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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - seat

I have progressed to the stage of re-conditioning the seats on the 1954 T.F.I'm overhauling .In-particular the horsehair and springs are presenting some problems in-so-far as locating a source .All support would be appreciated and if anyone would wish to offer their opinions on the subject itself it will be gratefully accepted.. Thank-you John
J .R.C Cavey

John -- After discussing the horse hair replacement with a rep at Moss, I learned that the horse hair backing is found in the MGA catalog. However, like several others who participate on this BB, I opted to go with a foam rubber backing instead. I had two pieces cut at a local upholstery shop. See my Web-site mgtf54.blogspot.com under the section regarding seat upholstery for details.

The seat springs on my TF were so rusted and broken, that I used the ones that could give me an idea of the approximate length and diameter to purchase new ones at a local machine shop. These also appear in the same section of my web-site.

Hope this helps -- John
John Brickell

John -- The upholstery section that I referred to above in under the 2012 "May" section.
John Brickell

John. Indeed thank-you for the valuable info you provided . J.R.C
J .R.C Cavey

Gents,

Due to poor workmanship by the manufacturer (unknown) I will soon replace the seat upholstery in my 53 TD. The failure is called postage stamping that is caused by the stitch length being too short leaving little material between the needle perforations. Nothing to do but replace the seat coverings.

However, I have an other problem that is a matter of personal preference comfort and safety. The seat bottoms as last restored by a PO are too thick. At 5 foot 8 inches my head is partly above the windscreen and the top of the windscreen frame is directly in my line of sight.

My first unrestored TD owned in the late 1950's with about 71K miles did not exhibit this problem even though I was probably a little taller over 50 years ago. The seats were softer, and more conforming. A few years back I had the opportunity to sit in an original, unrestored TD. The seats looked like hell but were much more comfortable.

Can anyone advise as to what supplier furnished the most original materials for restoration of the interior or the seats?

TIA

Best regards,

Jim Haskins

J. M. Haskins

Hello Jim. Abingdon Spares may be a starting point in gathering information in-so-far as original materials used in seat re-conditioning . Bud Kruger is seemingly a person steep in knowledge regarding T-Series and possible could guide you in the right direction . He is a frequent visitor on the B.B.S . John
J .R.C Cavey

Jim, I had the same problem when I got my TD. The tan covers, and the rest of the upholstry, were a cheap aftermarket kit. It had been done by the PO's "restoration" shop. It turned out to be on par with the rest of the shoddy work done by this shop back in the late 70's. The seat bottoms and backs were so overstuffed that they hardly left room in the car for me. When I stripped off the vinyl, I found that there were two layers underneath; sort of like an archeological dig! Directly under was an even cheaper looking vinyl cover, and when I stripped that off, I found what must have been the origional dried out red leather. I replaced all of the wood,the foam, horsehair pad, and of course, the covers with with Moss components, and have been quite happy with results. I was fortunate that my spring pan was in good condition. It is the only origional part left in my seats. One thing that the red underlayer showed me, was that the acorn green color of my car could not have been origional.
Steven Tobias

Upholsterers tend to zing you for 'high density' foam....and cut and carve a block of it....then stretch the cover way too tight...like sitting on a stool.
The original TD seat had a 'Dunlopillow' waffle sponge rubber molded piece....
If you still have it and it is in any kind of shape...you might try filling the waffle squares with cubes of foam....high density around the edges and medium in the middle (or try out what feels best)

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/seat/seat.html
gblawson(gordon- TD27667)

I'm still waiting for my seats to come back... But one memorable thing the upholsterer said was that the original foam is superb material, and worth keeping if it is in reasonable shape.

Jim
J Barry

J.R., Steve, and Gordon,

Thank you for the comments. Seems I am not the only one with overstuffed seats. Luckily my wife spent about four years subcontracting marine upholstery. She has contacted an associate that does the custom work on high end yachts. He seems willing and she says is use to working for very fussy people. We will see in a few weeks when I put the car up for other work.

Thanks again,

Jim H.

1953 TD
J. M. Haskins

This thread was discussed between 24/08/2012 and 03/09/2012

MG TD TF 1500 index

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