[Tigers] Mk 1A Seat Rebuild - Why always SS

[Jay]

Ron makes a good point about buying from SS.  When I first got my Alpine in 1978, I was in high school and on a tighter budget.  So cost mattered.  SS was usually more expensive, and I would get parts from other vendors - ignoring the little story in the back of the SS catalog showing why their stuff was different.  SS really went the extra step to get things done right, and so much of what the other places had was garbage.  I ended up basically throwing out carpet, full rubber kit, and tonneau from other suppliers.  VB even had the wrong servos for the car.  I won’t buy from anyone else but SS now.  Of course Rick is now a good friend.

There was also Curt or Kurt of Classic Sunbeams (I think that was the name), on the east coast.  I believe he and Rick worked together in designing and getting many of the parts made.  So I would have equally gone to Curt if not for my later friendship with Rick.  I don’t know if Curt is still out there.

And now VB no longer exists either.  Just as well.  I don’t know where their inventory went.  But I’d still be careful of buying any of it.

Best,
Jay

On Apr 2, 2021, at 7:57 AM, Ron Fraser via Tigers <tigers at autox.team.net> wrote:

Stu 
                1st you need to determine which style seat you have and compare to the illustrations in the SS catalog .   Joe Parlanti’s article is excellent for that style seat cover and similar covers but there is also a seat cover with a separate center section.   Once you know which style, you can make an order.
 
No matter which style seat you have – always take pictures and take really good notes as you disassemble the seats.
Disassembly is the easy part – its understanding the assembly process that takes time and thought to organize.
Some parts may be SIDED so carefully note and mark them.
 
Check the condition of all the hardware and fasteners – SS has most of them available.
I had to also buy a couple of taps and dies, 1/4” x 26 BSF and 5/16” x 22 BSF, to clear up some threads.
 
I had bad luck a long time ago with the rubber diaphragms; they ripped and fell apart too quickly.   I’m not sure where I got those diaphragms but the ones I got from SS are doing nicely.
 
I believe the way to install the rubber diaphragms is to attach diagonal corners 1st then attach the rest of the clips.   The corners should be fairly easy but the rest of them may become more difficult and require more effort as you proceed.   It has been way too long since I did any of this work so work carefully.
 
Hope this helps
 
Ron Fraser
 
From: Tigers <tigers-bounces at autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Stu via Tigers
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2021 7:52 PM
To: Tiger Net <Tigers at autox.team.net>
Subject: [Tigers] Mk 1A Seat Rebuild
 
I've seen the Parlanti article on Tigers United, about rebuilding the seats, but his seats were earlier than mine and had the straps.  My seats from my Mk 1A  have the rubber diaphragm.  Is there any info on line about restoring Mk 1A seats?  I want to be sure I know what I'm getting into before pulling the trigger on an order to SS, or ripping mine apart.
 
Stu
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