The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

This topic relates to the seat foams for Sprint and HL Dolomites. If you are interested in foams for the narrower seats in the Dolomite 1300/1500/1500SE/Toledo click here; viewtopic.php?t=38920
For Sprint/HL foams, read on...
I've been working in collaboration with Cliff Griffiths (CAR SOS "Cliff the trimmer") for some time to produce these items, only to beaten to the market by a matter of weeks by another supplier.

However, I believe that we have a superior product which we can offer at a substantial cost saving against the competition.

I have 4 pairs in stock and can get more at short notice if need be. The price is £75 for a single or £140 for a pair plus UK postage, circa £5 or £10 respectively. (as against £125 each + carriage from the alternate supplier)

Drop me a PM if you wish to order, alternatively I will be bringing at least 1 pair to the Stoneliegh show. I can bring more if need be.







Steve

PS, as you may have heard, we are also working on a similar product to cover the non HL range of Dolomites and will be prototyping in the next few weeks. This one is not currently available anywhere else!

Great work Steve.

Good morning.

Would it be possible to purchase one of your foam seat bases please.

Kind regards. John Bisatt ( Siouxsie).

Send a PM to Steve if you wish to order

That's great Steve, well done you.

Apart from price, how do the seat foams the club has made differ from the ones that Newton Commercial have just introduced. Are the HL and Sprint seats different to the late Dolomite 1300 seats. I am asking because I already bought a seat base foam from Newton but have not yet got around to fitting it to my Dolly 1300.
Ralph

The seat foams for the Sprint/HL models are wider than those used in the 1300/non-HL models. Newton do not supply foams for the 1300/1500/Toledo (non-HL) models but describe their foams as "Dolomite", which is misleading. The good news here is that the Club is close to being able to supply foams for the narrower, non-HL seats.

Ralph wrote: ↑Mon Feb 10, 2025 6:35 am Apart from price, how do the seat foams the club has made differ from the ones that Newton Commercial have just introduced. Are the HL and Sprint seats different to the late Dolomite 1300 seats. I am asking because I already bought a seat base foam from Newton but have not yet got around to fitting it to my Dolly 1300.
Ralph

Until last week, we weren't sure ourselves just HOW much difference there was between the HL and non HL seats, just that there WAS a difference visible from the outside of around 2" in width. We had hoped it would be possible to alter the HL foam slightly and make it work as another new mould would be considerably more expensive in tool costs. Having now disassembled a non HL seat, that just ain't gonna happen, the non HL mould is 2" narrower, 2" thinner, and is missing the prominent raised front top face of the HL seat. We are going to have to have a second mould made. This won't affect pricing as the HL foams price includes a small amount to help recover tooling costs. the non-HL one will be the same.

The diaphragm is also a completely different construction and size to the HL one. Some research has turned up a Ford Capri diaphragm that is ALMOST identical, but they are prohibitively expensive at almost £95 each incl VAT and carriage! The Capri one is also a tad too narrow, which may be critical, as the construction method of this diaphragm is less forgiving than the all rubber HL diaphragm. Research is ongoing to find a more budget friendly alternative.

Since you have already bought an HL style foam from NC, It might be possible to carve it up and adapt it for your non-HL car, a talented trimmer could do it, but there wouldn't be much recognizable of the expensive original when it was done, it'd be just as easy to scratch build one. But my thought is, it would be better to contact NC, inform them of their marketing error (they probably don't KNOW there are 2 different seats as they are NOT Dolomite, or even Triumph specialists) and ask for a refund. We are hoping to be able to offer the non HL foam somewhere around Easter.

HTH, Steve

We have had a LOT of queries concerning the seat backrest (for both styles of seat, HL and non HL)

Though HL and non HL backrests are dimensionally different, the basic construction is very similar, being made up of at least 6 pieces in at least 3 different materials. Which, rather obviously, doesn't lend itself to a single piece moulding. Moreover, the shape of the frame prohibits such a concept anyway, as the moulded part would tear going over it. So that's a non starter!

Cliff has, of course, recreated backrests for these seats for me and others and says it would be technically possible to make up a kit of parts to do the job, mimicking the original construction with modern materials.

So i'm here now, asking if people think there would be any demand for this? If we get enough positive interest, we'll move to prototyping and costing. Drop a comment below!

Steve

I might be interested in a pair but I don't know what state my ones are in yet, I only know the base has had it - it is getting quite lumpy to sit on/in. If the price was reasonable then I would probably have a pair in order to do the whole job properly.

Thanks for your efforts on this, much appreciated.