Silver rings in the seats?

[Fubar]

I know the topic has been discussed here before, but mostly from the "why didn't we get 'em?" point of view. I'm not sure that I ever read the answer to that question either, just the read that we have the option of calling the GTX guys to get those seats.

Now, why did they have them back in the 60's? What purpose?

 

[cudacharlie]

IIRC, the grommets were originally intended to provide ventilation. The original "seats" were just foam, wrapped in leather, with the grommets passing all the way through the foam pad. The foam pad then sat on a simple metal support that allowed air to circulate beneath the seat. On a modern (Superformance...) replica that has A/C, one could theoretically pump cool air beneath the seat and get a refrigerated behind....

... if you could find the space to get an A/C duct routed there, that is....

I love the silver grommet look on the GTX1's; that would be one cosmetic mod that I would love to see made available somehow.

 

[Fubar]

At one point you could send your seats to them for the retro look. Those days are gone now.

Thanks for the informative reply... very helpful, :thumbsup

 

[Shelby#18]

That cosmetic mod is available from Knights Autoworks - 715-702-2727. They are the ones that did the X1 seats.

 

[Team Jeff]

Seat rings are hot...

and not in a Paris Hilton kinda way.

Seat rings do look nice but left in the AZ sun for a few minutes and watch out! Nothing like having circles branded on the back of your legs!!

 

[Mark IV]

When the original "Ford GT" (later the 'GT40') was designed, the comfort of the pilot was a concern. The early design had a complex airflow management system that took high-pressure air from the grille opening and ducted it through the interior including the seats via the grommets. It was discovered that this ducting was sucking off twenty or better horsepower via aero drag and the duct system was trashed.....but the seat grommets stayed. Even without the ducting, they help, but plop your ass down on them on a hot, sunny day when the door has been open and you are in shorts (ask me how I know) and you will curse the mother of the guy who came up with them!!!!

Still, they are pure "GT DNA" and look good on both the original cars and the P90s.

 

[cudacharlie]

Mark IV - Thanks for filling in the gaps in my sketchy info.... drawn from my faulty memory!

Team Jeff - Thanks for inviting me to your recent Firebird event, sorry I couldn't make it due to massive work deadlines... the first one was a great day. As to the AZ heat vs. grommets, if anybody knows about that, it'd be you! (and your very cool dad...)

 

[Kingman]

I inquired about these earlier. The following is what I found out;

The current grommets come in two pieces. In order to replace them, one would need to break apart the current grommets and throw them away. They are not re-usable. Then take the new grommets and 'melt' them (not sure if this is the correct terminology) together.

You can currently get the 'silver' grommets from the referenced vendor (earlier post in this thread), but they are only painted silver. There is the likelihood that the silver will eventually rub off resulting in an unattractive appearance.

I was over at Stillen's shop and saw their old seats. They had two of the original developmental seats where metal grommets were used. I noticed that several of the grommets were missing. It was explained to me that the metal grommets broke away from the leather quite readily and popped out. It was also shared (earlier post in this thread) that the metal grommets were very uncomfortable when hot....or on even short trips.

Net Net - I much prefer the look of silver/metal grommets, but the associated 'results' left much to be desired.

If there were a 'silver' grommet that was produced with 'silver' injected plastic, that would be the way to go.

 

[Beach-GT]

I was thinking about having a deep drawn aluminum shell stamped to slip in the grommets to make them silver looking on the sides and top surface. They would be thin like a beer can and open on the bottom to allow the vents to work. If anyone is interested, I'll talk to a stamping company that's near me and see if it is feasible. They could be clear annodized to keep them uniform looking and not wear like paint.

 

[Kingman]

Beach...are you thinking about having these layered over the existing grommets?