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My body guy has told me it's not suitable to reuse, previous damage, loss of chrome, deformed.


I had to replace plenty of metal on the B13, they all eventually rust!

I must have a closer look at them

Your thoughts on the pics?

P

Wing/body trim issue?

I presume you have all of this trim as the car has come from a pretty dry climate?
One problem I have had with my B21S restoration is the aluminium 'C' section which holds some of the door rubbers. It had either corroded away or become perforated and so was unusable. Cicognani sell a plastic equivalent but its a b*****r to bend and secure properly.
Chris

Does anyone know the construction of the seat back foam?

I recently replaced the rear seat base, with the intention of also addressing the foam. Once the covers were off and the foam removed, the foam construction was like the fronts, in that they had many pockets. So I experimented with just plugging the pockets with new foam, as opposed to cutting it in half and gluing in place new foam. In the end I am happy with the result. The donor foam was quite stiff and coupled with the original has resulted in a seat base that is now firmer than previous.

Perhaps you can give this a go.

  Incredible who comes out of the woodwork at times like these.
  Brilliant!


  Richard

Referencing the ongoing uncertainty about the continuation of the restoration.

I'd mentioned to my son, that I now needed to find someone experienced, interested and skillful enough to put the B12 back together, those sort of guys are pretty thin on the ground locally!

He sorta nonchalantly said why don't you ask my band mate Ciaran ( a guy with a national profile in restoring almost exclusively Peugeot 205s). I thought no harm would come of asking, holding out very little hope.

But a fortnight later a voicemail to my son stated that yes he will do it!

This was the main reason I'd restarted the thread again, I thought it would take me months to find someone else plus likely be much further away.

Delighted, over the moon, relieved...... didn't quite cover how I felt at that moment!

A meeting is scheduled in January, see how it pans out over 2025.


P

Hi Norm

I've been searching the net for answers to some of those questions.

My seat covers are just about serviceable so long as I keep up with repairs as and when required but the seat back foam has to be improved.

There seem to be many different grades of foam available but no info as to which grade would most closely mimic the original. From there I could choose to go firmer if required. I'd consider shaping the foam a challenge!

Does the seat back come off when unscrewed from the chrome side plates? If so, I might take a seat off and have a look at how it dismantles.

I'm also interested in finding a supplier for the edge trim that retains the seat base cover. It's a sort of cardboard that's sewn to the cover that tucks under the seat. And a male/ female trim that holds the headrest cover closed.

I guess the three questions are: what type of foam to use for the padding, how to shape it, and how to remove and reattach the fabric from its supports to enable replacement of existing foam.

Polyurethane foam seems to be the favoured padding material. Available from companies like eFoam.co.uk.   I have heard of one Berlina owner using memory foam.

Ideally the foam would be cut (or moulded) to shape like the bases that Giuseppe Rampello had made up. Though I imagine that blocks of foam would not be that easy to cut/carve to shape in a diy environment.  The alternative would be to use thin layers of foam, stacked in stepped fashion to approximate the curves.

With regard to removing the fabric of the seat, that looks trickier with the two-part seat back than with the one part seat base.   You could unpick the stitching and carefully peel back the fabric to see how easy it would be to remove.  But after re-padding the edges would need to be re-stitched. With the seat base it was possible to glue the fabric after folding it over the bottom of the metal base.  Not so easy with the backs.

Two other thoughts: maybe take one seat back to a local upholsterer (preferably an automotive one) for a quote, though I know that, like me, you like to attempt jobs yourself. Secondly, it could be worth posting your question in the General Chat section of the forum to see if owners of models other than Fulvia can provide any suggestions.

looks WONDERFUL!!
that color is stunning!

This New Year's Day for what is likely to be another bumper-to-bumper event. There’s something for the whole family - classic vehicles, live music and a winter barbeque.

Gates open at 9am to allow cars into the Museum. Information below details which gate to use to bring your vehicle. The event and Museum are then open to the public from 9am until 4pm.

We recommend Members pre-book their tickets to gain speedy access to the Museum and avoid the queues on the day.

Pre-Booking Members Tickets Online

When pre-booking your tickets online to visit the Museum, please use code MEMBER in the 'Promotional Code' box (link to book New Years' Day tickets below).

You will need to show your Membership cards at the Shop when visiting to validate your 'free' Members tickets.

Members Parking for New Years' Day

Pre-1995 cars Brooklands Members
Members bringing pre-1995 classic cars should enter the site from 9am through the Vickers Gate, off Brooklands Drive (postcode KT13 0SL) until 12.00 (then via Campbell Gate). No queuing at this entrance before 8:45am.

Modern Sports & Supercars
Members bringing Modern sports and supercars should use the display parking in an annexed area in the north end of The Heights – entry through The Heights via Wellington Way entrance from 9am until 12.00, (then via the Campbell Gate) - follow event signage. Cars registered after 1st August 1995 onwards will have a plate with a N prefix e.g. N123ABC and onwards.

All other Members parking
Is in The Heights off Wellington Way - follow temporary yellow event signage. Other parking areas will be made available during the day as areas fill up. Please follow the temporary signage and marshals’ instructions to these areas.

https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/whats-on/new-years-day-classic-gathering-1

Tickets:
https://brooklandsmuseum.seetickets.com/event/new-years-day-classic-gathering/brooklands-museum/2846684

I'm a great advocate of the 50/50 solution. One of the car magazines did a group test of penetrating and releasing products and chucked in the old method as a wild card. In the results it substantially out performed anything on the market.