Leather seats, flat and box pleat - Which patterns, which production year?

mrtask

mrtask

Well-Known Member
Does anybody know when did the flat pleat leather seats get replaced by the box pleat design? Were they briefly concurrent? What model years had the flat pleat design, which would have only had box pleat seats? I replaced the faded threadbare ivory cloth seats in my '73 with black flat pleat leather, I wonder if they ought really to be the box pleat design? Does the book with the colour codes by year also have any info regarding interior seat designs?
 
I recently bought two flat pleat leather front seats, they are definitely Series 2 because they have the headrest socket in the top.

Apart from that they are exactly identical to my Series 1's.

So that must cover 1963 to at least 1973.
 
Hi,

Difficult to be exact, but from experience I would say that for the V8's box-pleat was introduced on the home market cars for the 3500S first from October 1971 (ie: '72 season) when Ambla seats were introduced. A 3500S with leather option (Jan '72 on) seems to be flat leather, perhaps until the introduction of the 2200 in September 1973 (ie: '74 season cars). I know of flat leather '72 V8's.

The 2200's had box pleat whether cloth or leather from September '73 I think it was then standardised from that point across the whole range.

It was all flat on the 4 cylinder cars up to then. When I was little my Dad had a nearly new August '72 registered 2000TC which had flat leather (in Mango...).

The other point to complete the UK picture is that the cloth option before September '73 was the 'herringbone' pattern which is a rare option, but rather nice - it seems to be much better quality than the later material.

Plus of course the VIP models...

Phil (East Yorks RO)
 
hi rovertron,
series one seats had the option of fitting headrests to them, series two flatpleat seats had the slot for the headrests in them as standard. the other differnence between the series one and two seats is series one seats were in cars that had lap belts, series two flatpleat seats had inertia seat belts fitted and the seats were altered down the side, in the respect they were let in / tapered and had a chrome plate screwed into the side which allowed the inertia belts to be fitted, so that will tell you if you have series one or two seats.

ianp6man
 
Alistair,
the seating options and changes are quite complex but James Taylor says in his excellent book on the Rover P6 "Box pleating remained unique to the 3500S" (p. 133 for book owners).
However, just to confuse the issue, I once owned a late(ish) model 3500 (1975 and rocker switch for HRW) that had black cloth box pleated seats that were (apparently) original fit.
Regards, John.
 
I've just looked & I think he must mean unique around that time-period as both our '75 S2's have box-pleating & I'm sure most of the later cars have, 2.2's & V8's included.
 
I think BL in the 1970's used what ever was in the parts bin at the time to get cars out. I know I had a 1974 Mini that had the original 1976 mg paint colour, and Jag green interior, ie. (the colour of the paint first apears as a MG colour in 1976 or so I have been told and the Vinyl interior was an olive that my trimer says wasonly used on Jags according to his books) I can also remember stories of Allegoes leaving the factory with multi coloured interiors, the front seats not matching the backs etc. But then I was just a boyat the time and never wittnessed this so itcould all be old wives tales.
Ramble over :)
 
A friend tells stories about a Marina built with a disc brake on one front wheel and a drum brake on the other. So I suppose you are lucky if you get a set of seats all the same

My Nov 73 3500S has flat pleat leather seats , a short gear lever and a 10.5 to 1 CR engine. I thought it may have been built earlier and stockpiled but apparently not.
Dave
 
Hi Ian,

Many thanks for the info, not that I'm some kind of expert.

Problem is now I am really puzzled about my seats, the headrest slot was a pleasant surprise and I am looking for some headrests for them. They must be Series 1 because they are not 'let in' for the buckle but do have the chrome plates either side.

However, my Series 1 doesn't have lap belts, I've got aircraft-like Kangol seatbelts complete with a hanging bracket on the B-post interior for the j-shaped clip. The buckle part of the belt is bolted onto the diff tunnel behind the seat, not on the seat itself.

The plot thickens.....
 
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