Discussion
Tri2Tri said:
This thread has inspired me to have a go at recolouring some of my interior trim over winter. Am I right in thinking all panels that appear to be leather are leather and not plastic?
When I bought mine I thought it was all leather, then I read it wasn't. Now I think the seats are leather and the rest isn't. What does everyone else think?
Full leather was a rare & rather expensive option, while full leather sounds like a nice luxury option it actually has some downsides in the long term.
Most cars left the factory in the standard "Half Hide" specification, which is quite a misleading title invented by the marketing men (probably just one man, it's a TVR)
What "Half Hide" gave you was everything that appears to be leather covered in Leathercloth, which is just a trade name for vinyl.
The only part of the trim that's genuine leather are the seat faces, hardly "Half Hide" is it?
A more accurate title would have been "90% Vinyl", but I doubt that would have appealed in the same way "Half Hide" did.
The truth is Leathercloth is actually way more durable than real leather, so it's a far better material to use in areas subject to high abrasion or direct sunlight.
I for one favour the "90% Vinyl" interiors for their durability, if the car has ever leaked, mould will take hold & destroy leather far more readily than it would with Leathercloth.
A genuine leather dash top sat under the glass screen in the baking sun for years is going to shrink and crack eventually, where Leathercloth will tough it out indefinitely.
The issue with Leathercloth is it doesn't breath, that's why you want genuine leather seat backs as it avoids the sweaty back syndrome.
It's also far harder to dye Leathercloth than genuine leather as the dye tends to sit on top of it rather than being absorbed.
But according to the Furniture Clinic website their range of special vinyl dying products solve this problem, I've not tried them yet but Swanny has and seems to have achieved great results.
Most cars left the factory in the standard "Half Hide" specification, which is quite a misleading title invented by the marketing men (probably just one man, it's a TVR)
What "Half Hide" gave you was everything that appears to be leather covered in Leathercloth, which is just a trade name for vinyl.
The only part of the trim that's genuine leather are the seat faces, hardly "Half Hide" is it?
A more accurate title would have been "90% Vinyl", but I doubt that would have appealed in the same way "Half Hide" did.
The truth is Leathercloth is actually way more durable than real leather, so it's a far better material to use in areas subject to high abrasion or direct sunlight.
I for one favour the "90% Vinyl" interiors for their durability, if the car has ever leaked, mould will take hold & destroy leather far more readily than it would with Leathercloth.
A genuine leather dash top sat under the glass screen in the baking sun for years is going to shrink and crack eventually, where Leathercloth will tough it out indefinitely.
The issue with Leathercloth is it doesn't breath, that's why you want genuine leather seat backs as it avoids the sweaty back syndrome.
It's also far harder to dye Leathercloth than genuine leather as the dye tends to sit on top of it rather than being absorbed.
But according to the Furniture Clinic website their range of special vinyl dying products solve this problem, I've not tried them yet but Swanny has and seems to have achieved great results.
ChimpofDarkness said:
Full leather was a rare & rather expensive option.... <other stuff>... great results.
I was just typing that, more or less 
But that has it.
Most dealers would steer you away from 'full hide' as it wasn't value for money when it came time to trade in or sell.
As he says, the 'leather cloth' was far more durable, and pretty much care free.
Truth is TVR would put just about anything in the car that you were willing to pay for.
All you had to do was ask, and increase the size of your deposit.
I remember seeing some quite 'remarkable' 'factory' interiors
As any woman would tell you; "Men should never be involved in interior design decisions."
EggsBenedict said:
CofD, I tried those seats in my chim - didn't fit - before you go nuts (even more) then check that. I ended up putting mine back on the 'bay.
Hi EggsB,
All the measurements seemed to check out fine for me?
Sure the rails need swapping over and the protruding seat belt brackets need cutting off, but the width of the backrest & squabs seem to check out fine?
The worst I can see is I'll lose about 5-10mm of leg room due to the extra depth.
Why exactly wouldn't they fit?
Did you cut that seatbelt bracket off each seat? It's definitely got to go
Have I missed something
The seat lever didn't fit in even so. I didn't want to do too much choppage, and I couldn't get them to fit nicely and give a good range of fore/aft adjustment. If you're OK, then cool - I rather liked the seats, but I couldn't make it work for me. I'd just want to make sure that you fit them in and they work OK for you before doing all the restoration work!
EggsBenedict said:
The seat lever didn't fit in even so. I didn't want to do too much choppage, and I couldn't get them to fit nicely and give a good range of fore/aft adjustment. If you're OK, then cool - I rather liked the seats, but I couldn't make it work for me. I'd just want to make sure that you fit them in and they work OK for you before doing all the restoration work!
Thanks EggsB, I'll double check it all again at the weekend.I'm confident cutting those seatbelt brackets off will give me the clearance I need.
Although I have never needed to adjust my current seat positions (both remain in the fully back position), it would be a shame if I'm unable to get the XJS ones moving fore & aft on the rails.
I'll do a final test fit before I progress but I'd be very surprised they fit perfectly in a TVR S, yet prove an impossible fit in a Chimaera.
TBH I never anticipated a straight drop in, there was always going to be a bit adjustment of the rails as a minimum.
