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MG TD TF 1500 - Lets talk seat cushions

Today, I started the reupholstering of my seats. I took out a hundred staples that the PO used to attach the old Amco Black seat cover on with.

I got the TD in 73, so this was probably recovered sometime in the 1960's. The cover is still in pretty good shape for over 60+ years.

It is clear that the bottom plywood was replaced during the installation of the Amco kit. I am thinking they used the old board as a template as they drew out the slots on the bottom of the wood. But instead of cutting out the slots, they just drilled holes.

First thing I noted is this appears to have the original Dunlopillo Latex rubber seat cushion. It is in remarkably good condition for 72 years.

Very little crumbling and the foam is still very springy.

I did find one mouse nest under the curved wood. There is just a small amount of knawing areas in the latex.

Since none of the manufacturers have anything near the original latex foam pad, I believe I will just clean up the edges and reuse it.

The pad is approximatly 3 1/2" thick. I don't know how that compares to how thick it was when new.

There was no padding on top of the foam. Just the batting in the seat upholstery.

What material was used for the padding between the upholstery and the foam? How thick was it?








Bruce Cunha

https://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_seat_padding.htm
Christopher Couper

Was the wood on the seat bottom raw from the factory? Or was it varnished?
Bruce Cunha

It is unvarnished and raw on my car.

Joe Olson

[What material was used for the padding between the upholstery and the foam? How thick was it? ]

Mine was cotton batting, maybe a 1/2" thick?
J Stone

The 1/2" cotton batting was it, as far as I can tell.
Christopher Couper

Ok. I was able to find rolled cotton batting. It should work well for the padding.

I will post some pictures once I get the padding on.
Bruce Cunha

I got the cotton batting installed using Chris's pictures, and started fitting the upholstery for the seat bottom.




Bruce Cunha

Here is the upholstery on, ready to start to be tacked down.

Bruce Cunha

Finished one. It came out pretty good.

Bruce Cunha

Today, I started on the right seat cushion. As with the Left, the wood on the bottom has been changed to a junky plywood. I will redo this one as I did the left.

I also found that the curved thin wood on the seat riser was previously replaced. This was split and delaminating.

I cut a new piece and fit it to the riser. I clamped the thin plywood to the back edge. Put some clamps on to hold it, and then put a bar across the area where the dip is. I then used a hand steamer to soften the wood. This will set overnight and then get nailed down.

I love the wood used for the riser (English oak?)





Bruce Cunha

That steaming is impressive.

I don't think it's oak. Too fine grained. Perhaps ash?
Christopher Couper

Beech I think...
J Stone

Mine is just a guess. Nice looking wood. Ash is very possible as that is what they used in the rest of the car.

You can also see in the top picture that the steam has done a great job of shaping the top to the bottom wood.




Bruce Cunha

My upholstery-master teached me to fill the spaces in the latex with to-be-made foam pieces.Somewhat harder grade of foam on the outside ring and somewhat softer foam inside.He wants the seat to be "not soft" because a deep indent means a lot of stress (and probably too much) on the stitches in the leather.
I think the pictures demonstrate this.
And after 8 years in use, the leather on the seats still look like new.




Huib Bruijstens

Huib. That is a good idea. I wish I had that about a week ago.
Bruce Cunha

Filling the cavities with foam is a great idea. I had to use larger pieces as some of my foam cushion was rotted away to a great extent.



Christopher Couper

Filling the holes can help with an old worn cushion, but if the foam is in good order then it isn't needed and will make the seats too firm. They are supposed to be plush so you sink in a bit. Modern upholstery shops always over-stuff them to get wrinkles out.
Steve Simmons

This thread was discussed between 06/11/2022 and 21/11/2022

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