Shifter knobs, shifter boots, hand brake boots, door handle assembly/interior handle stripped out.

Most of the interior handle mechanisms have a course toothed gear.  The interior chrome handles are often pot metal and the teeth get stripped before the door mechanism fails.  Your looks like a set screw might be visible on your current one.  Most OEM ones (pre '67 or so) use a hidden pin to hold handle on. I'd guess just handle is bad.

VS assume now  VM had nice leather or vinyl emergency brake boot and shifter boots. Shown as part of kit here - but used to available separately.

Leather Interior Kit - Vintage Motorcars of California Inc. (vintagemotorcarsinc.com)

Remove the set screw on your and show us what the knurled part looks like so we can see if it is damaged.

I'll take handle off tomorrow and photograph. Anyone know thread size on shifter knobs?

@John Bungen posted:

I'll take handle off tomorrow and photograph. Anyone know thread size on shifter knobs?

Unfortunately they vary. You could take the knob off and take it to the hardware store and size it up with some bolts from the bulk bin. Someone may have a proper way to do it with a micrometer but I don't know how.

Hello John...."misery loves company" I have exactly the same problems with my car both interior door handles are really loose, feels like something is missing internally. It will be interesting to see what you find with yours..... 

https://www.vintagemotorcarsin...ct/carpet-kit-trunk/ is this carpet kit one that I glue in or set it with snaps that i drill and do snap heads or is this this way to do the front trunk vs some other carpet source? My local upholstery shop (5 weeks waiting to get top to work with regluing the windshield bar) said they can carpet it. Not sure if I should do the kit or its better to pay someone to do from scratch? I contacted a bedliner place and it was $650 plus I have to remove the gas tank and there is no warranty due to being around gas tank so that is probably a nonstarter. I did put in a battery cover so I am emboldened by my mad skills in small amazon parts delivered....I have also gotten a powered 10" subwoofer to mount to rear seat area along firewall to connect to 6 speaker bluetooth setup i had installed. Speakers are loud enough but no bass really, which is not sounding right with the Colombian music my wife will want to play in it.

https://www.vintagemotorcarsin...ct/carpet-kit-trunk/

@John Bungen

The carpet kit from VS is applied with 3M Bond Adhesive from Lowes:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-17...ose-Adhesive/1160531

Sprayed on where-ever you need the carpet to stick.  If you've sprayed around the tank you pro'bly don't need to put glue on the tank itself.

On that door handle - That looks like a SCAT after-market door handle for "customizing" a VW sedan.  It also looks like it has a setscrew to hold it in place, versus the roll pin used on the Speedster version that Wolfgang showed.  

Wolfgang's version expects to mount on a splined shaft that should be what's in the door and is held in place with a perpendicular roll pin.  

The SCAT version is kinda on the el cheapo side and subject to breaking and is held on with that setscrew.   Easy-Peasy.

Get some rubber hall runner and make trim covers for the hood hinges.  It will keep water and wind out of cockpit.  They just need a slot cut for the hinge. The plastic box (if original builder installed it) also cuts water and air intrusion.  You can glue or glue and rivet the rubber on. Do it before you add carpet.

As an alternative - you can spray inside the hood area with canned speckled trunk paint

I do not believe problem is handle as I removed it and tried to open with vice grips and it still does not open

The horizontal rod you see in the last photo should connect between the back of the handle assembly and the door latch assembly.

You’ll need to manipulate that to make sure the whole mechanical connection is good. Sometimes the bar gets bent from use and there is too much slop in the bar and doesn’t fully actuate the latch assembly. Completely remove the door card so you can access the inside of the door more easily. Using your vice grips you can manipulate the door handle spline to see if the latch works.

I had to shorten the rod on mine by bending it so the latch would be fully activated.

@Robert M yeah my bar is shot it just bends up easily when you turn vise grips. I should be able to change bar? Or are you say to just bend that rod a bunch and try to make it not straight?

@John Bungen posted:

@Robert M yeah my bar is shot it just bends up easily when you turn vise grips. I should be able to change bar? Or are you say to just bend that rod a bunch and try to make it not straight?

I removed the door knob assembly from the door and manipulated the rod so it was shorter. Then with the door latch assembly loose I reattached it to the rod and tried it again and again until the door latch worked properly. It only took a couple tries.

https://www.vintagemotorcarsin...front-bonnet-rubber/ is this the best hood rubber gasket you guys have found? Glue on?

@Robert M Thank you, I did as you said and actually removed the entire door jam piece/latch and oiled then bent bar and it works...for now.

@John Bungen posted:

https://www.vintagemotorcarsin...front-bonnet-rubber/ is this the best hood rubber gasket you guys have found? Glue on?

Yes. Mine was attached with brush on rubber type cement. Sometimes the seals come with double-sided tape attached but I'm not sure about this one. It'll be the correct one and is easy to attach.

I think most fiberglass Speedsters use a D-shaped seal with double-stick tape on the flat side.

Maybe @Alan Merklin can advise which one and the source.

I have a similar 3/8" "D" style, recommended by MUSBJIM and it works great.  It came with double-sided sticky tape on it which works great everywhere except around the button switches for my courtesy lights.  Something funky happens around those that rolls the weatherstrip, so I re-glued it with 3M Weatherstrip adhesive.  That stuff works great, but you really don't want to get any onya.  You'll need dynamite to get it off without using the 3M adhesive release agent.

So the vintage strip is d style?

I don't know if it is.  Maybe someone else would know and comment.