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thecollingburnboys
United Kingdom
574 Posts |
 Posted - 15/12/2021 : 16:42:00
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[quote]Originally posted by Orstin
I'm not sure it exactly the same style as the Moseley 'Float on Air' cushions the were very common back in the day, but this image shows the version used in the back seat of an Austin 7...
This topic just reminded me: I've made some seats (P or a J2 bench can't remember exactly) with a modern version of these. The customer supplied the inflatable cushions via a firm that manufacture them for airplanes. Very much the same as the "float on air" ones Orstin has pictured but they were modern and opaque.
In flat seats or on an incline they really work but neither me or my father Mike (he was still working then) rated them. You have to wrestle with them, about from using some spray adhesive to keep in place you can't fix them down as would dig in when inflated. They didn't look right under the Tuck N Roll upholstery placed on top. That's the well padded, individually stuffed flutes, style of upholstery your MGs have.
We made the 2 cushions look as good as we could. We couldn't get them as aesthetically pleasing as we normally did but that was the nature of the bags. They could only be so good. My Dad didn't like them at all, I thought they were funny and a novelty. He vowed never again and we both agreed it was far too much effort just for the sake of being closer to original.
Customer was happy so go figure...
Kind Rgrds James Collingburn |
Edited by - thecollingburnboys on 15/12/2021 16:49:41 |
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Blue M
United Kingdom
1474 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2021 : 21:35:28
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| Orstin's example would have been placed with the long tubes at the back. Individual cushions, as Dave said, would have one bladder around the outside and another folded in the middle. I'm something of a convert to air cushions. I find it a novel experience to be suspended in isolation while the rest of the vehicle bounces around me, and being able to drive hundreds of miles at a time in comfort outweighs the aesthetic considerations. |
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Orstin
United Kingdom
639 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2021 : 09:02:35
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I concur totally with Blue M's comments. When done right, air cushions are a delight. I have them in one of my Austins and have driven several hundred miles (no exageration) in one day to no detriment. As has been suggested before, people tend to over inflate them, they need very little air in them. Think what happens when you sit on them, pressure is increased and the air moves around, offering support perfectly. James' comments about seat inners from an aircraft manufacturer may refer to a Hovercraft company in Southampton, who no longer supply. I think Bryan Purves can still provide them, but they are terribly expensive. Experiments have been carried out with making your own using 'Fat' bicycle tyres - Vittoria 4.00-4.90 x 26 'Fat' MTB and mine came from www.planetX.co.uk that have proved very succesful
Again, as James eludes to, they do leave the seat looking a little 'crumpled' sometimes, so if you want the perfect looking seat when unoccupied, they may not be for you.
So many dynamos |
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thecollingburnboys
United Kingdom
574 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2021 : 10:00:26
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Morning chaps, as you realised, I was commenting purely from an aesthetic point of view.
I did sit on them when finished and bounced up and down a bit and they felt alright but certainly not what my derriere was used to haha. Having never driven an MG it wouldn't be fair for me to comment.
Kind Rgrds James Collingburn |
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Oz34
United Kingdom
2560 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2021 : 10:10:29
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As Ian and Hugh suggest, air cushions are the perfect antidote to pre-war suspension, if SUITABLY inflated. I first came across them on my first car, a '46 Sunbeam Talbot whose driver's seat held air, and immediately fell for them. I used an old small (motorcycle?) inner tube for the passenger.
I should have thought though Ian, that Hugh's long tubes would go to the front so as to form a firmer periphery with the main body of the seat being softer? It also looks as though one could have the luxury of a "his 'n hers" in that there are two smaller tubes with the possibility of using different pressures in each.
Cheers,
Dave |
Edited by - Oz34 on 16/12/2021 10:13:46 |
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Blue M
United Kingdom
1474 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2021 : 14:34:37
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| Dave, no, you need the long tube at the back. I tried something similar when I made mine and it just flattened out. The "fat bike" tubes are good in that the rubber is far thinner that car or motorcycle tubes. On the hand making squares out of circular tubes is tricky. And the only adhesive that works is Super glue - I used Gorilla. |
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