Rear Sear Cushion Option

[puff4]

OK, so Bern over on the Map Pocket thread said...

“We all still learn about the hidden secrets of our Rootes cars. That's the interesting part for me and I'm happy to join the community to exchange views accordingly. All the STD things have been discussed many times so now it's time to elaborate on the "specials".”

Well, rather than take that thread in another direction I thought I’d start a new one.

I’m curious how many have seen or owned the rear seat cushions option? My car has them, but I’ve never seen another set.

 

[DanR]

Where your pictures? Let us see them so we can then say Augh! Aren't they nice

I have a rear seat cushion that came with my GT BW35. I'll try to get some PIC's....

 

[alpine_64]

Kevin,

Are you reffering to the two seperate cushions with the snaps that attach on the vertical face of the lower vertical part parcel shelf and the rear deck?

They feature in the SII special accesories brochure and ive seen about 6 sets on cars in the UK and a few in USA, all appeared the same ( bar colour)

There was also a few pairs on eBay over the yeara

 

[puff4]

Yes, I am referring to the two separate cushions. Like you, I've seen them in the special accessories brochure, which is the only way I figured that mine are original.

 

[puff4]

My cushions, which, according to the accessories price list in 1967, cost $12.00.
I added the seat belts so that my two sons could sit there safely when they were little.



Interestingly, mine do NOT have any attachment points to the car. They just sit on the rear shelf.



Here's the brochure for the earlier cars, showing the rear seat cushion option:

 

[65beam]

There used to be a series 4 GT in Harrisburg that had these cushions. I have photos of the car and the cushions are like Kevin's. The LeMans had similar rear cushions but had straps to secure them. The LeMans cushions are much thinner than the ones in Kevins car probably because the seat back folds down.

 

[Warren]

Very nice, always thought the area was a parcel shelf or a place for kids to sit and kick you or knock the car out of gear.
Common story from a P.O. "I sold the car cause it was a bad family car."

How wonderfully misleading who could drive the car with the pictured seat so far up the actor from game of thrones, the height impaired guy

 

[65beam]

Very nice, always thought the area was a parcel shelf or a place for kids to sit and kick you or knock the car out of gear.
Common story from a P.O. "I sold the car cause it was a bad family car."

We used to travel with a kid back there. He carried his small pillow and blanket and slept while on the road. At 6' 3" he doesn't fit in that area now. We can't put his two kids back there because the car seats won't fit. It's been a long time since I've seen these cushions in a car. What is the thickness of them? The LeMans cushions are roughly an inch thick.

 

[puff4]

They are about 2.5-3.0” thick, I’m guessing. I’m on the road now and can’t measure them, but if you look at my hands in the photo you’ll get some idea. I’m sure they must have been thicker and more firm when new but the horsehair (or whatever the padding is) has settled a little over the years.

 

[puff4]

The seating area was actually pretty comfortable for my kids. The seat cushions were fairly plush and the padded aft bulkhead surround strip made for a decent back rest.

When they were little (but after car-seat age) they’d just sit cross-legged with their seat belts on, and as they grew older I’d move my seat forward enough for them to dangle their legs. I’m 6.0’ tall (or, at least I was then!) and it made driving a wee bit more cramped, but lowering the pedals to their lowest position and pushing the steering wheel fully home made it tolerable. I was just happy to be able to drive as a family!

 

[puff4]

Where your pictures? Let us see them so we can then say Augh! Aren't they nice

.... I’m still waiting for my “Augh! Aren’t they nice.” Dan.....

 

[bernd_st]

Since you referred to my comment it's time to kick in. At first congratulation you have a set of the rather scarce early seat cushions. They are indeed thicker and came without any fixation snaps. I can say that because I also have an early set in my S1.

However acc. to my knowledge the thick cushions never came with a S5...

P.S. Just checked my S5 accessory brochure and it doesn't even list a rear seat cushion except for the Tiger. As far as I'm aware this must have been the single piece padded bench thing...

 

[Gordon Holsinger]

OK, so Bern over on the Map Pocket thread said...

