to be removed? I tried doing this today, but got stuck when accessing bolts #5 on the right hand side of the gray trim. They appear to be hidden behind the glove box itself. I resisted the temptation to to drill holes into it for the time being 
Unfortunately I couldn't remove the glove box as I was missing those special bits to remove the CD changer and NavCD units...

Thanks,
Tamas


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

Getting to screw #5 is difficult if you do not drill into the top of the glove box. That was the only way that I could get to them. As VW does not having any caps that could be removed to access the 2 screws. I tried lowering the glove box, by removing 4 screws that keep the box tight up under the vents, but that didn't help. Once you remove those screws you will be able to get to the clock after removing the trim #6.

Ernie O.


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## ThomaSX (Apr 17, 2014)

ernieo said:


> Getting to screw #5 is difficult if you do not drill into the top of the glove box. That was the only way that I could get to them. As VW does not having any caps that could be removed to access the 2 screws. I tried lowering the glove box, by removing 4 screws that keep the box tight up under the vents, but that didn't help. Once you remove those screws you will be able to get to the clock after removing the trim #6.
> 
> Ernie O.


Thank you! Did you also remove the whole center infotaiment unit or can trim #6 be taken out without doing it?


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## ernieo (Mar 8, 2013)

Yes you have to remove the entire unit as the screws are behind them to take off the trim.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Bit of an update to this thread, some of which I've also documented elsewhere. My goal is removal of the centre vents to fix the flap actuator, and at this point I have the grey dash strip almost off, one more connector to go near the steering wheel, so I'm putting this down while it's fresh in my mind. I'm not sure why Ernie was unable to remove screw 5, once the glovebox was out of the way it was easily accessible on mine.

A word of warning, this job isn't for the faint of heart! It's not difficult in the mechanical sense like, for example, changing the control arm bushings, and the car isn't disabled at any point so you can take your time and still drive it, but there are a LOT of screws, some difficult bits, and various points where there's a risk of breaking something delicate. Once the grey strip is off, you're on the home stretch. I suspect it's going to take me some not inconsiderable time to put it all back together.


Remove CD player (needs flat-type pullers down the outside of the two big buttons, eject & load).
Remove Nav unit (needs round-type pullers, modified coat hanger works).
Remove various torx screws around the top of the glove box. You need to remove three across the top of the cd & nav cages and the two at the side. There are two inserted vertically in front of the cages and two holding the rubber stops which don't need to come out, these hold in the closing mechanism and are best left alone. If you do remove them, make sure you refit them before putting the glove box back in place because they locate into two nuts which are easily dislodged if you don't have access to both sides.
Wiggle. Glove box comes away at the top, then dislocates at the bottom and drops partway down, sufficient to give access.
Remove the screws shown in the diagram labeled 5, I also removed the screws labeled 4 but I'm not sure that was strictly necessary.
Wiggle off the button housing on the left of the centre vent (has the parking sensors & rear shade). You'll almost certainly break the tiny tabs holding it in when you do this. I've superglued them half a dozen times.
Remove both the screws underneath.
Remove the infotainment unit, pry off the wood surround, remove screws, pull out temperature sensor & remove screw behind it.
At this point, the only things holding in the grey strip are three press-to-fit points. Two of them are shown in the diagram. To pop those, look underneath the strip above the infotainment unit, you'll see holes for the button screws and also two other gaps. Put your fingers in the gaps, starting with the ones just to the right of the right vent button and pull. It's scary, but it pulls off. Repeat just to the left of the left button. 
Now you're left with a tab which is stuck under the dash surround under the screw you removed under the rear shade button, and what I think is a press-to-fit point right near the steering wheel. If you remove the steering wheel surround trim you can see it (pop the fuse box, remove the two screws that are immediately underneath the steering column, pull the trim backwards, it separates into two parts). I haven't figured out how to undo this yet. Once it's out, I believe I can take the grey strip right off.


Edit: Aha! It's out!! I managed to remove the entire centre vent assembly with the wood trim. Here are the rest of the steps:


On the steering wheel end of the grey strip, the console surround is held into the strip slot by a spring clip. With a pair of needle-nose pliers, reach underneath and squeeze the centre of the clip while lifting the console part upwards.
On the steering wheel side, behind the two immediately obvious screws underneath the rear shade button that was removed, there's a third torx screw. If you remove this, it allows the console surround to lift and you can pull out the tab attached to the grey strip, which is shown in the diagram. This tab is flimsy, mine broke, not a big deal I don't think, but it's a weird shape and actually attaches to both the forward torx screws.
Remove the wood trim above the glove box. The instructions in Chris's earlier post work for this, but it's scary as hell. You remove the two screws at the bottom, then pull off by rotating upwards slightly. It takes quite a bit of force and sounds like it's breaking as it comes away. Don't rotate upwards much, just a few millimeters, pulling down is the way to go. The two tabs on the back locate fairly tightly. It's not a huge issue if they break though, I broke one side.
The clock just pulls out, there's an electrical connector on the back.
Remove the two hex-head bolts that attach the heavy plate under the wood trim to the vent assembly. 
Remove the corresponding two bolts on the other end, then the plate comes off.
The entire vent assembly is now free to move. It takes some wiggling, especially on the steering wheel side, due to the ridiculous shaped attachment to the console surround. The wood trim really needs to be lowered to get it out I think (mine was, I couldn't do it in the up position, but it may be possible with more time & effort).
The actuator for the wood trim is on the passenger side and the only thing holding the assembly in now is the electrical attachment to the actuator, easily removed.

