Seat spring question?

[Dallas Landers]

I found this for the seat in my TT.[attachment=1]20190604_130959.jpg[/attachment]
Purdy aint it?
Well its 2 inches too wide. I have it stripped down and straightened. My question is if I take 1 inch out in two places as the tape is on springs, will it effect the way the springs work? I will have to shorten the crossed springs between coil springs[attachment=0]20190604_143629.jpg[/attachment]

[mvweaver]

Dallas, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work as long as you weld it back together good and keep enough tension on the shortened springs. - Matt

[Wayne Sheldon]

I am doing this basically right now myself. Seat springs were made by many different companies for all the automakers, and construction varied quite a bit. I can't tell from your picture exactly what sort of framework it has. Some frameworks are best cut and bridged (welded, brazed, or often even wired) together to get the needed size. Other types are better cut at the original joint and reshaped to fit, then rejoined.
I have a couple spring sets, both too wide to fit my car's seat frame. One has a rolled sheet metal frame that had rust rotted through in one spot. I overlapped the frame and re-spaced the spring rows to narrow it, but it still doesn't fit well. The other one has wire frame top and bottom. I think it will reshape better.
As long as the springs are not showing loss of spring shape, altering the shape of the frame enough to fit your seat frame should not affect the sit or ride much. Do pay attention to the spacing. A lot of those original spring sets used very simple crimping, hog rings, or sheet steel rolled clips, to hold everything together. They do get a lot of abuse being sat on all the time, But they seem to hold up well with upholstery holding it all together once you get the shape you need.

[Dallas Landers]

Wayne, this is a wire frame. It had some abuse. Bent wire frame and cross springs stretched and bent. I have all that repaired. I guess I will learn another skill working on this old used ford.

[Allan]

Dallas, have you sat on that seat yet? To my naked eye, the springs seem to be made from thinner wire than that usually used in seat cushions. More like backrest springs which take less load. It would be a waste of effort if that is the case.
Otherwise, advice given to close the spaces is OK, but each spring must be linked to its neighbour so that they work in unison. Higher quality units also have the top deck of the springs linked to the bottom with diagonal braces front to back.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

[Dallas Landers]

Allan, I have sat on it. I have the matching seat back also. There are 3 diagonal braces. I havnt decided to use the seat back yet. It will depend on leg room. I have it cut and welded together. I need to finish cutting down the cross springs that link thr coil springs. It was getting late and my neck needed a break so I will get a photo tomorrow. I saved the seat cover that was on it so a pattern of sorts . Thanks as always for everyones input.

[Mark Gregush]

Hi I am the fly in the ointment! LOL. I think TT seat bottoms were two piece. Maybe you could cut the section out and make two new ends.

[Henry K. Lee]

Dallas when doing your cut down, overlap the seam in the middle but do not use a butt joint. Instead used some steel fuel line approximately 3/8” or more depending on the size of the outer wire. Making a ferrel sliding the two together (overlapping), and crimp very hard in about four places. Welding the edge wire weakens the joint.

All the Best,

Hank

[Ruxstel24]

Dallas, if this doesn't work out, I have a stack of miscellaneous springs under the carport.

[Dallas Landers]

Mark, this is from the Martin Parry site. My wood cab has this seat. Others show 2 piece seat springs.

[mvweaver]

Dallas, you are correct. The Ford Steel cabs have the two separate bottom sets of springs. - Matt