“We all still learn about the hidden secrets of our Rootes cars. That's the interesting part for me and I'm happy to join the community to exchange views accordingly. All the STD things have been discussed many times so now it's time to elaborate on the "specials".”

Well, rather than take that thread in another direction I thought I’d start a new one.

I’m curious how many have seen or owned the rear seat cushions option? My car has them, but I’ve never seen another set.

I have an original rear cushion that I rescued from a wrecked car 40 years ago my buddy that is an upholsterer said he would make a copy for my series V

 

[puff4]

Since you referred to my comment it's time to kick in. At first congratulation you have a set of the rather scarce early seat cushions. They are indeed thicker and came without any fixation snaps. I can say that because I also have an early set in my S1.

However acc. to my knowledge the thick cushions never came with a S5...

P.S. Just checked my S5 accessory brochure and it doesn't even list a rear seat cushion except for the Tiger. As far as I'm aware this must have been the single piece padded bench thing...

Well, all I can say is that I know the original owner - indeed, I purchased the car from his widow - and the price sheet that came with the car listed the rear seat cushions as costing $12.00. Now, the car was purchased new in Reykjavik, Iceland (yes, really) from a 'Base Agent', the price sheet states it is the price sheet for the Alpine and Rapier cars. The rear seat cushions are listed under Alpine options.

The original owner was an Air Force officer/flyer and he bought it while deployed to our Iceland air base in 1967. I have all the documentation that came with the car, including a full price list showing all the items that were available as options. The car was originally optioned with OD, ammeter, hard top, cigar lighter, sun visors, rear seat cushions, radio, white-wall tires and tonneau cover. The dealer also installed Fiamm air horns in place of the original Lucas units.

They may not have been available anywhere else, but I guarantee you that rear seat cushions were available in Iceland!

(I'm on the road so I can't post a photo of the price sheet, but when I get home in a few weeks I can do so.)

 

[alpine_64]

I have an original rear cushion that I rescued from a wrecked car 40 years ago my buddy that is an upholsterer said he would make a copy for my series V

Gordon.. Do you mean the single cushion that goes full width in the back?

There were several types.. A sI/II thin pleated one that came on all early cars. A s3/IV one with different width pleats and a different one used for GTs that was slightly thicker had a regular shape at the sides to match the GT sides and larger pleats and a central pleat aligned to the arm rest.

All of the above are available from various sunbeam suppliers

 

[Warren]

He doesn't complain

 

[65beam]

A dealer could install any option either current or prior to a car when they sold it. They didn't restrict installing options because the brochures didn't show them available for say a series 5. Ted Casey from York, Pa has a series 2 left hand drive delivered to him when stationed in the U.K. It was sold new with the dealer installed radio mount that was used in series 4/5 along with many other options. The dealership set up here consisted of a master distributor with sub dealers buying cars thru the master. Most cars brought in were generic and out fitted with options when the car was sold with the exception of a few cars being special ordered. I would say Kevin's car is a good example of the dealer that had the car installing the options the first owner wanted or it could have been special ordered and shipped to the base agent. The facts are that the options were on the car. Only the Archives could tell you the details. The Heritage Certificate tells the original registration number and details of the build when it rolled off the production line. I've bought the certificates just to know the history of my cars and no speculation as to how it was originally.

 

[bernd_st]

I was just referring to the original Series 5 accessory brochure. However as mentioned the dealers were somewhat free to install whatever they wanted or the client requested. Can well imagine that the dealer in Iceland was happy to sell those leftover cushions from earlier Series once the client asked for cushion option explicitly. Anyway a rare combination...

 

[steven]

My series V GT had a full width cushion on the rear parcel shelf it is about 1" thick and has the same seams and features as the side and door trims

 

[alpine_64]

My series V GT had a full width cushion on the rear parcel shelf it is about 1" thick and has the same seams and features as the side and door trims

All the GTs had a rear seat cushion with central pleat amd thicker and different profile to match the "rear seat" sides