Second edit:

I ran the flap adaptation with the vent assembly still partially out of the dash. I then refitted it and found that the top of the flap was visible when lowered and the clock wasn't centred. Sweated over this for a while, tried numerous adaptations, nothing changed. Eventually found that the flap is designed to come to rest hard up against the grey strip which prevents it from lowering completely, which explains why the push-fit clips on the grey strip locate into the slots on the vent assembly. If anything, you need to refit the metal surround for the vents lower rather than higher (you can't adjust it much, just push down as you tighten), so that the locating slots for the grey strip are at the low end of the very limited range of movement. Also, lift the infotainment system as you tighten the first screws at the top. These two things ensure a snug fit between the grey strip and the infotainment wood surround. Mine was too wide on the right for my liking, so I ended up disassembling again to adjust it.

Everything else goes back together pretty easily. The glove box is a bit of a struggle to get fully located, since one side locates underneath the plastic end panel on the dash. I just used my pry tool to lever it under.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Just ordered the actuator. List price is $238, online it's $175 plus shipping, haggled the dealer down to $190 which he said was wholesale. None in the country, so my dash will be in pieces for a while.

If you have a stuck one, there's no point in forcing it unless you need to open it and aren't bothered about breaking it. The point of failure when you force it is the second gear, the small one, forcing it shears off the teeth.

Part number for the actuator is 3D0 820 511, superseded by 511A. I'm hoping the A stands for A Bit More Reliable. Mine's been intermittent for several years.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Couple of shots of my naked dashboard:


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## twgin (Apr 25, 2012)

Thanks for all this, my center vent is completely non operating and flopping up and down. I bought a complete vent assembly from eBay I think for about $50; this summer I plan on taking the dash apart and fixing that vent with scavenged parts from the eBay unit. This will help !


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

If it's flopping, the small gear is probably stripped. Personally, after all the effort it takes to get to it, there's no way I'd put in a used part!!! I hope the air flaps there never go bad, too, because there doesn't seem to be any easy way to get at the screws to get them out, even with it dismantled to the point mine now is.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

My 2nd one has cracked wood over the clock and the glove box so I'll be taking those out also. It'll be good experience.

Thanks for the updates to this thread. 

-Eric


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## PowerDubs (Jul 22, 2001)

Yours looked better than mine did.


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## PhaetonGP1 (Jun 16, 2019)

*about to carry out this job hein sight needed*

Hello, I have read over you great description a few times, i cant see the job as have already removed infotainment before and nav cd glovebox should be easy enough with steering wheel surround however the diagrams cant be seen anywhere! I have registered but still cant see them? Its the wooden panels popping off I cant figure out with an upwards twist but pull down? I really wish I had the diagram you are referring to so I can see. Thanks for the great post anyway. Henry


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

*Photos re-hosted*

Hi PhaetonGP1 (sorry, I don't know your name),

I re-hosted most of the photos and images here. I hope that helps a little.

Regards,
Chris


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

My links should be working again now, too. It's been a while, but the panel above the glove box is removed by pulling down on the lower edge while simultaneously lifting that edge away from the car, but without pulling upwards on it. It's the only really difficult part I remember, everything else was mainly just tedious.

http://www.invisiblewave.com/public/phaeton/nakeddash1.jpg
http://www.invisiblewave.com/public/phaeton/nakeddash2.jpg


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## [email protected] (Dec 8, 2017)

*Remove scratches from 'wooded' trim, i think its plastic..*

They can be rubbed down with say 200 wet and dry, move up to 600 grit then polish off with best grade rubbing/polishing compound, finish with your favorite polish, i did mine and it removed a heavy scratch. Dont be frightened to give it some welly.


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

[email protected] said:


> They can be rubbed down with say 200 wet and dry, move up to 600 grit then polish off with best grade rubbing/polishing compound, finish with your favorite polish, i did mine and it removed a heavy scratch. Dont be frightened to give it some welly.


It's wood veneer encased in plastic or some similar coating. I believe the technology is the same for all modern car wood. There are specialists that can refinish the wood. At least one is in England. 

It is veneer though so it's very thin. If you buff through the wood you are looking at buying a car's worth of wood (depending on finish). 

Obviously the piano wood is just black but probably very hard to find. I don't know if VW can still supply original replacement pieces based on your VIN. 

(It's mentioned that the factory had the patterns for each car but I don't know if that's still the case.)


Both of my Phaetons have minor cracks in the console and 8486 has major cracks in the wood above the main glove box and the clock cover. 

I bought both pieces from the same seller from Germany on eBay. Mine have "Burr Walnut" and the pieces I bought did not match the cracked pieces and did not even belong together. The grain on the clock cover did not continue to the piece over the glove box. They both have plastic bases. 

The original pieces when closed look like one continuous piece of wood from the instrument cluster to where the wood ends on the door. 

I bought a whole car's worth of wood from Germany on eBay. I guess they don't have the lower door wood like we do. None of the complete sets on eBay had them. 

I haven't installed it yet. I still remember what a royal pain it was to put the console back together on 7579. 

Anyhow, the console top is Aluminum with veneer over it. It's very stiff like it's forged. I used to think that it was the driver being too rough on the console that caused that finish to crack but you can't bend the console. It must have cracked from heat. 

The console top I got with the set has a chunk missing on the right side. You can see the wood splintered inside the crater.


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## PowerDubs (Jul 22, 2001)

I bought a whole set on eBay from Germany for my 4 seater. Watch out for them having many more swb than lang.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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