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Scottie, couldn't really see where you were going with your aluminium seat backs earlier in your thread, but I get it now. Fantastic work! Just think about polishing that ally bulkhead instead of covering it up.
Mr T, I still think your earlier idea of a "distressed" cockpit area was a good one and am working on it.
For instance all the XKSS's I have seen in pictures, have the divider behind the seats covered in fabric to match the hood bag.
Well, following your idea, I will not cover mine up, but leave it BRG, with the edges in the distressed mode!
And the alloy rivets sort of showing through.
Further to my earlier ramblings, here are some other thoughts on the interior look I am trying to create, and the final look of the divider that took so bloody long to make!
Quote "The seat foam is only 16 inches wide, and that leaves about a half inch each side. I have not narrowed anything, those are the Spitfire dimensions"
That's not a seat....It's a saddle
Today I started to feel guilty about not doing enough to the build.
Well, that's not strictly true, I felt guilty because today, I had done sod-all to the build, so as punishment, I worked tonight, and built the passenger's seat base. not a lot, but enough to ease the guilt!
The windscreen, yes the dreaded bloody windscreen. I would not like to put a figure of hours spent so far, cutting out, paper patterns, cardboard patterns, welding, grinding.
Realising it’s double skinned around the edges, grinding again in certain areas, as it fouls the body work and will not sit right.
More welding, bending, grinding. No wonder I got cheesed off and left it for a while.
However, I have to progress, and cannot do the dash, until the dash top is done, I can’t do that until the windscreen wipers have been fitted and hidden inside, at the bottom of the screen, and I cannot do that until the windscreen has been finished and fitted.
So I am finally forced into the position where I HAVE to sort the screen out so it is At a much more advanced “finished stage”.
It still won’t be finished as we know it Jim, because the glass will have to come out, The screen frame will have to be painted, and a new rubber fitted etc. It will still drag on, but today I must plough on.
First thing is to dress the steel screen top to be the perfect curve, before any marking out and cutting happens.
Well I did that, then set about the hard parts.
I put in a total of 8 hours today, got grit in my eye, set my sweatshirt on fire from the sparks off the cutting disc, and had to beat the flames out, then chuck the top away.
I think we’ve all been there, I’ve done that many times! It’s the smell of burning that always alerts me to the problem.
Well the hard bit is done now, and I feel satisfaction once again.
Another day another dollar……….
Is that a windscreen frame or a roll bar!
On a serious note, nice work and 10/10 for sticking with it, I would have cut it off and gone aero screen by now :-)
Thanks V!
There is still the sides to do, and all the filler etc, but we are getting there.
I keep thinking, if I made it as Chris intended, I'd be driving it around now!
Mind you its going to look nicer the way I have it planned.
Whilst I was at a local sale yesterday, I noticed a rather large 3 piece suite, which I had seen the week before, so it obviously had not sold.
It was in very good condition with not a scratch on it, and well made, from good quality leather.
I have been hanging back on my XKSS seat making, as I was a little short on leather, and thought I would need to use “leather cloth” (plastic) on the sides, and perhaps one or two of the faces..
I was not happy with this, and wanted 100% leather.
So here was this leather suite in the sale again, I had not seen this much leather since the last time I walked in a cow field full of cattle.
So I put a bid on it, and won. I think perhaps I paid a little over the top at £5.
The auction premium was 75 pee.
So I got it for £5.75.
However, when I tipped it upside down, and took a scalpel blade to it, and started to strip off all the leather, the inevitable money fell out from down between the cushions, and totalled £2.20, so I actually got about half an acre of premium leather for the princely sum of £3.55.
I really felt deliciously naughty and wicked as I sliced away merrily at all that lovely leather.
Surely the wooden frame can be classed as fire wood for your wood burner, and having seen the price of logs you must have more than £5 worth there, so it's FREE leather
To be honest, I was going to attack the seats with the chainsaw, but I really couldn't be arsed, as it took so long to
strip the leather out, but tomorrow is another day, and you've tempted me!!
Great buy Scottie, I'd had the same idea myself as there was a huge black leather sofa on ebay less than a mile from my place at 99p with no bids, but my wife persuaded me to get the pro's to upholster my spyder instead after she reminded me that I'd glued myself to the inside of my beetle when I tried to fit a headlining.
I take it you're going to dye and distress the pink leather?
