Intatrim seats

[SILICONEKID345HP]

Richard 858 said:

Daz, correct they do not recline which is the main reason to take time fitting, trying, removing adjusting, refitting etc, etc to get the base angle right as this sets the back rest angle. I only drove up to Birmingham & back last Sunday and that was with the seat mounted too high for me in reality and I still found it comfortable. I'm sure the comfort will very much depend on the individual and their posture, size & shape. Thanks for the original tip on the seats and when you get yours I'm sure you'll work it out Daz, after all it's only a kit car apparently !!!!!!!!!!

[Richard 858]

jamienshelly said:

Cheers Ole, I will post pics and details on the install

Any update on your seat installation Jamie ?

[jamienshelly]

Richard 858 said:

Any update on your seat installation Jamie ?

Hi Mate, Unfortunately no pics of the install (phone was dead at work), I Have got them in after having to fit the Drivers seat 3 times!!!, and even then its only temp as I want to make sure its the right angles before welding spacers to the made up frame work.
I used the existing holes by making up 2 plates, and welding pieces on to that for the correct spacing for the intatrim runners, so really that was quite easy, you would think, trying to raise lower was harder than i thought it would ever be, I drove home on friday morning only just able to reach the pedals, and if I leaned back into the seat i would be looking at the roof, so back to it Friday night/Sat morning, made up some blocks of wood and test fit, too high, remove thinner block too low, just, fettled about and got it about right, made metal spacer pieces and bolt the seat domn as well as extending the frame to bring it nearer the pedals and job done. drove it to Southampton Yesterday and relly comfy but feels very different, the car feels a lot firmer.
Just one question for you... do you find that there is a lot of flex in the seats? I realise that there will be some but it all seems to flex on the base, and how close to the roof stays are yours, they are fairly close.
I will take some pics when I can and will post them up.

[Richard 858]

Jamie, I did wonder if your initial optimism was a little... erm optimistic, but glad you got there in the end. I haven't had any issue with the seat base flexing but I did fit the ally strips under the seat cushion so that may help with that. I have strengthened the underside fixing points by replacing the repair washers with galvanised steel strips between front & rear bolts. I did find that after a run with a passenger that all underside nuts needed retightening. Indeed there isn't much clearance between the top of the backrest & the roof stays but this can only be alleviated by further adjustment of seat base angle until you're happy with the compromise between headroom, seat angle and legroom. I've managed to get an angle that gives me slightly more legroom than the old seats but slightly less headroom, but it's all down to trial & error. Good luck with the finishing touches.

[jamienshelly]

Cheers mate, I think i could have had them finished But... My imobiliser fob decided that it did not want to disarm the car, so every time i moved the alarm was sounding, I hunted high and low for the fault and it was the fob itself, I just disconnected the battery and got on with it. So your seats are rigid!, I may have to check a bit harder but when all was tight the side supports flex and on base/back too perhaps a call to Alison is in order.
they do bring the interior into the 'sports car' section and modernise the look i think.

[Richard 858]

Jamie, I wouldn't go as far as to say "rigid" but they don't feel like they're flexing too much but I need to do a few more miles with some "spirited" driving to test fully however I assume fibreglass would flex to a degree, as the body of the car itself does but maybe the bracing I have added does make some difference. I agree with the more sports car look but without being too modern, more in keeping with a racing seat of the correct era IMHO.

[jamienshelly]

Richard 858 said:

Jamie, I wouldn't go as far as to say "rigid" but they don't feel like they're flexing too much but I need to do a few more miles with some "spirited" driving to test fully however I assume fibreglass would flex to a degree, as the body of the car itself does but maybe the bracing I have added does make some difference. I agree with the more sports car look but without being too modern, more in keeping with a racing seat of the correct era IMHO.

Thats a fair comment about the era, Maybe with the 'movement' i am being critical as steel frame seats don't move at all. but I am over the moon with them and really pleased with the colour and trim

[jamienshelly]

As requested, not the best pics but you can get the picture...The same pics are on the general forum too!!

Had these for a week now, very comfy










A good colour match too

[Richard 858]

Great job Jamie, what sort of seat base / backrest angle did you end up with ? I've ended up with a little less headroom than is ideal but with a nice angle and more legroom than standard, which is important for me. I agree about the comfort.

[jamienshelly]

Cheers mate Headroom has never been an issue for me!, I have had to raise the back of the drivers seat to reduce the back rest angle, as I don't like laying down. When I first put them in, I had too much leg room and could not reach the pedals, now I have shifted it forwards, the car has changed its personality completely, the old seats were absorbing so much information and was a little too far back, now I can comfortably press the throttle and see over the bonnet, the car feels so alive. I am glad I added a little extra foam for Shelly's seat, as the base is a lot harder than the standard seat, not that these are not comfy, it just adds that little bit extra for the passenger. I am getting used to the side bolsters as I have to slide the seat back to get in and out, and I land on the seat base hard as I am used to falling into the old one!, but they are so supportive, although as I have mentioned there is a little bit of movement as the fiberglass flexes.
In the whole, we are really pleased with them.

[Richard 858]

Likewise with raising the back of the seat base (by about 1/2 inch in my case), did the same for both but need SWMBO to jump in the passenger side to see if this suits her as well.