Seat Foam

[DanNagy]

When I refurbished the interior, I purhcased the parts from Victoria British Ltd. including the seat foams. These seat foams don't fit properly, and are unacceptable to me. I saw that The Roadster Factory also has them and claims they fit better. I asked the guy doing my restoration to purchase these and put them in after the bodywork is done, but now think I should have used this resource before purchasing. Has anyone put these in from TRF?

You can see in this picture that the foams from VBL don't fill the covers properly. Notice how the seam is below the edge of the foam.

 

[tomshobby]

For my '76 I got mine from VB and am very pleased with the fit and quality. I kept the original covers and only replaced the foam.

 

[DanNagy]

Ah, maybe its the seat covers that are too big! Either way, I wish they had bothered to match them up properly. It was a lot of money to spend for a bad fit. I have also seen other pictures of TR6's with new interiors that have this same fit problem. My shop told me that I may need to go to an upholstery shop to have them custom made.

 

[Brosky]

I checked the online prices on the Big Three sites, which were about the same. Then I went to my local upholstery shop and asked how much to pad the seats, labor material included. I HATE upholstery work. I'd rather dirty clean engine parts all day than re-pad a seat.

I paid 80% of the cost of the material alone to have the entire job done professionally and the seats look perfect. All that I had to do was take them out of the car and carry them in. Done in two days, paid cash, everyone happy.

 

[DanNagy]

Yeah, those look perfect.

 

[LarryK]

You might inquire at a trim shop and see if they can make the covers fit what you have or see if the TRF foam covers any better.

 

[Aeroken]

I used seat foams from BPNW and the cover kit from TRF and am satisfied with the results. The seat back could be a little tighter to the foam in the center section but the way it goes together with the one flap to pull it back, I don't see how to do that without gluing the whole thing. Overall, I was able to work with tensioning the covers over the foams to get the fullness that I wanted, but it took some doing. I wouldn't want thicker foams because even these closed up the gap between my thigh and the steering wheel (I'm 6'3" - see how far back the seat is pushed!) Actually, it seems to be fitting even better now that it has sat out in the sun a bit compared to when I first put them together in the basement.

Here is a picture of my seats that I recently finished for comparison (I did it myself this time, but probably won't do it again!). I realize you can's see the whole seat in this shot, but I've got more of just the seats if you'd like to see them. (Or maybe this is one of the ill-fitting ones you saw recently posted and want to do better /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif)

Ken

 

[DanNagy]

Yep, I can see it. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Brosky]

Ken,

There ain't much room for us six foot plus guys in these little cars. Good thing my wife's tiny.

 

[DanNagy]

Wow, I felt like I was squeezing in at 6'1" ... and the TR6 seems more like an apparel accesory at times - like a belt buckle. But at 6'3", well, that must be a challenge.

As mentioned before, I had to move the seat rail back an inch on mine to drive it. That inch made a big difference. My mechanic welded a piece on to the sliding rail so the seat sat further back and would slide all the way back to the deck. The other thing I noticed is that as I put on some extra pounds, the fat from my love handles pushed me further into the steering wheel. I am now thinking that my car is nagging me to make healthy choices.

Ken: I was re-reading your note, and wanted to say that your seats definately look better than mine. However, I did ask my shop yesterday to return the TRF foams and just take the seats to an upholstery shop. That way, I will have them fit exactly the way I want them - I just don't want to mess with it any more.

 

[rchakr]

Dan, when I redid my upholstry, I used TRF covers and foam. I was a little unhappy with some 'voids' in the top, front, sides. Went to Joanne Fabric, & purchased some thin cotton batting, and cut & glued some triangular pieces to fit on the top corners, and the covers then fit perfectly. I also put a little more padding on the passenger's seat, for SWMBO. Life is good!

Bob

 

[DanNagy]

Thanks Bob. You know, if I were in the U.S., I could definately do this by myself. It's easy stuff to do, really, and it's good bonding time with the car. But living in Korea, I just don't want to mess with it when I come home. It's in the shop now getting its makeover, so I just want them to handle it. It's funny, but the shop told me I should send the seats to an upholstery shop after I told them that the VBL foams didn't fit properly. I had to eat crow and admit my stubborn nature to them.... and ask for them to do as they originally wanted... causing them to return the TRF order. Once again humiliated by my fat head. The upholstery shop will probably do as you did to make them fit, and save me a little money.

I have never totally redone a car like this before, and I am learning a lot in the process. The number one rule I have learned and tell myself: Listen to what the experts tell you (knucklehead). This forum has really been a great resource for me, and I am thankful for the creators of this forum who had a vision that was spot on.

 

[brdave]

I am planning on replacing my seat foams and webbing on my 76 TR6 this winter re using the original seat covers. When placing the order for parts, are there any other unforseen items that must be replaced?
Thanks
dave b

 

[tomshobby]

Dave,

When I replaced my foam I also needed the diaphragms. Depending on the condition you may also need new webbing straps. It will also be easier if you have new hog rings, which are not crimped when installed.

I needed new foam for my headrest ('76) and at the time VB was the only one of the big three that included it with the kit. My foam fit very well and did not have the "voids" that have been mentioned here.

 

[Aeroken]

I second the replacement of the diaphrams and clips. When I did mine the back webbings were in good shape so I didn't replace them. The only parts problem I had was the little friction device (little plastic coil) that rides against the headrest tube... one side had completely disintigrated. I finally found a piece of vinyl wrapped cable that fit the hole and provided a reasonable amount of friction. The one on the passenger side seat was intact enough to reuse. I would also make sure to have replacement screws available to hold the seat latch mechanisms on, they seemed pretty soft and got chewed up during removal because it is difficult to get a screwdriver straight on to them.

My foam kit from BPNW also included the headrest foams.

Enjoy!
Ken

 

[DanNagy]

Yeah, I am thinking that the seat covers are the problem, and that the foams were made to fit the original covers. Perhaps the covers are a bit too big.

My seat belts were not threaded through the seats, and I wonder if the belt from the floor originally was threaded through the seat? I think it would help to keep the belts from flopping outside the door. Mine are not currently threaded through the seat, but planning on doing that when I return to the U.S. My Fiat Spider had them this way, plus a guide bracket attached to the top of the seat that kept the belt tidy.

I also need to fix the belt retensioner as the belt is hitting the carpeting and so they do not retract properly, causing miles of belt to be hand fed back into the retensioner when I get out of the car. I just thought to put a couple of washers underneath to raise it up a bit when I return.

 

[Tomster]

Just replaced the diaphrams in my 4A. Quite a bit of swearing getting all the clips in place.
As a note: the factory hog rings on the original diaphrams were not closed nor did I close the new ones.
All is good now unless anyone has a left over drivers seat foam ( L O N G story goes here )