Ludwig

Quoted from stevesspit16

Unfortunately Ludwig wrt "Saving grace I suppose is these are marked as/manufactured specifically for Spitfire/GT6."  I don't believe them for one second!  Compare the way almost every Minilight/knockoff/whatever fits the front wheel wells compared to my set-up.  These guys often sell wheels with the same offset as the factory steelies, but now wider, meaning wider tires, meaning they stick out!

Guys buy these without thinking about it, and because it's the only "easy" game in town we see many very cool Spit/GT6s with all-too-many Minilights.  I think that Minilights don't lend themselves that well to  high offsets because of the style of the spokes, but even so, if I were to go that way, I'd use different offsets front and back to try to correct the silly Econoline Van look most get with them.


Steve

Thanks for the replies, very useful.

Having previously had issues with rubbing on bulkhead with 175/70’s on aftermarket minilites, I’m naturally a bit nervy about tyre sizes.

Saving grace I suppose is these are marked as/manufactured specifically for Spitfire/GT6.

Quoted from chunky63

Hi Ludwig,

What is the rim size and offset?

Greetings,

Long-time, no post etc. Have my Triumph mojo back.

So, having coveted a set of slot mag wheels for many years, I've managed to get my hands on some - never fitted, still in the box!

I've had a look around the site and can't find the definitive answer about which size tyres are recommended for these wheels on a Mk3 Spit.

Assuming 175/70/13 are ok, any other sizes recommended for grip/handling etc, without putting the speedo out?

Cheers.

From what I could make of it, it was just the smooth side of velcro, providing a barrier against the metal for the vinyl to sit on and not wear out with use. If you look on the parts diagrams there is something similar?

I put some on the first frame my car had, when I replaced it for a better one I forgot the velcro, can't say I've noticed a difference.

Alex

I've been using Shell V Power Nitro+ which has enabled me to set the timing as per the handbook.

The car runs beautifully on the stuff, can't praise it enough! Just a thought,

Alex

Hi Jamie,

It's me again!

Like you I had the "fur-flex" type fitted, they made the doors pretty hard to shut, but it got better with continued use. The biggest pain I found was making them fit across the join from the A-Post to the windscreen frame - it was so proud it "wrinkled" the vinyl door capping.

I bought some door seals from a trader at Stoneleigh last year, they are pretty plain with a much thinner profile, the doors shut much better now with them on. I'm yet to get around to fitting a new door capping [which i have].

Anyone know which type are original??

Alex

Hi Jamie,

It's me again!

Like you I had the "fur-flex" type fitted, they made the doors pretty hard to shut, but it got better with continued use. The biggest pain I found was making them fit across the join from the A-Post to the windscreen frame - it was so proud it "wrinkled" the vinyl door capping.

I bought some door seals from a trader at Stoneleigh last year, they are pretty plain with a much thinner profile, the doors shut much better now with them on. I'm yet to get around to fitting a new door capping [which i have].

Anyone know which type are original??

Alex

Photo of 2 different baskets....

Ah! I see, clips, , good way of doing it, rather than hog rings [like mine-see pic]. I copied my original seats, wonder if they used hog-rings to save money on clips?

Jamie,

They look fab! How did you get the top[back] of the seat bases so snug onto the basket without stressing/stretching the stitching?

It's almost as if the seat foams where too big on mine?

Alex

1st base I glued lightly (vinyl adhesive spray) while in position, 2nd one did the proper way, ie turned flaps completely back (inside out)  and lined up foam base onto cover, glued and turned flaps back into position. Funny thing is, I got better results with the 1st one as I was able to do a bit of repositioning before the glue set.

Just go for it, as scary as the setting glue makes it!

Alex

Here's mine completed-need to work on the driver's seat more to get the wrinkles out if possible?

Jamie,

I've just done mine-fairly happy with the results, but had a hell of a job stretching the material (white piping) over the back edge of the seat-still doesn't sit perfectly. I did it in the blazing sun we have had over the last week, even used a heat gun to stretch the vinyl. I think the seats were a bit distorted (not that you can tell by just looking) as the covers weren't a perfect fit. Maybe I'm being too fussy?

Have you done the seat bases yet? I ended up persevering with the hog ring pliers, they took a bit of getting used to, I still had to nip most of them up with pliers. I had trouble stretching the material over the back (top) of the seat base onto the wire basket, you can see the hog rings as you look down on the seats. I can't move the base any further back without it popping out of the front. Maybe it will bed in as I use the seats, again it may be down to distortion of the seat frames?

I may have another go at the weekend, they are very comy and look much better now. I'll post some pictures when I get home.

Alex

PS Looking at your photos again, you will be able to get rid of that wrinkle with a bit more stretching of the cover around the back. I did the back first, then the front.

Jamie,

Been re-trimming my seats, and noticed inside the original seat cover is a piece of foam lumber support [see photo] which is absent from the new covers. It's easy enough to remove and affix to the new cover. If you don't have the old covers any thin piece of foam will suffice?

Another problem is the new covers don't appear to be as plush as the originals around the front edge of the seat back? Maybe they'll bed-in a bit but they are definitely thinner.

Alex

Cable ties worry me as the hole punctured to fit them may enlarge through use?

Alex

Blatant thread hijack [but still very relevant]. :P

I've been trying to assemble the seat base, namely using hog-ring pliers to fix the cover to the seat basket, as per original spec.

The problem I'm having is the hog-rings appear too large and don't grip the cover to the basket. I'm using the hog-rings supplied with the seat covers Newton Comm via Rimmers], they fit the pliers but seem to close up before they grip, and as a result are loose. I'm folding the vinyl edge over the same as my original seats.

Anyone had the same problem and managed to find a work around?

Cheers,

Alex

Hi Jamie,

Newton Commercial supply the trade, and their covers have foam inserts, although don't seem as plush as the originals?

Over the past few years I've seen a few cover sets appear on Ebay, they are just as good a build and fit as Newton Commercial covers but crucially lack the foam inserts. I'm speaking from experience and ended up getting some from Newton Comm. I'm [slowly] in the process of fitting them.

Did you keep the horsehair padding? It doesn't deteriorate due to being covered in glue and has a special profile, so are worth keeping as the replacement are 'flat". When you come to recover, bear in mind it's not feasible to replace the perished wooden strip along the bottom of the seats, you may want to consider drilling out the nails, and fasten the covers with rivets and washers - I can't think of any other way of doing this, I tried velcro but covers were having none of it!

Nice runners by the way  :P

Alex

Cheers! Good idea about the coat hanger - I'd tried virtually everything else,

Alex