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CanberraBJ8
Jedi Trainee
Offline
So While on our trip last year to Tasmania in the 356 (after the Healey let us down somewhat) I was kind of glad that we were in a car with a reasonable luggage space. Not a lot mind you, but enough. The Healey with its 'rear seats' and folding backrest really doesn't have much space. And the boot is full of spare wheel and battery! Terry's car - the rally replica - has no back seats - though the space is then compromised by roll cage and the second spare wheel protruding into the rear seat area. I decided then that I'd like to remove my rear seats and re-trim the section to maximise luggage space. It' not like anyone can really sit in those seats anyway! You can fold the backrest down to form a 'parcel shelf' but its compromised by the rest of the backrest. And if you leave the backrest up, then everything you place on the seat pans falls off down into the footwell.
I thought that if I took out the backrest all-together I'd gain quite a bit of space. Also I was surprised and annoyed that there were no seals between the seat pans and the body. Is there supposed to be? I'm guessing this is another thing missing from the renovation of my car... So I've bent up some aluminium to fill the holes, and found some glazing seals at the local rubber shop that have held them in well. This means it can be changed back easily - just pull them out, no holes drilled or welding. But what really kicked it all of was that when I as trying to shift the fuel pump I found it was secured with nyloc nuts. To take them off I had to hold the heads of the bolts, and they were under the carpet, which was glued on...Pulling it up ruined the carpet - the pile pulled through. So it was time...
I also was quite taken with the posts of Dynamatting the cabin. On the way back from the failed tour my feet were burning!So I looked into local supplies. Actually I tied to buy from the USA over the internet, but either the stores wouldn't ship to Australia, or with the shipping costs it was better to just get it here. I had the choice of Dynamat or X Mat made by Mongoose. It was slightly cheeper but i the end I went with the Dynamat - the supplier gave me a good price. Advice on the forum was that one pack of 9 sheets should do. So I went with that. However it became evident that this was not going to fully line the cabin, and in the end I used 16.5 sheets.
Also I used a product called Zero Clearance - I think Dougie mentioned it? - to line the underside of the transmission tunnel. I also had to repair the tunnels fibreglass too. I gave it an extra layer all over as it was looking pretty thin and flimsy.
Since the photo I've sealed the joins with aluminium tape.
Talking with a local motor trimmer I could have bought the carpet that was original to Healeys, but of course it came at a price... $150 per meter. A european carpet was $140... and I could get a local made carpet for $40 per meter... In fact the local stuff looked a little better, at least in small patch samples. Because I wanted to carpet the whole rear area, I'd worked out I'd need something like 5.5 square meters!So the $150 stuff was not an option. Also I hadn't wanted to use an underfelt that soaked up water, but talking with the trimmer, it seemed the traditional cotton underlay was the best option - particularly with longevity. However, I decided to make all the carpet and underlay removable - both so if it got wet it could dry out of the car, and also so if I needed to work in the car the carpet wouldn't be either a hindrance or be damaged. I'm going to use carpet snaps - lots.
First job was to cut and fit the underlay. I just bag stitched it together.
I thought that if I took out the backrest all-together I'd gain quite a bit of space. Also I was surprised and annoyed that there were no seals between the seat pans and the body. Is there supposed to be? I'm guessing this is another thing missing from the renovation of my car... So I've bent up some aluminium to fill the holes, and found some glazing seals at the local rubber shop that have held them in well. This means it can be changed back easily - just pull them out, no holes drilled or welding. But what really kicked it all of was that when I as trying to shift the fuel pump I found it was secured with nyloc nuts. To take them off I had to hold the heads of the bolts, and they were under the carpet, which was glued on...Pulling it up ruined the carpet - the pile pulled through. So it was time...
I also was quite taken with the posts of Dynamatting the cabin. On the way back from the failed tour my feet were burning!So I looked into local supplies. Actually I tied to buy from the USA over the internet, but either the stores wouldn't ship to Australia, or with the shipping costs it was better to just get it here. I had the choice of Dynamat or X Mat made by Mongoose. It was slightly cheeper but i the end I went with the Dynamat - the supplier gave me a good price. Advice on the forum was that one pack of 9 sheets should do. So I went with that. However it became evident that this was not going to fully line the cabin, and in the end I used 16.5 sheets.
Also I used a product called Zero Clearance - I think Dougie mentioned it? - to line the underside of the transmission tunnel. I also had to repair the tunnels fibreglass too. I gave it an extra layer all over as it was looking pretty thin and flimsy.
Since the photo I've sealed the joins with aluminium tape.
Talking with a local motor trimmer I could have bought the carpet that was original to Healeys, but of course it came at a price... $150 per meter. A european carpet was $140... and I could get a local made carpet for $40 per meter... In fact the local stuff looked a little better, at least in small patch samples. Because I wanted to carpet the whole rear area, I'd worked out I'd need something like 5.5 square meters!So the $150 stuff was not an option. Also I hadn't wanted to use an underfelt that soaked up water, but talking with the trimmer, it seemed the traditional cotton underlay was the best option - particularly with longevity. However, I decided to make all the carpet and underlay removable - both so if it got wet it could dry out of the car, and also so if I needed to work in the car the carpet wouldn't be either a hindrance or be damaged. I'm going to use carpet snaps - lots.
First job was to cut and fit the underlay. I just bag stitched it together.