seat pads

[69280sl]

Does anyone have experience or even opinions on horsehair vs. foam rubber seat and back pads?

Gus

[114015]

Hello Gus,

My "knowledge" here is that the Pagoda (W113) never had authentic horsehair back pads but only rubberised foam back (or whatever mix that is) but definitely without real horsehair.

I have seen seat covers from a W111 Coupé however, which had remaining bits of horsehair underneath ...

But not the Pagoda.

Just my 2 cents...

Achim

[66andBlue]

I agree that the later 230SL cushions did not have any horse hair but they were made from a mixture of rubber glue and plant fibers - perhaps sisal or jute - but no foam as far as I can determine.
There were also different suppliers. Those for my 230SL were made/sold by Hauenschild in Hamburg whereas the ones in the 280SL came from a different company.

[114015]

There were also different suppliers. Those for my 230SL were made/sold by Hauenschild in Hamburg whereas the ones in the 280SL came from a different company.

Yes, Alfred,

That's correct.
And the other one is Fehrer in Kitzingen near Wuerzburg (Germany), which is the still current supplier for the Pagoda's seat pads.

 
Achim

[thelews]

Actually, it's coconut fiber.  You can read about my 190 SL seat rebuild if you like.  The 113 seats are MUCH easier.

http://forums.190slgroup.com/showthread.php?8534-What-s-in-YOUR-seat!&highlight=seat

[rmmchl]

from what I understand. our govt cracked down on importing  the plant fiber pads because they can harbor bugs that could be introduced to our country that are not indigenous to us. Therefore , the molded fiber pads have become the standard. I bought mine from GAHH. The only problem I had was that they are made for seats with headrests, so they are not real smooth on top of the seat, when the fabric cover is stretched on. The pad has the holes for the headrest rails.  My car  is a 1967 250sl which does not have headrests-------the 230 sl will have this problem also. I think they do sell the smaller, thinner  backs for the early 230sl's

[69280sl]

John: Your 190sl is gorgeous. What more is there to say.

Gus

[thelews]

Thanks for the compliment.

The purpose of sharing the rebuild was to show the old "horsehair" pad and the new pad.  Also, how at least that type of seat is properly built.  The replacement covers for the seats are from GAHH and I've see excellent GAHH product for the 113 too, including pads.

[66andBlue]

John,
thanks for sharing this report.
I agree the new GAHH seat and backrest cushions are well done and not that much different from the old OEM cushions. I have bought a set about 6 months ago and they are made from fibers glued together in a slurry of latex just as before. No foam that I can see.

[rmmchl]

you are correct Alfred. The GAHH pads I purchased are a type of fiber. Mine were exactly like that. I purchased mine in June of this year. I never really looked at them closely. I kept thinking they were foam. They are exactly as you described