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Today I fitted the completed seats to see how they looked.
I am not over moon with some of the creases in the leather, but I am not about to strip it all down and try to rectify it at this stage.
I will live with them and sod it.
I think they are a lot better than some of the "modern" seats they fit to XKSS replicas today, which to my mind, don't look "right", which is why I laboured so hard to create mine.
The bottom line is, they did not have modern seats in the 50's, so they will never look right if that's the look you are after.
I totally agree with what's been said about the creases, it looks.... authentic! and if you hadn't pointed out that it was a flaw, i wouldn't have known
I had the same sort of thoughts/doubts about my paint finish on the Sammio, but everyone who saw it thought it was perfect as it looked period and i reckon you'll get the same with this.
Are you putting any kind of grommet in the alloy slots where the harnesses come out? I'd worry that they might cut through if you don't.
Mine has a similar arrangement but they come out through rounded slots in 6mm thick ply rather than thin alloy, so I've suffered no chaffing of me straps (ooh, Matron).
I'll keep a good check on that area Mr T.
I have kind of polished the edges a bit, but re-making that centre section would only take me half an hour to do,and 5 minutes to swap, so I'm not overly worried really. (Centre section of seat belt I mean)
I certainly do appreciate you concern though!
Looking at your car in those pictures makes me smile! They look awful under their clothes don't they!!
All rough metal, wood and junk! Mine's just the same.
Rough metal, wood and junk! The cheek of it! I'll have you know most of that's top quality budget brand automotive filler.
You're right though, mine has more than a few rough edges hidden just beneath the surface, but it has most people fooled from the outside though, and I'm sure yours will too.
I wanted to try to hide, or disguise the steel chassis rail thing that goes across the floor under the knees. Try to make it less "Spitfire looking".
I also wanted a good solid area to put the feet on when getting in and out of the car, in order to avoid treading on the seats to do so.
I came up with a solution, I made two alloy tread plates, which do both jobs well. They obviously take your full weight, and just lift straight out in order to remove the seats if required. (They are well braced underneath)
When all the side alloy is in place, they will look much neater than they do now.
The footwell looks to be 3 inches lower, which is not a bad thing.
The finished effect will be that the car is made from aluminium, which is what I wished it was made from!!
