Jtex60easy Posted January 8, 2023 Report Share Posted January 8, 2023 I think it is fortunate that Ralph has brought back this thread because it shows the great variability in what is and is not offered in this area. What is comfortable for one of us may be lousy for someone else. Dialing in what works for us would be IMO, easier with foam than by wire. I think Ralph’s instincts are good here. I suggest the lower foam should be very stiff and the upper layers should be softer. Experiment with different densities and thicknesses temporarily and minimally adhered together and I think you will be surprised at how well you can dial this in. It may also occur to you how easy it might be to fashion a thin lumbar support should a need arise for you or your passenger. — James Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ralph Whitaker Posted February 5, 2023 Report Share Posted February 5, 2023 Okay, so following on from my earlier post, I finally got around to making my own foam seat base. I bought a slab of 6" thick high density foam, but could have got away with 5" and saved some money as I ended up shaving it down to 5" at the front tapering to 3.5" at the back to get the ride height as I wanted it. I was originally going to make a sandwich of dense and soft foam, but having tried sitting on the dense foam I bought I thought it was ok as it was. If I decide in the future I can always take the cover off again and modify the foam. I started with a bit of cardboard to get a template for the seat base, and transferred this to my ply. I cut 8 smaller holes to clear the nuts of the seat sliders, and 2 bigger holes where the metal tabs are that are supposed to hold the seat down, I had to re bend these to get them to hold the ply. I also cut 6 bigger holes in the middle as "breather" holes. The foam slab was glued to the ply and an electric carving knife used to sculpt the foam. Not very pretty I will admit but once the cover was on it all moulded itself to shape pretty well. I added a couple of extra pieces on the front and side edges to fill out the seat cover a bit better. Cover was then stretched over and stapled in place. I am very happy with the result so far, as I think it looks OK, and now I am sitting lower down not looking at the top of the windscreen frame as I was before, and more importantly there is no side to side movement like I had with the spring bases. Once I have road tested and am satisfied I will do the passenger seat to match. Cheers, Ralph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 6, 2023 Report Share Posted February 6, 2023 Excellent Ralph. That has inspired me Can you share where you got the foam please. Peter W Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ralph Whitaker Posted February 7, 2023 Report Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) 9 hours ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said: Excellent Ralph. That has inspired me Can you share where you got the foam please. Peter W Hi Peter, it was an ebay trader under the name of Rainbowstyle94, but if you look for High Density Foam, or Blue foam there are loads selling it. Not all have the choice of size and thickness that Rainbow do though. It wasn`t cheap at £42 delivered for a slab 24"x24"x6" but I wanted to make sure I had enough to carve and could have got away with 5" thick and 23" square. Ralph Edited February 7, 2023 by Ralph Whitaker spelling mistake Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted February 7, 2023 Report Share Posted February 7, 2023 Great job Ralph, I'll do mine the same way, whenever I get around to the trim. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 7, 2023 Report Share Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ralph Whitaker said: Hi Peter, it was an ebay trader under the name of Rainbowstyle94, but if you look for High Density Foam, or Blue foam there are loads selling it. Not all have the choice of size and thickness that Rainbow do though. It wasn`t cheap at £42 delivered for a slab 24"x24"x6" but I wanted to make sure I had enough to carve and could have got away with 5" thick and 23" square. Ralph Thank you Ralph I have dug deeper and found a company that will cut the wedge shape and maybe the rounded end. https://www.thefoamshop.co.uk/ Peter W Edited February 7, 2023 by BlueTR3A-5EKT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ralph Whitaker Posted February 16, 2023 Report Share Posted February 16, 2023 Took the car out at the weekend for a 40 mile run and I am very happy with the "new" seat and the high density foam. After a couple of miles I had completely forgotten about the seat, fretting instead on the steering wheel hot being on straight, which proves to me that the seat must have suited me otherwise I would have been fidgeting. Also it was the first run after having the speedo in pieces to fit the new innards from an Arrow series Humber Sceptre, and I was pleased that was working well and within acceptable tolerances. The Humber speedo was the only one I could find near my required 914 turns per mile, which I had calculated as necessary due to my saloon gearbox and overdrive coupled with a 4.1 diff. The Humber unit was 900 tpm, but importantly had the total miles and trip readings in the correct place to fit the TR dial, and also had 60mph at 12 o`clock which corresponded with the TR dial also. Now going to order some more foam and modify the passenger seat base in the same manner. Anyone out there want a pair of brand new spring seat bases for half price? Ralph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted February 16, 2023 Report Share Posted February 16, 2023 When I made my own seats I got the foam from the local Dunelm. I think they have stores in most large towns. They won’t cut to size, but they have quite a few blocks in 1,2,3 and 4 inches thick and you do save on high postage costs. They also stock things like curved needles which come in useful for upholstery repairs. https://www.dunelm.com/search?q=foam Charlie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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