Spitfire seat refurbishment

[Men in sheds]

Hi,

I have just bought a 1969 Mark 3 Spitfire and although a lot of it appears original I am unsure about the seats.

Are they 1500 seats? Is there an official part number for these seats?

I would like to get new foam cushioning and new custom black leather with white piping if possible, to match the black car. Losing the chequered pattern.

Any suggestions are most welcome, as I live in Hong Kong and the car is a project my brother in law and I are undertaking in the Isle of Man during my vacation time.

My first car was a 1977 1500cc red spitfire but this one is more age relevant!

Thanks so much.

Max

 

[dannyb]

Yes they are 1500 seats

[PeterH]

See the photos of my mk3 seats in the post 'SpitfireMk3 Seat Covers'

Peter

[dougbgt6]

Max,

Yes, 1500 seats. Owen at Park Lane Classics does the best and most competitive priced foams. He also does black leather seat covers and head rests. He might do white piping if you ask. Probably best to phone.

http://www.parklaneclassics.co.uk/

Doug

 

[Men in sheds]

thank you Guys

[thescrapman]

Are you thinking of taking it out to Hong Kong? Closest I saw to a Triumph there was the early TR in Macao.

congrats on the impending big event. Had mine a few years ago, but no 1966 car for me, have to mark do with a '67 and a '68, and a '69, oh and a '70... :-)

[Nautam Mistry]

I've orders some seat foams from Owen at Park Lane Classics but the lead time is a bit long...wont come till Sept but will keep you posted on how I get on.

My existing foams have completely disintegrated and my seat vinyl is ripped...hope to refurbish them when I get the foams...

Nautam

 

[yorkshire_spam]

Owen is a top bloke and his products are always top-notch, it's just a shame that his lead times aren't the best.

You might not enjoy the wait, but you won't be unhappy with the goods when they arrive.

[Badwolf]

Just recovered a pair of reclining seats with foams and leathers from Owen. Top notch stuff but you will have to wait!! Also, Owen is famous for his lack of communication, so you may have to email/phone/text him several times. Also don't lose the boards and clips from your old covers. Owen doesn't do them and the replacements I got were rubbish. If the boards have had it save the clips and make some new ones using the old ones as templates. It is worth doing a global search on the forum for "Park Lane" as posts are dotted about all over the pages.

[ShaunW]

I'll give Owen the thumbs up too. The delay is annoying but to his credit they arrived on schedule to the day. Should have ordered headrest covers too but heyho. Make sure you order everything you might need, new trim makes what seemed OK look shabby. Mine aren't leather but the vinyl is nice and thick.

New foams are really comfy! It's like having trick suspension. 

After recovering the clips that Badwolf mentions from my bin, I ended up not using them. Recline side is held in by the handle and other side was a tad short so I rivetted it. 

I've kept the clips (which are on ify boards), they're no use to me and the price of a stamp to post, so they're a freebie if anyone needs some. 

(ran out of carpet because I decided to cover the rear panels and arches with it too) 

[Nautam Mistry]

Looks great Shaun...by the way what colour is your car...is it Carmine Red?

My car was Carmine Red per the Heritage Certificate but I think the previous owner had it re-sprayed Damsen Red.

Nautam

 

[ShaunW]

4 hours ago, Nautam Mistry said:

.by the way what colour is your car...is it Carmine Red?

 

The colour has been a bit of a puzzle....another one.

I got some faded photos in the info pack that came with the car showing it being resprayed (when it seems to have had a yellow body, with a white bonnet and red floors??) in 2004. It mentions that the colour is "Argyle Red (met) Honda".  From my digging this seems to have been a colour Honda only used in 86 - 87.  Either the guy had a crate full of old paint he wanted to use, or the colour was used for longer than I think, or it isn't actually that colour.  I've no idea about it's history or what it started as, up behind the dash there's parts that look original that are green!

We quite like the colour but almost every panel and esp the fibreglass bonnet need some sort of attention and I can't find a paintshop that will take a sample and match it.

I should start another thread about it as the info pack contains TSSC membership stickers from 2003 to 2008, so perhaps someone here knows it.

 

[Nautam Mistry]

hmm interesting...at some point I will look to get mine re-sprayed the original colour but I suspect it may be expensive...if you see my restoration thread, you will see the interior colour is slightly different to the outside colour...similar to yours.

Nautam

[Pete Lewis]

if you can find a small part to remove  and send to club shop  their paint factors will scan it to replicate the  paint spec.

and do a good price on the paint too.

Pete

[ShaunW]

Thx Pete, I didn't know that, do they do cans?....I really really must join, you guys do a lot of good work and for the vfm I've had from this forum it's only fair to put my pound in the jar when it's passed round.

(I would now but i'm supposed to be working and I don't want swmbo catching me on here.......shhhh!)

Nautam, My tag says paint code 82...so i think it must have been Carmine Red. But I know fron the can I bought that it definately isn't that now. Does anyone want a can of Carmine Red with one squirt missing

[ShaunW]

...that bit about wanting a can of Carmine Red was obv tongue in cheek. It's the best colour match I've found for my Coronet Imp bandsaw and it needs a touch up too.

[Nautam Mistry]

That's interesting to know Pete regarding the shop paint factor...something to consider later on down the line I think.

Nautam

 

[ShaunW]

The Carmine is a pretty good colour for the parts that wouldn't quite get done on a body-on respray...if you're sticking with red.

I'm sure there's quite a debate about using original colours but these modern paints really do zing. I'd like to think that if they were still being made, my colour would be one they might have on the chart. My wife would like it a slightly more raspberry colour...but that's not happening. Just because her name's on the V5 she thinks she has a say in these things

 

[yorkshire_spam]

43 minutes ago, ShaunW said:

My tag says paint code 82...so i think it must have been Carmine Red

Code 82 is indeed Carmine.... http://www.spitlist.info/Paint.html (and anything ending in the digit "2" should be some form of red)

[ShaunW]

35 minutes ago, yorkshire_spam said:

Code 82 is indeed Carmine.... http://www.spitlist.info/Paint.html 

mmmm and my trim code was 11, so I ordered fine grain seat covers. Only to find that all the other vinyl looked a lot coarser . She definately a bitza.

Sorry to the OP about the thread drift. I'll clear off now.

[Badwolf]

Shaun. Here's a thought to help other members. Photograph your old boards along with two rulers at right angles (ala CSI) and post it on the site. Any other members who need new boards in the future can copy the photo, print it to scale and hey presto.. instant templates

[ShaunW]

I'm no pro but I'm guessing they're not original. Hehe. 

I did say they were ify. Clips might help someone out though, not everyone has scrap metal laying around and they're surprisingly stiff. 

[Badwolf]

Shaun. Brilliant stuff. Even in their current state they are better than the ones that I ordered at a stupid price, for totally inferior goods. Looking at the rivets, I think they are original, but have been reshaped, probably for the covers you had to start with. It's a pity Owen, or someone else, doesn't market the clips, which must only cost a few pence to make. Then using your template and a hand rivetter, job done for less than a fiver!