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TR2/3/3A DIY TR3A Seat Covers

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CraigLandrum

CraigLandrum

Jedi Hopeful
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During the restoration of my 1959 TR3A with my son, I decided that the seat covers and interiors sold by the usual vendors were a bit expensive - at least compared to the raw materials that went into them, and resolved to do it myself. I bought 20 yards of 53-inch wide 41 mil marine grade vinyl for about $160 (much higher quality than are used in the commercial covers). I then dissected my existing worn out seats to create sewing patterns. I ironed each piece flat, traced it onto paper, scanned the paper in, and used it as a guide to create a vector drawing in Adobe Illustrator. I then took each drawing and tiled it into 8x10 PDF pages which can be easily printed on any home laser or inkjet printer and reconstructed at full size by taping the pages together. I did this myself to test the patterns, cut the pieces from my vinyl and sewed the seats (my first time on any sewing machine). I recorded my notes and took pictures as I went and the result is packaged into a 4.4MB PDF file that I just sent to the Members Articles area of the forum. Hopefully it will be posted there for anyone who would like to read it in the near future. It provides all the source, instructions, pictures, and patterns you need to make and recover your own seats.

UPDATE: The file wasn't appropriate for the Members Articles area and I didn't feel like reformatting 70+ pages into a wiki, so you can just download it here:
https://xjguy.com/triumph/diy_tr3a_seat_covers.pdf


By the way, I only used about 5 yards of the vinyl, with plenty left over on my 20 yard roll to recover the dash and all interior panels - all for $160 and a little extra effort.

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Wow, that is really impressive! Great job!

Tinkerman
 
That's an incredible outcome by any standard, but the fact that it was your first time on a sewing machine makes it all the more so!! Great job! I took a sewing class over the summer once many years ago with my then girlfriend and my sister and at the end I was able to make two pairs of bermuda shorts! That quality seat result is a great accomplishment! Very nicely done!
 
Craig, awsome article. I've got it saved on my HD and will use it when the time comes for the interior of my TR2. the medium brown I want to use for my interior is very expensive in kit form, and besides, I'd love to do it myself.
Thanks for the confidence and instructions.
 
When I started the restoration I was sort of surprised that most people seem to simply buy whatever covers are commercially available, which explains why I've seen so many black interiors with white piping :smile:

Really good quality vinyl (better than any of the commercial stuff from the big 2) is very reasonable in a quantity that can do all the seats, dash coverings, and all inside panels - just $160 for 20 yards at 53 inches wide. Cheap enough that you can give your car a very unique and distinctive (or authentic!) look for not much more than some elbow grease. Beats forking over $1,000 or so...

Don't let the sewing intimidate you - if you can rebuild a diff or tranny or restore a guage, you can probably operate some scissors and sewing machine,
and its fun to try something different. I ended up also making new barstool seat covers for our kitchen breakfast nook. My wife's jaw dropped and I racked up some serious brownie points.

Although I think I covered everything needed in my instructions, if anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me directly.
 
Sounds like you have indeed covered everything Craig !.

It takes a dedicated man to tackle a sewing machine. I'd surely get pins and needles trying.

Just jealous I guess - great job and a credit to you.

Cheers,

Viv.
 
Craig,

A beautiful job that I could only dream of accomplishing. When I did mine, I bought the covers from Moss during their winter sale and also got an additional discount from lbcarco so the price for both seats was around $360.

I've often teased my wife that I would like to learn to sew (she's a novice but sews bits for me when needed.) And now you've given me the bug to get going. The idea of using staples instead of pins is great. First project is going to be a flannel lined side curtain bag!

The only thing I would do differently in your seats, is the type of foam that you used for the seat bottoms. I would suggest a denser auto upholstery foam (though quite expensive) that is capable of supporting your weight stand-alone. The stacks of compressed Walmart foam might degrade and pose a problem for you as it ages.

Very nice job indeed!
 
I agree about that Wal-mart foam, although I haven't really tested them over time yet. If I were to do it again, I might buy one of the commercial foams for the seat cushion.
 
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