Gt6 Seat Re-Foam And Re-Cover

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

Further to my purchase of custom made seat covers for one of my GT6s. I have a local upholsterer that I had previously bought Door panels from for my Mk11, or GT6+ as they are known over here. They are a good product, very original in appearance and very durable to date. He also has patterns for the 3 early designs of high back, so I took the plunge and purchased a set.

I misconstrued a type from a picture he sent, I was after the recline-able later seats just before they went to the low back removable head rest type. There were 2 styles of reclinable high backs, early ones with side bolsters that were not integral into the back and later ones which were. They do not share a common back frame nor seat base. I desired the later style as I have foams for the seat and partial for the backs, but ordered the early ones by mistake. As they were custom and he had already started them I am committed to following through. Luckily I have 2 sets of the early style, 2 sets of the later style as well as 2 sets of the non-recliners. 

So now I need to purchase some bulk foam, an electric carving knife and adhesive and get to it. The covers are being finished today and he sent pics, I am in process of dismantling the seats I have and documenting how they went together, messy and mousey.

 

What I am starting out with ;

 

 

What he is sending me, partially mocked up

 

 

One thing I am going to attempt is swapping the sliding frame, the early seats did not have the release feature allowing the entire seat to tilt forward, it appears as though it will be adaptable to this style of seat though.

I will be searching for the proper foam, he will give me a few tips on remounting the covers correctly and I will document my progress further, including making the contoured foam.

Cheers Tim

 

 

[Nick Jones]

That's brave.  Look forward to following your progress as it's not something I've really tackled.  I've tended to borrow seats from more recent vehicles, though I'm not sure that's a tactic that works very well if you are tall and own a Spitfire......

 

Does an electric carving knife work well on foam?

 

Nick

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

The electric carver does a great job, better than on a roast, I have 3 or 4 Global knives for meat.

It is actually foolishness and need rather than bravery , akin to the Vizard dynamometer based on  propping up on jackstands and using your handbrake.

The torture will begin as soon as I find appropriate foam material.

Cheers

[GT6Steve]

Fitting the seat cover can be a trial.  You can ease the job by pulling a plastic bin liner over the foam before attempting to fit the vinyl/leather.  It slides over easier.

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

Indeed it does Steve, especially on the later one piece highbacks. I re-foamed my old seat last summer and that eased the task considerably, then just reach in and tear the baggy out. The early style are easier as they are open backed, just the head rest to worry about straining. It is going to be difficult to maintain the crisp profiles and support of the bottom portion, there was a lot of gluing and fabric sandwiching between foam to achieve that rather than going all flat and mushy. Redoing the straps that back everything up will be an adventure and is going to require some resourcefulness.

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

IT s a bit wintry here, an ice storm at the moment and a chill was on the house.  I am sitting by the stove with a cozy fire updating the lack of progress.

 

This is a comparison of the later seat bottom , a new replacement foam and the original early style foam. I could make this new piece fit but it was $105.00 per seat, and the bottom is not flat webbing like the older style ,but a deeper cardboard insert. I will acquire the foam and cut to match. The webbing can probably be nylon straps and can be glued to the frame. a new set of webbing is $257.00 for 2 seats including backs. 

 

Date stenciled on the seat bottom

 

The open back, covered by vinyl on press board, showing the now useless straps or webbing. The later style have an enclosed single piece slip over

 

 

 

 

[pomwah]

Fantastic stove, it's a sculptural piece right enough.

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

I stopped by a second hand thrift store yesterday in search of tooling to cut seat foam. I came across this gem, a sophisticated craftsmen's device for carving and shaping foam. Grandpa's electric carving knife, Phillips Electrics circa 1972, $5.00

 

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

Having spent some time yesterday with the manufacturer of the seat covers, regarding the installation methods he was sharing, I have formed a slight different opinion. He has redone a few seats and has had a different experience from mine with what he discovered in taking apart the original seats. This has affected how he has sewn new covers, here is where we differ.

My concern is with the seat bottoms for now.

Here is a shot of the seat cover, he recommends this surface, in black, be glued to the foam. In taking apart my original seat I found that the original cover extended beyond the seam where the side bolster is sewn by about 3 Centimeters, as well there was an amount of fabric cloth extended by about 70CMs on the front section seam. These extra amounts were placed under the foam of the side bolsters and both the bolster foam and this tab were then glued to the seat foam base, similarly the tab at the front was tucked into a slit in the foam base and glued. This kept the cover bottom from slipping around and also maintained the shape and form of the side and front bolster from flattening out.

