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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

New Seats...


Daveb99

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After over a year of searching I've come across (and bought) a pair of the original Sport 160 seats. Mine has the (very comfortable) leather Probax seats in which I will be keeping, but I've always wanted to get some proper original S160 seats..

 

They are very hard to find as most S160 owners will have kept them either in their car, or ready to refit for resale.

 

They are knackered, and need to be retrimmed, which will be £££ of course, but at least I'll have them available to fit when I want to, and to make the interior totally OEM, as well as the exterior.

 

They are the red & black ones, but I'll be getting them done in blue and black, as that's what my car left the factory with.

 

I'm probably getting them retrimmed by Allon White's, in full alcantara rather than the original brushed nylon for the backrest, as it is so much harder wearing and doesn't delaminate. I spoke to John there this week, he was hugely knowledgeable about the whole thing of course, they have done S160 seats before too, so I have lots of confidence in the outcome.

 

Here are the seats I've bought (picking them up tomorrow) and a pic of what they will look like once retrimmed (ie in blue & black alcantara). I'll also be stripping and respraying the runners & frames so they will be like brand new seats when done, hopefully.

 

If they turn out to be too damned uncomfortable for longer trips (I've heard they aren't exactly sofa-like...) I will simply keep them in the loft, ready to fit for eventual resale of the car.....

 

Anybody know of any alternative places I can get quotes for retrimming, to factory standard? Dave The Trimmer is back next week so I'll approach him, but there must be others.....

 

Oh, and a good chiropractor too please ;)

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Can't fault you Dave for trying to return your car to as near OE as possible.....even if it does cripple you wink.gif They never were the most comfortable looking seats were they!

I presume they are the seat type that yours came with originally then? I know some came with the 111s style seats?

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Just making it even more appealing for when you buy it off me Phil (now that Colin has had his head turned by a younger model....) :)

 

Yep, mine is the full fat Sport 160 and came with the blue & black S160 seats - confirmed by Andy Graham at Lotus when he produced my certificate of provenance.......so I thought it was only right to hunt some down..

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Dave, you might want to consider a more local trimmer. I can recommend Classic Car Services in Leicester. They redid the interior in my S2.which included the seats. Great work and decent prices too.

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Cheers all - will give CCS a buzz. Picked up the seats yesterday, bought them from a very nice chap on SELOC who races in the Elise Trophy. He's had no less than four Sport 160s and had three S1s at his house when I went.

 

The seats themselves are maybe not as uncomfortable as I was expecting - but time will tell once I get them retrimmed & fitted...

 

The runners & frames need a wire brush, clean up and paint. I used 3 coats of black smooth hammerite spray on my existing ones, but it seems to take ages (days) to dry hard for some reason. Has anyone used anything else that they would recommend?

 

Also, I really need to source the seat belt bits that fit into the frames, which is basically a spacer, spring and the seat belt 'socket', for both seats. This is to save me removing them from my other seats (I may refit my Probax seats for long trips etc!!). If anyone has these bits and no longer need them (perhaps after fitting harnesses) I'll happily make you an offer....

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I stopped using Hammerite as it takes a age to dry, but that seems to vary can to can..

 

If you can try your local powder coaters.

 

I was going to buy a new diffuser for mine but took the old one in and asked if they could blast / coat it with there next batch of black... £20 later job done.

 

Worth a shot.

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  • 8 months later...

Thread revival alert.....

 

Getting closer.......this has turned into a bit of a project. I decided to start cleaning the seats at the weekend, quite pleased with the result. This is the passenger seat, I used Autoglym Interior Shampoo after reading great reviews. It is indeed brilliant stuff - there was loads of grime & all sorts on the alcantara - I think the colour of the water that came out of the cloths when rinsing was worse than when you wash the daily driver in winter....! They were also very 'bobbled' or whatever the word is, so I set about them with a beard trimmer, then razor, to achieve a pretty good result. I must be the only guy on MLOC who shaves his seats.......

 

Thanks to Alex B I've also come across another pair of seats, with the blue alcantara inserts (which mine had when it left the factory). I'm currently sorting out the details with the seller. They also need a retrim but then if the alcantara cleans up like this.....

 

I've also done a lot of research on retrimming. The black fabric on the driver's seat - brushed nylon with a thin foam scrim backing - was completely detached so I thought I've got nothing to lose by resticking it. It is also worn and has holes in but it made me think about retrimming the black areas myself with new fabric - as there is no stitching. I've spoken to a few people in the trade and have found some of the same fabric, and the right kind of glue, and I could do four seats (assuming I go ahead and buy the blue ones) for a fraction of the cost of professional retrimming. If it doesn't go well then I won't have spent much on trying. If it does, that just leaves the alcantara - the driver's seat base has come up just as well as the one in the photo so I'd have a choice of colours....

 

I'd then sell one pair I think, to help out another S160 owner - freshly refurbed original seats and all that...

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 I must be the only guy on MLOC who shaves his seats.......

 

I'm obviously much older than you Dave, I started shaving my original T49 seats years ago smile.png

 

Top job by the way thumbs_up.gif

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