Restoring original restalls

[Nick W]

I ordered new foams, mill board ,diaphrams clips etc, from Brian Perves ,to restore my type 1 restalls
I was unimpressed that the diaphrams they sent were the same as I already have for the standard mini seat .The mill board is a much smaller shape than the original ,and the foams not exact enough.
yes I am way too fussy at times, but undeterred I put the £180 down to experience and re ordered the same stuff off Gareth
the images show how accurate Gareth's stuff is , compared with Brian Perves ,which to be fair is perfectly ok to restore his reproduction seats
any one who wants the unused foams and mill board is welcome to them FOC pick up only

Gareths foam on the right,diaphram on the right , mill board second image

[mk1]

Gareth's stuff really is TOP quality!

Top gear & top bloke.

M

[contour51]

Nick ,
now seeing that 'Millboard' 'Purves' sent you,no wonder it does not fit ,it's of a 'Contour6'
Good luck with the resto'

Cheers Gareth

[Nick W]

Ok so one base now done ,my trimmers (claytons) have done an nice job stitching new sides in using the ambla fabric from Gareth .had to make some ajustments to foam to suit my seat ,this was easy using a large sander to adjust lenth of the ski slope support .
what is the strip around the edge that rivits to the seat frame originally made from ,thought about using thin ply ,but was it thick card?
next the seat back! this doesn't look as straight forward as the base

[contour51]

Forgive me for saying so Nick,but your trimmer has made a right hash of that base cover.
Those base foams I supplied you work perfect for me.(pic 1)
Either they took the lazy approach or they didnt have the skill to make the distinctictive 'Restall' trade mark feature (pic 2)of the nosing,no wonder you had to get the sander out.

My apologies for any offence
Gareth

[Nick W]

Hi Gareth
See what you mean, I didn't really notice as when compared with my unrestored seat it didn't look as different as compared to yours , I didn't realise how out of shape they had become
I didn't alter the front of your foam ,but altered the back ,see image .only the sides were replaced so I assumed the length of the front vinyl would have matched , but it wouldn't meet the back of the slope so
I took a bit off here .
My trimmers not got the angle right as so say ,also am wondering if I've pulled it too tight flattening the front
Anyway ill no doubt take it apart tomorrow and see if I can improve it

[Nick W]

just about finished them now, had the base re,worked to looks more like the originals ,looks ok to me ,cant get them as sharp as Gareth's,
it looks quite near to how these looked originally I think
the backs went back together alright , the Idea was for them to look as unrestored as I could do them , I had no choice to leave them as they had been cut off when I got them
the other one I am going to try and restore by just fitting foam & diaphragm

[Nick W]

Fitting these in my mk1 now , does the frame need the front bar removing ?
Anyone got a close up image of them fitted in a mini.

Nick

[InimiaD]

Your seat subframe doesn't look like a Mini one Nick.
Here's a pic of the one I have for my seat.

[Nick W]

Yes I agree , yours looks like mine but with the front bar removed and 2 tabs to bolt into the original seat bracket ..I think.
Come on Gareth

[mini63]

Your seat subframe doesn't look like a Mini one Nick.
Here's a pic of the one I have for my seat.

Interesting. Here's a frame I fabricated from what i need to achieve and funnily enough its similar.
Mimics the factory method.

[Nick W]

Your seat subframe doesn't look like a Mini one Nick.
Here's a pic of the one I have for my seat.

Is the front bar across your frame flat or round hollow tube?

Nick

[Nick W]

Your seat subframe doesn't look like a Mini one Nick.
Here's a pic of the one I have for my seat.

Interesting. Here's a frame I fabricated from what i need to achieve and funnily enough its similar.
Mimics the factory method.

Yes that's looks basically the same , Yours look like the back might even align with the carpet protectors!

[Nick W]

Your seat subframe doesn't look like a Mini one Nick.
Here's a pic of the one I have for my seat.

Interesting. Here's a frame I fabricated from what i need to achieve and funnily enough its similar.
Mimics the factory method.

Yes that's looks basically the same , Yours look like the back might even align with the carpet protectors!

Sorry ment this to quote mini63s frame

[InimiaD]

The front bar is round hollow tube Nick.
I had the subframe from Gareth as a swop for an Anglia one.