I will attempt to show the original method in the next photo, showing where I cut off the extra material glued underneath the bolster and the slit in the front section a tab of cloth extended into.

I feel duplicating this original feature would make a much better profile and would help maintain the original shape longer. I will glue some cloth to the underside of the covers to duplicate the process.

[Urge]

if you need new diaframs or the back rest rubber straps, PM me 

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

I was not happy with the twist evident in the back frame to the alignment of the seat bottom. I used a torch to heat up the area where I felt the worse offence has taken place, using a pipe wrench to re-bend the back into conformance, it is better than before but still not where it should be. I don't want to push my luck any further and create more problems than I resolve.

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

After a brief hiatus on the seat adventure I am back at it , time allowing. Straightened and painted the seat frame and have made up some webbing straps for the back. I used a furniture webbing I found locally. I had my wife show me how to operate the sewing machine to do a box stitch, it was slow going, the material is thick and awkward. There was a constant breakage of the thread and the rethreading procedure. Finished the 4 straps at any rate. The end clips I salvaged were all in good shape and are being re-used.

There wasn't much of a guide to go by for referencing the lengths of the individual straps. I measured between the clips and subtracted 1/2" from the measurement to give the fabric some tension, worked well, there isn't a lot of pressure on them at any rate.

The side bolsters are the first to go on, requiring some foam shaping. The pic shows them being a little rough, that isn't much of a concern as a layer of fabric backed foam goes over the top and smooths out the irregularities. I glued the foam on after cutting a channel down the middle for the frame and used the electric carving knife. A few trial fittings show that it is pretty close to being a good tight and well shaped fit.
 

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

A side bolster covered, looking ok. Lots of fitting, pulling, re-stuffing in attempts to get all the seam  puckers and loose areas taut.

 

The recliner handle side, some cutting and trim to fit the piece of hardboard, had to learn to cut and seam on the sewing machine. it is important to use the correct thread, an extra strength upholstery nylon. I found this out after sewing the straps. I had to cut and form a pocket, slow but got it done satisfactorily. More fitting, removing, stuffing and pulling with lots of heat to stretch the fabric.

 

 

The door and recliner side of the passenger seat , new foam and the area that required the pocket to be sewn, I'm getting a bit more confident now.

 

An assembled top portion, still a loose bit up near the head rest area, more stuffing or remove and rework that area. There were a lot of flaws in the copy of these covers, areas that should have had foam sewn into the sides for smoothness, support and filling. I will get some pics of these areas to show the originals and the copies. Trying to get rid of the seam puckers is a trial, the factory did a good job removing that from the equation with better design and sewing techniques to eliminate that being a problem on the assembly.

 

 

A lot of stretching with heat, clipping, stretch and more clips to remove any wrinkles and give uniformity, a days worth of work.

,

Edited July 8, 2016 by TIMSGT6 X 5

[Nick Jones]

Looks damn good to me 

 

Nick

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

Thanks Nick, if I had to charge for the amount of time I've put into it so far It would amount to the cost of a complete new Jensen Healy interior!

 

 

I'm at an impasse, I've been doing the seat bottom and have run into a snag. The seat bottom cover that was made up is for the later style high-back tilt/recliner. I have the earlier high-back non tilt recliner.

 

As you can see there is a considerable difference in the length and pattern

.

 

I have talked with the upholsterer and he was unaware that there was a difference in the bottoms. I did actually sell him 2 of this very same style seat for his brothers car which he has just finished disassembling and is currently making up covers. He would have found the difference at any rate. He was pretty good about it and will have the proper material finished up for next week.

Pretty warm and humid here anyways so could use a break from the shop.

Cheers Tim

[richbike]

I am inspired!

 

My covers are ok (according to a chap round the the corner who retrims old cars...30s Bugattis etc..spits being modern cars ;-)

So I plan to have a crack at the passenger seat.

See if I can pull off the covers and re stuff it.

Is the webbing elasticated?

[TIMSGT6 X 5]

I am inspired!

 

My covers are ok (according to a chap round the the corner who retrims old cars...30s Bugattis etc..spits being modern cars ;-)

So I plan to have a crack at the passenger seat.

See if I can pull off the covers and re stuff it.

Is the webbing elasticated?

 

Yes, the webbing is used in chairs and sofas, there are different stiffness available, I chose the firmest available from a local fabric store. It is a nylon polyester material, not too stretchy, I used a cigarette lighter to fuse the ends after cutting  to keep them from fraying or separating. It was inexpensive, about $1 a yard and sews rather well. I'm now contemplating using it on the seat bottoms as well.

Cheers Tim