Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: maxcar on Sunday,January 01, 2017, 10:55:26 AM
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I've been trying to find a piece of good original vinyl to repair one of my S2 seats, but it seems quite hard. So I'm currently looking for where to buy good quality seat covers. My car has been restored to a highly original spec and I want the seats to be as good as possible.
They obviously need to be sewed exactly as the originals, but then it is also a matter of finding the correct vinyl grain. It seems like people often think that black vinyl is black vinyl, but the grain can differ quite a lot.
This vinyl seems quite good. (ACG) http://www.parklaneclassics.co.uk/A_Range_Vinyls.htm
But I don't think they would be able to make the covers for me.
What's your opinion - where can I find the best covers?
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A friend in the JLR seating department was trying to find PVC to repair one of mine. You can't get the correct grain any more, but he got fairly close, and the repair isn't all that obvious.
I think Banks do covers. I haven't seen any to comment on the quality.
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No one at Lotus asked for a specific type of black vinyl. When they ran out, they called their suppliers and asked for another roll of whatever was on hand.
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I have purchased seat covers and door panel kits for my TCS at Banks.
They look very close to the original grain and are of a thicker and stronger quality.
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The basket weave on the link is correct. I bought identical material from MarTrim in the UK to re-do my S2 seats recently. Incidentally the same basket weave is used on the S1 seats.
The "plain" vinyl is harder to match. It is quite distinctive because the grain size varies to make it look more like leather. I found a good match for the material in Australia, and it was used by Valiant (Chrysler). If you can, send a small sample to MarTrim and I am sure they will match it.
A Europa owner here in Melbourne bought Banks seat covers, and I wasn't impressed with the vinyl. It didn't come close to matching the original plain vinyl or basket weave. They were competitive on price though.
Cheers
Richard Mann
7004100119Q (sold last December after 29 years ownership)
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More photos
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You sewed those seats yourself?!! Man, you really are multi talented! They look great!
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How big a piece do you need? I am in the process of having my interior done. You are welcome to my old seat covers and door vinyl if you want to try and salvage for your repair. I believe it is original but can send pictures so you can verify.
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No one at Lotus asked for a specific type of black vinyl. When they ran out, they called their suppliers and asked for another roll of whatever was on hand.
I could happily believe that. However, when repairing an existing seat, you need to try to match the vinyl that's on it. 45 year old grain from a probably long defunct supplier, isn't easy to get hold of.