Cali Small Bench Drawer - not £550 …!

[OllieCollieCali]

Another excellent job, although in ours we keep gin/tonic in the drawer ..;-)

Great job drilling the holes, that must have been tricky. What drill/90d chuck did you use..?

I also made the shoe rack, but after my Mrs trapped her finger pushing the bench seat backwards, we no longer use it.!!!

Another excellent job, although in ours we keep gin/tonic in the drawer ..;-)

Great job drilling the holes, that must have been tricky. What drill/90d chuck did you use..?

I also made the shoe rack, but after my Mrs trapped her finger pushing the bench seat backwards, we no longer use it.!!!

Thankyou! Although you did most of the hard work by providing all the measurements and parts list!

thats a much better use of the drawer! Although Im sure at some point mine will be taken over with Wine for the mrs.

Yes there was a lot of getting into awkward positions and swearing a lot to get into the space, especially as I couldnt really see the marks where I wanted to drill but I got there in the end.
This is the attachment I used on the drill, worked perfectly to get into the tight space. https://www.diy.com/departments/alu...huck-key-adaptor-adapter/5056133347524_BQ.prd

I have pre-warned the Mrs about the shoe rack after reading about your Mrs trapped fingers. Ill see how long it lasts, but it was also to see what it was like to see if I wanted to invest in a more expensive ready made version, but I think this will probably do us as long as the Mrs approves.

 

[Tycho]

And another one!
Needed to drill all the holes, our 2006 cali has no pre drilled holes. Took some effort and a few faulty holes because there is a lot of hidden structures inside the bench. But hey there she is. Used 60cm slides, 50 would have been enough and the 50cm fits better.

Thanks all!

 

[ThomasHJ]

Wow that looks really nice. Did your Cali come with the extra front for the drawer or did you buy it seperately somewhere? Mine is a T5 2011 and I'd consider doing what you did, but the front didn't come with my van.

 

[Tycho]

Wow that looks really nice. Did your Cali come with the extra front for the drawer or did you buy it seperately somewhere? Mine is a T5 2011 and I'd consider doing what you did, but the front didn't come with my van.

Yes the plug/cover came with the Cali. We are the second owner, the first owner bought it new in 2006 and sold it only 6 months ago to us. He realy loved his Cali. In a crate full of stuff there whas this odd looking plug. I think it came with the car when they bought it.

 

[RSMarco]

@couplands Many thanks for sharing your ideas on this drawer. I have a question regarding fixing the rails to the bench seat. How many self tapping screws did you use as from what I can see there’s only 2 holes in the seat base that align to the rails?
Also, the lower rail clashes or sits very close to the fixing bar for the blanking plate, did you remove this?
Much appreciated, Mark

 

[RSMarco]

Hi,
To everyone who has made and fitted this how have you managed to fit the lower rail and clear the pin which is fixed to the seat base?
The VW rail has the fixing points on the upper edge but the rails mentioned in this thread have the fixing points in the centre of the rail.
Pin highlighted in green below.

Much appreciated,
Mark

 

[couplands]

@couplands Many thanks for sharing your ideas on this drawer. I have a question regarding fixing the rails to the bench seat. How many self tapping screws did you use as from what I can see there’s only 2 holes in the seat base that align to the rails?
Also, the lower rail clashes or sits very close to the fixing bar for the blanking plate, did you remove this?
Much appreciated, Mark

Hi,

Yes, I think there are just two self tappers per rail. This is enough (and not unlike when your fitting drawer rails in kitchen cupboards).

I took off the fixings for the blanking plate - I think I tried to unscrew them, but they are fixed in and I ended up snapping them off by accident..! I just a pair of mole grips to turn them. The blanking plate isnt going back on, so it doesnt matter.

Hope that helps...

 

[RSMarco]

Hi,

Yes, I think there are just two self tappers per rail. This is enough (and not unlike when your fitting drawer rails in kitchen cupboards).

I took off the fixings for the blanking plate - I think I tried to unscrew them, but they are fixed in and I ended up snapping them off by accident..! I just a pair of mole grips to turn them. The blanking plate isnt going back on, so it doesnt matter.

Hope that helps...

Hi,
Thanks for the information. At this point I’m unsure if I want to break the pin off permanently.
I’m guessing that this is the only way to fit the alternative rail?

Regards, Mark

 

[couplands]

Hi,
Thanks for the information. At this point I’m unsure if I want to break the pin off permanently.
I’m guessing that this is the only way to fit the alternative rail?

Regards, Mark

I guess it depends if you ever plan on putting the blanking plate back. As I used the blanking plate for the front of the drawer (and had to take off the plastic backing/bracket) I'm not ever going to put it back. I had hoped the pin was a screw-in and I could unscrew it, but as soon as I turned it, it snapped off so I was committed at that point. I guess if I ever wanted to put it back I could drill/tap the pin and reinstall it.

 

[OllieCollieCali]

Im pretty sure when I fitted mine, that I put the bottom rail hard up underneath the pin, I definately didnt remove it, but then I didnt have any pre-drilled holes on my bench for the rails, so I could fit them where ever i needed to. The rails are wide enough that the box clears the pin when its still in situ, but my bottom rail may be slightly lower than standard now because I guessed where I needed to fit the rails.

 

[RSMarco]

Im pretty sure when I fitted mine, that I put the bottom rail hard up underneath the pin, I definately didnt remove it, but then I didnt have any pre-drilled holes on my bench for the rails, so I could fit them where ever i needed to. The rails are wide enough that the box clears the pin when its still in situ, but my bottom rail may be slightly lower than standard now because I guessed where I needed to fit the rails.

Thanks for this information. I have the pre drilled holes and if I use them this rail clashes with the pin. I may follow your method of drilling new holes and placing the rail above or below the pin.

The VW lower rail is below the pin anyway as the fixing holes are offset from centre.