Photo required of rear seat horizontal cross member covering

[harrolj]

Hi,

I recently fitted a new hood and frame supplied by Vmad (very impressed with quality) and noticed that when raising / lowering the hood the vinyl covering on the rear seat cross member was starting to 'lift'. As I do not want to scratch the plastic window in the hood I wondered how best to replace the vinyl?

At present the vinyl is only just covering the 'lip' of the cross member whereas I thought it should meet in the middle. I have wrapped tape around it to hold it in place until new material arrives from Aldridge Trimming. I have also ordered foam to place below the vinyl to make it 'softer'. Has anyone else done this and if so would it be possible to send me a photo of the finished article?

I should have looked at the Stags at Stoneleigh but did not know of the problem at that time!

Thank you for your assistance.

Regards,
James

PS. Taking Stag for 1st MOT as owner on Wednesday.

[paulbell6]

Hi James, when I replaced the vinyl on mine there was only about 10mm overlap top and bottom, you could of course shuffle that a bit to give more overlap at the top where it is catching and less at the bottom. I used contact adhesive on mine which seems to be doing the job well.
good luck

Paul

[harrolj]

Hi Paul,

I have ordered enough yinyl and foam from Aldridge to completely wrap the cross member so there are no sharp edges. By overlapping the material I hope to avoid it lifting in future.

I have already bought a spray tin of contact adhesive so I am ready to go as soon as the material gets here.

Regards,
James

[StokeyStag]

Hi,

I recently fitted a new hood and frame supplied by Vmad (very impressed with quality) and noticed that when raising / lowering the hood the vinyl covering on the rear seat cross member was starting to 'lift'. As I do not want to scratch the plastic window in the hood I wondered how best to replace the vinyl?

At present the vinyl is only just covering the 'lip' of the cross member whereas I thought it should meet in the middle. I have wrapped tape around it to hold it in place until new material arrives from Aldridge Trimming. I have also ordered foam to place below the vinyl to make it 'softer'. Has anyone else done this and if so would it be possible to send me a photo of the finished article?

I should have looked at the Stags at Stoneleigh but did not know of the problem at that time!

Thank you for your assistance.

Regards,
James

PS. Taking Stag for 1st MOT as owner on Wednesday.

Hi James,

I've just had a recon frame and new hood fitted by Brian Turner this week and we discussed this very point. As I understand it, the vinyl (without any foam beneath) should cover the top of the lip and then wrap down the rear-most side (i.e. nearest the boot) covering the entire (or most of) vertical face of the cross member. If you need any further clarification I suggest that you give Brian a call.

Mark

P.S. Good luck with the MOT.

[harrolj]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the comments. Having read your post I have decided to leave out the foam and only use the vinyl as suggested. I will make sure the vinyl meets in the centre of the crossmember to hopefully prevent it coming off in future.

Thanks again.

Regards,
James

[jleyton]

Hi James,

Yep, the peeling is very common (Sorry, I forgot I had this pic when I first saw your post)

Good luck.

Cheers

Julian

from camera 29 june 12 241.jpg

[harrolj]

Hi Julian,

That's exactly whats happening with mine with the same amount of material returned on the back side, not enough in my opinion! The whole top edge has lifted on mine and I have electrical tape holding the edge down as a temporary measure.

If you don't mind me asking where did you get those storage bags? That is an excellent idea to store tools / parts. Is that velcro covering the bolt hole? If so does it hold the seat in place okay?

Sorry for the many questions but I want to make my car as usable as possible and any ideas I see on the forum that I like I will incorporate into my own car.

Regards,
James

[jleyton]

Hi James,

If you use either Evo stik or, preferably, Thixofix and fully follow the instructions CAREFULLY, it will stay in place like that. What I mean is to paste both surfaces and then resist the temptation to put them together too quickly. Allow both surfaces to virtually dry and then bring them together. Since that picture, I've done that on mine and it has stayed in position perfectly.

I am very pleased with the storage bags and they were just one of Aldi's special offers a year or so ago, although I have seen them there sometimes since - I have also seen similar ones elsewhere although I don't remember where I'm afraid. I always wanted to have an emergency spares bag and an emergency tool bag in the car and also to use the redundant space under the folded hood. The only downside is that I like to unzip my rear window but, with them there, you just can't do that. Currently, I'm just keeping the spares bag there which leaves enough space for the rear window to lie down, unzipped.

And yes, it is just Velcro, albeit a heavy duty type that holds the top of the back seat in place - it works perfectly.

I thoroughly recommend these ideas to all Stag owners

Cheers

Julian

[harrolj]

Hi Julian,

Thank you for the good advice. I have just received velcro pads from Amazon that I am going to fit when I get back onshore. I am very impressed with the lateral thinking wrt the tool storage bags, I am going to copy you on this and get a couple for myself.

I have never heard of Thixofix but I am sure I will be able to get it on the web. I have been caught out before using Evo Stik so I am quite patient now although it is a long time since I last used it.

You mentioned that you un-zip the window, I didn't know there was a zip in mine until I read your reply! I take it the reason for unzipping it is to prevent creases in the plastic?

I have not received the material from Aldridges yet so have not replaced the vinyl, again this will get done (along with new poly bushes) when I get home.

Thanks agin for your advice.

Regards,
James

[stag-phil]

On my car there was no vinyl so to cover the sharp edges I use 'tank' tape. Seems to work and will probably stay in place compared to gluing vinyl in place.

It is a shame that the hood storage compartment is not a inch or so wider so that the hood drops in rather than having to be folded it in.

Phil

[harrolj]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the tip about using 'tank' tape but I have spent the money to get vinyl so I will 'stick' with it in the meantime. I agree with you regarding the hood storage area. I think the hood should have been better designed so that the hood material and window fit in more easily. I suppose that is the price we pay for having a four seater!

James

[jleyton]

Hi James,

Sorry, I've only just seen your post.

Re the storage area, I'd be very happy for you to copy the idea - ideas are one of the great things about this Forum and I've benefited from many good ones

I too hadn't heard of Thixofix, and had done quite a bit of trim work on my car (door cards, seat retrim, headlining etc) all using EvoStik, but when I was shown Thixofix by a fellow forumite I found it even better.

As regards unzipping the window, although it's a bit of a pain, I do it every time I fold my hood (except in that pic ). As you fold the hood into the compartment, you can let the unzipped rear window hang down vertically and, as you guessed, it totally prevents any creasing. As I bought a new hood and frame a couple of years ago (from VMad - it's been brilliant ) I want to do all I can to keep in good condition for as long as possible.

Cheers

Julian