LocostUSA.com

Ok, here is the original, 26 year old, nasty tan seat cover before shot. I just started staining it, so I should have some idea later this evening.

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

So, pardon the pun, but color me unimpressed. This is after misting one coat, one heavy coat dried, and a second heavy coat dried. The surface is matted and kind of hard. This is more like a paint than a dye. I've used it before on plastic parts, and it worked pretty good, but this just is pretty bad. Does not look good, does not feel good to the touch. There is another alternative however, and it depends on your other half. Rit dye from what I understand is the "Cats Arse" when it comes to dying fabric. I have a washer and dryer in the garage (I do a LOT of work with fuel oils, etc., so you know...) If you think that is an avenue you want to explore let me know, I'll pick up a couple of packs of the black Rit dye, it's really cheap, over the weekend, and do the other seat. Basically you add the dye instead of detergent (obviously), and run it. There is a whole tutorial at https://www.ritstudio.com/techniques/th ... op-loader/

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

I've since read that the DulpiColor is best applied to dampened fabric seats, as the moisture acts as a surfactant, so the paint penetrates, and lets the cloth stay softer.

The Rit dye generally doesn't work on synthetic fabrics - it's great on cotton, wool, etc., but most man-made fabrics won't absorb the dye - it just sits on the outside. I tried to do a cushion cover awhile back - after boiling in the dye vat for two hours (way longer than directed), it came out completely unaffected by the dye. IIRC, it was a poly blend with some cotton, but the dye job was a major fail.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Yep, that's what your looking for. You can also check out Mossmiata.com. Put those Benz seats up on Craigslist, or even the classified section here. Hopefully someone will take them off your hands.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

Didn't know that about Rit Dye. Learn something new every day! I still have a hslf a can of the Duplicolor, I'll try it again on another piece making sure it is damp. We'll see what happens!

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

I've also heard that if you brush the painted fabric some with a bath brush or similar, while the paint is still wet, it will soften the surface...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Will do.

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

I'm in the same boat as you with seat space too. I was originally hoping to use an aluminum race seat like a Kirkey, but there's not enough space for that in a book frame and me to slide in. So I built seat cushions a lot like the old Lotus's had. They work pretty decent for short trips, but I think I need to add a bit more padding into them. I used cut down leather rear seats out of a Taurus SHO and just stapled the leather to some plywood. The cushions just sit snug in the car and are not even attached.

Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
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Sorry I didn't get to it over the weekend, I was nursing a back spasm that knocked me off my feet Friday afternoon, (Poor guys at the site thought I was having a heart attack!) and a REALLY bad attitude all weekend...
Anyway, got back from work today and did what was suggested. Used a sponge to dampen the material, but not to the point of being wet, and sprayed on the dye. Then went over it with a brush several times as it dried. 'Ya know, it is truly amazing how well things work when you read (or are told) the directions!! I have to revise my assessment of this. The "Woven" portion of the seat is almost as original as far as texture. The bottom where it is "Smooth", it is a little more stiff than original, but not objectionable. Oh, and don't use the wife's hairbrush! I sacrificed the Man Cave turlet bowl brush to the cause!
Long story short, I'd use it if no other alternative was available, or as a temporary solution until something better can be worked out.

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

THANK YOU!!! I'm going to give it a try (if I can find anywhere that sells the stuff!). I'm going from dark blue-gray to black, so hopefully several coats of the stuff will darken the seats up enough to look acceptable.

On a darker note, I was trying to relieve room in the top of my heater's housing for my heater-control & choke cables, and accidentally drilled a 1/2" hole through my heater core. As it happens, it's the only perfect Austin Mini Mk. 1 heater core I've found in decades, and it's oddball enough that local radiator shops say they can't reproduce it. That, coupled with the fact that my entire dash & controls are configured around that heater, means I've taken a dozen or so steps backward.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

If the rad shops could repair it, what would they charge? A quick google search came up with new ones out of the UK for less than £50, so landing one in Sooke would probably come to $120 CAD. It's not exactly "locost" but at least it's available. Failing that, you could try Mike Owen at Owen Auto in Sydney or even Ken Miles at Brit Bits in Edmonton. Both Mike and Ken were/are into Mini's, so they might have a used heater core or maybe even a new one.