I think it'll be worth it in the end as they do look great in an S, lets see what they look like in the more spacious Chimaera.
Funny to think a lot of S boys that haven't taken the XJS rout fit Chimaera seats as both types fit in there a treat.
Cheers, Dave.
Mine have arrived at home today - they turned up at work last week attached to a pallet but I finally got them home this afternoon.
They're electrically adjusted for rake and so don't have any sort of handle on the side which might in that case actually be a bonus from the sound of it ... and one of the guys at work has volunteered to make a control box for me for the electric adjustment.
(Interestingly - someone else at work I mentioned this too started off down the route of building a full microcontroller type setup for the eats including position sensors and memory functionality ... sometimes I think they maybe get a bit too techie! )
Phil
They're electrically adjusted for rake and so don't have any sort of handle on the side which might in that case actually be a bonus from the sound of it ... and one of the guys at work has volunteered to make a control box for me for the electric adjustment.
(Interestingly - someone else at work I mentioned this too started off down the route of building a full microcontroller type setup for the eats including position sensors and memory functionality ... sometimes I think they maybe get a bit too techie!
)Phil
ChimpofDarkness said:
Thanks EggsB, I'll double check it all again at the weekend.
I was just thinking that I'm away to Italy at the sparrows fart in the morning but when I get back on Saturday I might just pop out the passenger seat (I assume it is just the four bolts) and try a "dry fit" of one of the XJS seats...Phil
Bassfiend said:
Mine have arrived at home today - they turned up at work last week attached to a pallet but I finally got them home this afternoon.
They're electrically adjusted for rake and so don't have any sort of handle on the side which might in that case actually be a bonus from the sound of it ... and one of the guys at work has volunteered to make a control box for me for the electric adjustment.
(Interestingly - someone else at work I mentioned this too started off down the route of building a full microcontroller type setup for the eats including position sensors and memory functionality ... sometimes I think they maybe get a bit too techie! )
Phil
Nice one Phil, my seats slide the old school way & I'm ditching the electro wizardry lumber support pumps in favour of enema hand pumps They're electrically adjusted for rake and so don't have any sort of handle on the side which might in that case actually be a bonus from the sound of it ... and one of the guys at work has volunteered to make a control box for me for the electric adjustment.
(Interestingly - someone else at work I mentioned this too started off down the route of building a full microcontroller type setup for the eats including position sensors and memory functionality ... sometimes I think they maybe get a bit too techie!
)Phil
The heating elements will stay as I have this option already, but I must admit I've never used it.
The levers EggsB refers too on the manual seats are for rake adjustment, again it's of very little consequence to me if I delete these as my current seats hardly ever move from their chosen positions.
Anyway, the manual levers are on a square, so if I do choose to keep them they can easily be repossession to vertical thus clearing the sill area of the floor (I know it doesn't have sills but you get what I mean).
As long as I can flip the seats forward to gain access to the cubby holes they'll be fine for me, I very much doubt they will ever move from their set position.
But I'm quietly confident I can indeed get them moving for & aft on the rails, at worse the adjustment may need to be done before you set out with the door open so the door armrest doest interfere with the outer bolsters.
TBH sliding the seats fore and aft will only become useful in the unlikely event I ever want to loan my car to a dwarf.
I'm certainly not losing any sleep over fitting issues with these seats just yet
Edited by ChimpofDarkness on Wednesday 24th October 19:16
It's bloody cold out this weekend so the thought of climbing underneath to pop out the passenger seat to drop in the Jag seat as an initial test seems like a very poor idea ... but lets see how I feel tomorrow after a decent sleep.
Have just been wondering about RX-8 seats too ... I remember those being *BLOODY* comfortable!
Phil
Have just been wondering about RX-8 seats too ... I remember those being *BLOODY* comfortable!
Phil
The S above with Jag seats was mine - they are tight for sure but do fit. I had to remove the inboard seat pivot plastic cover, remove the jag seatbelt stalk (which is no use attached to the seat) and turned the bottom 'sill'seatbelt mount the wrong way round so it did not stick out from the sill.
I also 'adjusted' the TVR seat belt stalk with a 2 pound adjuster to make them sit flush against the centre console.
No question Chim seats are easier to fit.
I also 'adjusted' the TVR seat belt stalk with a 2 pound adjuster to make them sit flush against the centre console.
No question Chim seats are easier to fit.
Barkychoc said:
The S above with Jag seats was mine - they are tight for sure but do fit. I had to remove the inboard seat pivot plastic cover, remove the jag seatbelt stalk (which is no use attached to the seat) and turned the bottom 'sill'seatbelt mount the wrong way round so it did not stick out from the sill.
I also 'adjusted' the TVR seat belt stalk with a 2 pound adjuster to make them sit flush against the centre console.
No question Chim seats are easier to fit.
Cheers Chris, your XJS seats look fantastic and had been my inspiration for trying them in the Chim.I also 'adjusted' the TVR seat belt stalk with a 2 pound adjuster to make them sit flush against the centre console.
No question Chim seats are easier to fit.
Some of the tweaks I had already worked out, but not all, so your tips will prove very helpful.
I'm determined to make them fit & I particularly liked the bit about the 2 pound adjuster
Many thanks, Dave.
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