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more on the seat situation ????

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T

twigworker

Jedi Trainee
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I obviously got the seats out, well duh!, Now it is my intention to get an upholsterer friend to reduce the thickness of the cushion in order to be able to see below the w/s header rail. Does anyone have any caveats in doing this?

Jack
 
Yep! You're right EX, I don't fit very well in E-Types. This one is a friends car, but unfortunately he is as tall as I am, around six feet. He doesn't know the difference and puts up with more than I would. All he knows is that the car looks terrific and that he "deserves" the thing.

I for one really like E-Types except that they were designed at the tail end of an era when most Englishmen were less tall that they or the rest of the world average is now. The seating position for me, no matter what combination of seat and steering wheel that I try, is not as comfortable as I would like. If I owned one of them, with full knowledge of the risk of messing up something original, I would cut the pans out below the seats and drop them down about two inches, then thin out the seat squab so that it would go back a bit more.

Jack
 
You can change the density of the foam cushion and make it harder and thinner and still get away from the frame. OR modify the seat and use the TR6 seat retainers, rubber hangers that fasten to the bottom of the seat and supports the cushion. Will lower the pad.
 
or remove both seats from the car, leaving them alone for posterity, and install two adjustable-height seats like Recaros or something like that.

There are no more original Dunlop or Pirelli Seat Foams to be had, if you cut those, that's it. It will decrease the car's value. So think hard about it and look for alternatives before you chop.

Ex
 
Hi Jack,

Since the E was restored years ago, the seat cushions were replaced with the only thing available - made with a very dense foam that doesn't compress very much. If you give it to a furniture guy, he can remove the black rubber baffle on the bottom, cut out a lot of the dense foam, replace the cut out foam with light spongy stuff, and replace the baffle. Leaving an empty void would leave the seat sagging and not match the other side. Leave the pass. side alone, only take short people for rides. The seat baffle can be left out too - you'll be a bit lower.

If it's still too high, remove the seat tracks and bolt the seat directly to the floor at the most rearward position against the rear bulkhead. That involves 4 new holes in the floor - the bolts screw into the seats from below. Most tall people must have the seat all the way back and don't need to slide them anyway.

A smaller wheel diameter - 14" or 15" - will give under dash room too. There are some nice wood rim wheels out there.

One odd thing. There are small "L" shaped shims that the rear corners of the side chromes rest on. Make sure they are flipped back and out of the way. That will give a bit more rake to the seat back.

All the above stuff is easily reversable to original when selling it.

If you had a crappy driver, I could tell you how to lower the floor like a 2+2 (and get 2 more inches), and enlarge the cut-out behind the seat for travel and get more leg room. Then you can get a 6'6"er in comfortably.

Phil.
 
Thanks guys! All notes have been printed and I will consult with the owner. :smile:

Jack
 
OR...go the OTHER way, sit on a phone book and wear driving goggles?? Gonna have the wind in your hair might as well get the WIND in your HAIR!!! LoL
 
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