Wow, what a find

E-Type
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I’ve been trying to get my wife to drive my car, believing this will help her understand a little more about the time and money I put into it, and why I love driving it so much. But first I needed to fix the drivers seat. I’m 6’4", that seat’s been all the way back since I owned the car, and I simply couldn’t get it to slide forward more than an inch or two. A few great J-L archives described how easy it is to get the seats out, so I did.

I also need to mention that ever since I owned this car, I’ve been frustrated by the black vinyl seats. Many people who know about e-types have said to me, “really nice car, too bad about the seats though”. I simply couldn’t understand why somebody replaced the nice leather with vinyl. Maybe they got rained on and mildew set in? Or somebody dumped paint on them? And it was simply cheaper to replace leather with less-expensive vinyl? Quite the mystery, and the PO had no idea.

OK, back to fixing the slides. Turns out there are minor bends in the tracks, just enough to keep them from sliding forward. So I took the tracks off, and need to figure out how to straighten them. Afterward, I was looking at the bottom more closely:

seat-bottom-no-rails
seat-bottom-no-rails3024×4032 3.71 MB

Looking more closely at the corners, it seemed like there was a layer beneath the vinyl.

leather-under-vinyl
leather-under-vinyl3024×4032 2.94 MB

An hour later, after slowly pulling dozens of staples and tacks out from the perimeter of the vinyl, the vinyl cover came off, and there was the original leather, compared to the vinyl-covered seat back!

leather-seat-vinyl-back
leather-seat-vinyl-back2228×4032 2.76 MB

I spent a few hours uncovering the other three sections. Absolutely amazing. There’s a split seam on the passenger seat bottom, and a little longer split seem on the drivers seat bottom, but overall, they are in incredibly good shape. I wiped them off a little, I expect they’ll clean up even more.

both-seats
both-seats3024×4032 3.44 MB

Here’s a close-up of just the drivers seat back.

leather-seatback
leather-seatback1512×2016 1.39 MB

I don’t think the backs even need new foam. The seat bottom cushions are literally disintegrating, so new seat cushion foam will be ordered soon. And I need to figure out how to fix these seems. But I’m a pretty happy guy tonight.

What a find!

5 Likes
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That is a fantastic discovery Ed! Very happy for you!

I’m sure that someone who knows upholstery can fix that tear, and with the right leather products, that leather should be restored to almost as new!

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Any decent upholstery shop can either stitch that or replace the panel.

Great find.

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I agree, Wow! That’s wonderful, if it’s just that the stitching has come undone I would sew them myself by hand. I would probably even try to repair it myself with a new leather piece if I could find it at the local leather store. Good luck and congratulations an a fantastic bit of luck!
Cheers,
LLynn

3 Likes
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Very cool.

I bought a ‘66 MGB from the original family a few years ago. The son-in-law goes “the sheepskin seat covers are on there because the seats are a mess underneath”.

I pulled the sheepskins off as soon as I got home, and the original seats were In great shape!

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Lexol leather conditioner will help here, might take a few applications. If you are going to replace the foams, also buy and install new diaphragms… it will make a difference and after all this time, those diaphragms are saggy! and it’s not at all hard to do.

1 Like
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Several years ago Philippe Reyns was showing Jerry Mouton and me his XKSS and related the same story. When he purchased it the interior was covered in vinyl and when got the car home he got ready to recover it in the appropriate leather and found the original leather intact underneath and in good shape.

–Drew

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Sweet, that’s better than finding a 20 in an old coat pocket.

Have you figured out the slides yet? There is a dimple in the base plate you need to whack with punch. Then put it on the floor and put weight on it and simultaneously slide it apart, basically mimicking seat move action. At least, the above was true for 3.8 rails. I assume it’s the same.

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How would one stitch something like that? The area that was previously stitched was torn away. You could go in a couple mms on both sides but then there is very little material outside of the stitching holes. Maybe both sides could be stitched to a backing piece?

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Hi Ed,
Nice find.
The same thing happened to me. About 20 years ago I bought a 61 Mercedes 220 SE Cabriolet. A driver in poor condition.
The seat covers were poor vinal replicas and I was not sure of the correct pattern the seat covers should be. However, when I stripped off the vinal, viola, there were the original leather, not in good condition but I could use them to copy the correct pattern and detail.
Regards
Chris
Cape Town

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Nothing is torn, the stitches just broke - three seams on the drivers seat, just one on the passenger seat. However, due to the closeness of the holes resulting from the original stitching, I suspect that there wouldn’t be any structural integrity unless, as Erica suggests, I go back a few mms, or use a backing piece.

Since the seat backs require no repairs at all, and since I am not sure I can re-stuff them myself with great results, and because I really want these seats to have awesome patina when done, I am reaching out to OSJI to see if they’re interested in taking this on. A few older posts encourage people to DIY, just be patient, but I know my strengths, and it ain’t finish work. I’d rather be delighted every time I hop in for a drive, rather than look at mediocre workmanship with regrets. I really hope Muncie is willing to help.

Only one of the 4 sliders are straight, moving properly to both ends. I am not yet sure how I will straighten them, but am confident I’ll figure it out.

One roller was split in half and fell out of one track, but all the others slide properly in the sections which aren’t bent. Is it simply smarter to punch out the dimples on all of them, and replace all the rollers? And then drill out holes and use small bolts as the new stops?

Also, @WoodBoatChick , thanks for the Lexol recommendation, I got the cleaner and conditioner, and am really happy with the results. I’m still waiting for the Novus plastic polish you suggested to clean up my rocker switches.