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MG TD TF 1500 - Seats - Need to Plump Up the Bottoms and Backs (TF

I want to plump up the bottoms and maybe the backs of the seats in my TF. My wife and I are both short and it would be nice to be able to see over the dash without sitting on a pillow! The seat covers are pretty good so I will not replace them. An upholstery shop will probably do the job.

Here are my questions:

1) How plump should the bottoms be? I have seen some that are practically flat. Others have a very pronounced dip.
http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtf/Pictures/Restoration/tf_seat_1.jpg
http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtf/Pictures/TF9052/TF9052_259.jpg

2) The bottoms still have the original chambered foam and sink pretty low. I read about filling the chambers with stiff foam. Another suggestion was high density kneeling pads. Has anyone done this? Or is new foam and padding the best solution?
http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/seat/seat6.jpg
http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/Pictures/Restoration/seat_padding22.jpg

3) I purchased foam from Moss. I put it on the floor of the car and sat on it. It seems too low. John Crawley said that the Moss foam was not dense enough. The upholstery shop will help me find the correct density. Any suggestions on type of foam and padding?
http://www.ttalk.info/MGTFSeatRecovering.html

4) The backs are not bad, but they are sinking in somewhat. I bought new springs from Moss. I haven't removed the back panels. Except for reattaching the back panels, it seems that the backs can be puffed up a little from the rear without removing the covers? Is that true? How hard is it to reinstall the back panels? Should the back be full or contoured?
http://www.ttalk.info/clip_image074.jpg

Thanks for your help,

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Lonnie: You have the link to my instructions so that has about as much info as I can provide but I will give you this tip:

Its best if you don't overstuff the cushions as they won't look proper. But if you put in too firm of padding (I used the densest garden kneeling pad), it may be too uncomfortable for you on long drives.

I was able to use most of my original foam cushions but even then, a foam that was a couple of notches down in firmness probably would have been better as filler. And yes the Moss foam was way to soft in my opinion.

I have a long back and it was actually better to sit lower from a height perspective and now its almost impossible to get in the car with the top up. :-)
Christopher Couper

I wonder if mounting the seat runners on wooden blocks would work? Just an idea.

Matthew.
M Magilton

My first thought was along same lines as Matthew's.
Over the years I have used square metal tubing under seat rails in several cars for my wife. Not only to add height, but also to move them forward.
Easy fix.
David Sheward 55 TF1500 # 7427

I agree, raise the whole seat. No changes to upholstery and the car could be taken back to original with very little effort if need be. PJ
Paul S Jennings

Lonnie I raised my seats and tilted back slightly. You could increase the height of these shims another 1/2" to suit. You can get the dimensions to mate with the slide assy. I fastened to the floor with wood screws. Also, you might place a thin piece of plywood between the foam and upper metal slide frame to support the foam..


Peter Dahlquist

On closer inspection of my seats, I think that I will insert foam cubes into the chambers in the original foam myself. The plywood base of my seat is totally open, so it will be easy to insert the cubes without removing the covers. They won't be concours quality, but should be better than now. If the cubes don't do the job, then I'll head to the upholstery shop.

Were all TF plywood seat bases open like mine? (See my pics below)
John Crawley's pics of his '54 TF show open platforms.
http://www.ttalk.info/MGTFSeatRecovering.html

Pics of earlier bases show three narrow openings, like this '53 TD.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/seat/seat1.jpg

I may add plywood shims under the runners if the seats are still not plump enough for Jo Ann and me.

It looks like it MIGHT be possible to remove the rear panel from the backs, perhaps leaving a flap attached at the bottom - then replace the springs and add new psdding. Mine need to be "plumped" a little, but I think that I will leave that task for another day.

I cleaned most of the rust off of the seat frame with a wire wheel and Ospho. Still have to blast the seat slide assembly then paint.

Thanks for your help. Your comments and suggestions are pointing me in the right direction.

Lonnie
TF7211

Here are some pics of my seats:
> 1st: Sag in seat bottom
> 2nd: Underside of plywood base and foam
> 3rd: Underside 3/4-View
> 4th: Seat backs


LM Cook

Lonnie,

I just worked on the seat bottoms on my 53 TD. I'm not sure how comfortable they will be for extended drives, but I've chosen to fill the squares with pieces of foam that I salvaged from a derelict couch that was headed to the dump. I also scavenged some of the white polyester(?) fiberfill to replace the horsehair. The plywood bases on mine were both suspect and I couldn't begin to undo the completely rusted T-nuts, so I replaced the plywood with new pieces. Come to think of it, I scavenged the plywood from a scrap left over from a deck that I rebuilt last summer as well. You have to love T series restoration on a budget!

At any rate, it seems to me that the seat bottoms being wide open like yours are would naturally cause them to sag. I'm unsure whether all TFs had the open arrangement, but it seems like a poor design to me. Mine had the three slots the same as Gordon Lawson's and Dave Braun's pictures show. When I replaced them I went with the same arrangement and added the $5 rodent inhibiting screen from the local hardware store that was suggested by Dave Braun and possibly others. I'm filling all the squares with foam. From Dave Braun's pictures, I think that he may have left the outside row open. I'm not sure whether I'll be happy with this decision or not. Time will tell

Good luck!

Kirk
Kirk Trigg

Lonnie,

After looking more closely at the pictures of John Crawley's TF seat, it looks to me as though your seats may be missing a piece of sheetmetal with a large "X" formed into it. If that piece is actually missing then it seems to me that lack of support is likely to be the cause of much of the sagging that you have in your seat bottoms. I'm not sure if I'm correct or out to lunch like normal!

Cheers,

Kirk
Kirk Trigg

You have the usual foam decay but not too bad. I would suspect by bolstering it with foam 'squares' you can get it pretty supportive. Just make them a bit taller so they push the material back up into position after you put them back into the bases.
Christopher Couper

Lonnie,

I now see the piece of sheet metal with the formed "X" in one of your pictures so please ignore the above comments regarding them.

Kirk
Kirk Trigg

Anyone have information about the square opening in the plywood base of my TF-1500 seats? (See photos and description above.)

Were TF seat bases completely open as in my photo or did they have slots like TD seat bases?

I am going to try to attach a 1/2" plywood insert into the square opening to keep the foam in place after I add foam cubes to the Dunlopillo. Or, should I skip the insert and just add about an extra inch of foam in the opening to make up for the 1/2" plywood base and the 1/2"-3/4" recess in the steel pan of the seat frame? Without the plywood insert, the foam would rest on the steel pan - like it does now. Seems the foam would wick up water from the pan if I'm caught in a sudden Florida shower with the top down. I know that it holds water ... I removed as much rust as I could from the pans. A few places were rusted through.

I'll probably cut 1-1/2" holes in the plywood insert instead of slots, to secure the foam, yet provide ventilation. Dunno, still planning.

Thanks for any information and suggestions.

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Lonnie: See Robs instructions at:

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtf/mgtf_tf_seats.htm

Seems it was just fabric but I don't have an original TF seat to go by.
Christopher Couper

Stuff the hollow sections with dense foam. You can get a selection of off cuts / old material from a friendly upholstery place. They are glad to have someone take away some of their rubbish.

Worked a treat on my Jag MK2

:-)

Dave
D Moore

This thread was discussed between 12/07/2014 and 15/07/2014

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