Good info, thanks!

Another possibility has come to the fore - a buddy sent me a link to an EBay item, a complete self-contained unit, with fan, ducts, core, etc., for $89USD. It's a tad smaller than the Mini unit (and will eliminate the interference issue I was trying to fix), and with subtle modifications, should work for both heat & defrost, possibly operated by the control panel I've already integrated into the dash. As it has 4 round, tubular vents, I'm thinking lever-operated butterflies.

I still need to find a pair of defrost vents - I'm thinking Triumph Spitfire, as they're the perfect size & shape for the small amount of dash top space available.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Vintage Air also has some pretty low profile units as well. http://www.vintageair.com/2016%20Catalo ... g%2057.pdf

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

Well, I pulled the trigger on this heater:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/122175390548

To be sure it would fit, I found a cardboard box with similar dimensions (actually, the box is 1" taller & 1 1/2" longer than the heater) & tried it. It fits better than the Mini heater did, and removes the clearance issue I was having with the dash controls. The downside is this heater doesn't have a means of directing the hot air to defrost vs. heat, but I can deal with that. I'm still thinking lever-operated throttle-type butterflies in the ports...

I have a buddy who's going to poke around among his boxes of British car parts spares, to see if he has a couple of defrost vents. I'm hoping for the Spitfire ones, as they are very, very slim & small, and under-dash space is getting very tight as the final bits & pieces are mocked up into place. Don't want to end up with a choice between defrost and wipers...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

On another note, my front cycle fenders arrived today from the UK. Well-packed, they arrived in perfect condition, with no duty, tax, etc. owing.

They are, in a word, astonishing! The quality of the 'glass work & gelcoat may be the best I have ever seen, anywhere, at any cost. I can, quite literally, read a newspaper in the reflection. They're very light, yet very rigid, and all edges are smooth & polished to a glass finish. They fit the profile of my 205-50/15 tires, and would also work on taller (say, 16" or 17") tire combinations. The company also offers fenders for 13" wheel/tire combos, I believe.

I had ordered yellow fenders, in the faint hope that the color would be more or less what I wanted (and, better yet, if the gelcoat could be buffed out to an acceptable shine), as I plan on doing the nose all four fenders in yellow (and the rest of the body in raw, polished aluminum, if I can manage it). As it happens, the color of the new fenders is bright (be sure to wear your shades!), rich, vibrant, and precisely the color I've been searching for, for years. Rather than have them painted, I hope I can get the other parts painted to match this glorious finish...

For those who are still looking for cycle fenders I can heartily recommend KitSpares. Here's a link to the fenders I bought - http://www.kitspares.co.uk/index.php?ro ... 403&car=43 Be prepared to "think British" - these cycle fenders are called "wings" over there, and hood="bonnet", convertible top="hood", trunk="boot", etc. They carry tons of other Locost-suitable parts, too.

The fenders are available in many colors, including red, white, orange, blue, black, etc., and they even carry the modern, Ca****ham-style genuine carbon fiber ones. It takes a couple of weeks for them to get ready to ship, as they don't stock these fenders - they actually make them to order, when you order them.

All told, it was exactly one month, to the day, from when I confirmed my order to my package's arrival on my doorstep. Not bad at all, considering I've had stuff take longer than that just to go halfway across Canada...and that stuff didn't have to be manufactured first!

What's particularly surprising is the price - £152 (about $188USD, currently, or about $23,496.45 Canadian ), including shipping. That's a smokin' deal, IMHO, particularly given the quality of the product.

As I don't want to drill any holes in these, I'll probably glue an aluminum mounting plate to the underside, using 3M 5250 or similar. I note that Ca*****ham uses this method, and their fenders seem to stay solidly attached at high speeds.

Here's a pic of one of the fenders, fresh out of the box (the bright patches are reflections of the room's skylights) -

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/