Custom seat cushion

[DesmoDork]

Has anyone tried this?

To relieve my tailbone from pain when driving long distance I thought I would make a custom seat cushion. The thinking is that a contoured seat pan will get the weight on my "sit bones" and off my tail bone. I would love bucket seats but they are spendy. :(

The budget approach;

I sculpted foam ($10 worth from home depot) into a seat pan with leg support and cut matching plywood base. I will then fiberglass up to give strength and cover with matching vinyl.



Sound crazy? :rolleyes::cool:

[Doug Liedblad]

You might also check out the foam-a-thon thread.

Which has not happened yet.

http://www.californiacaterhamclub.com/chat/showthread.php?t=1092&highlight=foam

[DesmoDork]

Thanks for the links Doug. Also lead to links of BC that were good. That sounds like a good solution. Would love to see how its done and the results. Anyone have any pictures? :rolleyes:

The method I took is a rigid seat pan that has bum curvature that also keeps you as low as possible in the seat. A foam approach would be very nice as well, but may raise you up a bit?

I also wanted to preserve the look of the "bench style" seat as it appeals to vintage vein in me. :cool:

[moosetestbestanden]

You might also check out the foam-a-thon thread.

Which has not happened yet.

One of these days though, one of these days.

So many projects, so little time / money.

[DesmoDork]

all laminated...

Seat all glassed up...actually epoxied up. 10 oz cloth with epoxy laminating resin cause the polyester resin attacks the EPS foam I used. Got it to fit my derriere just right. It drops right into the car perfectly.

I dropped it off at the upholsterers (European and American in San Rafael). He will use a little 1 inch foam all around and a disc of 1 inch in the seat dish to kind of level it out so the vinyl won't buckle too much. Should look pretty close to the original but with a bit more comfort. :cool:

It will be done Wednesday. :)

[DesmoDork]

Success....after a couple more mods

Ken at European and American in San Rafael did an awesome job. I would totally recommend him. However there was too much padding. It raised me up too high and I was looking through the windscreen frame. I pulled it apart and removed all the padding. I also had to shorten the whole seat so I band-sawed about 2 inches out of it to allow it to slide back and forth when installed. This give the perfect amount of adjustability. I did a 2 hour drive on Friday straight no stopping and my tail bone was so happy!! :cool::):D

Here's the seat as it looked from European and American. It looks great with it's new cover and padding, but it is very tall.


After I removed all the padding


Installed with no padding with the cover just pulled on with no staples holding it on. This how I meant it to be, but Ken at the covering shop was concerned with the material buckling. I don't mind if it means I can drive more! :cool: