What Is It? – Revealed

I want to thank each of you for reading and for the responses which you recorded.

The mystery piece is…..

The Glove Box Door Check Rod Felt Seal.

Each 1967 Glove Box Door has two Check Rods.  Each Rod has its Felt Seal.

I do not know what manufacturer was tasked with producing these Seals.  I assume that each Seal was cut using a die with the result that each was identical in appearance.

The side-cut makes it easy for the Seal to be installed over the Check Rod.

In order to keep the Seal stationary—so that it does not come loose during the operation of the Glove Box Door, it appears that an adhesive was brushed onto the metal where each Seal rests against the backside of the metal Dash.  I did not want to remove my Glove Box in order to thoroughly test this theory, so we await some authority’s word here.  I used long forceps to gently test my theory about the adhesive.

You can see in the photos what appears to be brushed adhesive.

The Felt helps to resist outside air from entering the cabin.

If you are missing these Seals, you can locate a source for felt.  The material would need to be approximately 3mm thick.  The original Seals are a deep brown in color.

Each Seal is approximately 2 inches long x 11/16^th inches wide (48mm x 18mm)

The slot is approximately 9/16^th inches long by 2/16^th inches wide (15mm x 3mm).  Just wide enough for the Check Rod to slide back and forth but still keep the gap closed against air infiltration.

The slot is positioned closer to one side than the other as you can see in the photos.

The narrow side is approximately 6mm while the wide side is 9 mm.

Disclaimer—measurements are approximate.  I am measuring well-used Felt Seals

If you have attempted to cut felt, you have found it to be a little “squirmy”, not wanting to “sit still for the blade”.  You can use a razor blade or an X-Acto Knife for cutting the slot.  But, scissors probably are the best for cutting the entire piece.

Reader Beth Leverman made some Door Dampers for her ’67.  She told me that she folded the felt, then cut the slot.  She found it to be quite simple, after that, to snip at each end to remove the material from what would be the slot.  This also will work for the Glove Box Felts.

There you have it—an obscure piece brought to light.

If your Beetle still has these pieces—you are fortunate.  Probably many are missing from years of use and from the restoration process, etc.

NOTES:

The Right Felt Seal shown on my Beetle appears to have been ill-cut or has lost part of one top edge in its 52 year history. A big “Thank You” to David Brown for his verifications of the Felt Piece and its function.