Seats (+2S)

[jono]

I have had a quote to re foam my front seats and fit new webbing and repair a split between the drivers seat bolster and centre panel.

They are a good upholstery firm but the quote is a lot more than I was expecting (and more than they were) and does not seem to be value for money when considering that the seats are after all crappy 70's vinyl car seats I have always thought that the seats let down the car down to be honest.

What is the consensus on the need to maintain originality here? I must say that I am not inclined to go down the XJS or MX5 route here, rather I am thinking that if I am going to spend good money on the existing seats I might as well go the whole hog and have them re done in leather?

That of course then leaves the rear seats which are pretty much perfect and don't need any work doing. They would therefore not match if I had the front seats done in leather.

Alternatively is there anything I can do myself at modest cost to make the existing seats useable short of going down the professional route?

What would one expect to pay to have a seat re stuffed and/or re upholstered?

Comments / thoughts / experiences appreciated.

Jon

[Jason1]

Hi Jon

New covers are mega money http://www.newtoncomm.co.uk/cars/lotus- ... ering-kit/


What about trying tear aid = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380354060522? ... 1113wt_905

I think mine have a tear in the same place as yours; I will give tear aid a go as the rest of the seat is fine.

Jason

[Spyder fan]

Jon,
Mine were redone in tan leather when I had my zetec conversion done. It was ?1100 for the complete interior including front and rear seats, door cards, centre console, dashtop, under dash panels basically anything you can see minus the dashboard, roof lining and carpets.

The seat foam and webbing was replaced as part of the deal. The original seats are very comfortable although a bit of side support would be useful.

The guy who does this work will collect and return to you, I have the details somewhere if you are interested in going the whole hog.

[ardee_selby]

The guy who does this work will collect and return to you, I have the details somewhere if you are interested in going the whole hog.

Is this him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z5gSzDvNJs

Richard

[Spyder fan]

The guy who does this work will collect and return to you, I have the details somewhere if you are interested in going the whole hog.

Is this him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z5gSzDvNJs

Richard

Richard,
That guy does the pig skin seats, we were talking cow leather. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q72aRcVATV8

[Gizze]

Hi,
Does anybody know of a supplier for the seat foam and rubber diaphragm at the base of the seat? I've found a local trimmer in Essex who can replicate accurately the basket weave and leather grain of the original seats on my +2s but it would help if these parts could be purchased as my seats are in quite poor order .
G

[Jason1]

Hi G

Stall 57-60 in the Chelmsford Retail market sells lots of different foam on Tues and Sat. Or Ebay?

http://www.mackayi.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mktpage2.htm

Where are you in Essex?

Jason

[Gizze]

Hi Jason,
I'm in Leigh on sea, so Chelmsford isn't far, but the upholsterer is requesting foam pre cut to use. I've looked at all the usual suppliers (Miller, Matty etc) but none seem to supply anything like this for seats. I've found one supplier (Newton) that does pre cut foam but only for Elans not Plus 2's
Cheers
G

[Jason1]

Hi

Have you tried: http://www.aldridge.co.uk/

What seats do you have? Mine are the early ones which are the same as the Elan, have a look at the Newton link that I posted a few posts up.

Jason

[Gizze]

Hi,
My car is a 1970 +2s, the seats being different to those on the earlier cars - I believe.
I've submitted an enquiry to Aldridge to see if they can help.
Many thanks for your help, all my 'Googling' didn't bring up Aldridge
G

[Jason1]

No worries.

Newton are the first choice but are not cheap. The only other options are to buy the foam and using the old one cut it to size yourself or buy some second hand seats and take out the foam to reuse on yours? Why will the local guy not cut the foam.

I would be interested to know what the local guy charges and if he does a good job when you get it done. I need a few small repairs but do not want to pay mega money.

Jason

[bcmc33]

Jon,

I'll send a PM sometime today.

[jono]

Thanks Brian - I have hit the buffers on this one.

Jon

[Gizze]

Hi Jason,
Have had a reply from Aldridge, they can't do anything so just waiting for Newton.
I think the reason why he's suggesting to buy foams is to save money / hassle.
I assume he's able to make some, but hopefully some can be found.
Will post some photos when they're done

[JJDraper]

Is the foam totally missing? It is rare for it to be unusable, even if it needs a few repairs here and there. I sold a couple of late +2S seats on ebay a month or so back for the princely sum of 99p! The Passenger seat was almost new; the driver's was a wreck, but the foam was still useable. I may have some foam bases lurking in my loft if you are interested.

I went for MGB seats in the end. Reasonably easy fit and they have head restraints. 1.5kgs lighter per seat than the originals..

Jeremy