TR7 Headrests - extender

[manny]

Good day folks

having fitted the headrests back in the seats and aware of ergonomic improvements since our cars were made, has anyone attempted to fill the gap between the headrests and their head when driving, i do recall some older cars had an additional stud press fit 'headrest padding', it may have seen it on a SD1 or older Mercs..
Think it may be a nice improvement... at the moment it offers no support at all..

Ta

Manny

[FI Spyder]

Are you sure they are on the right way? When I got my car one was on backwards as they were different. I was going to get the wife to make up some padded padded covers, but when I replaced the foam in them (they had disintegrated to dust) I reversed the drivers side to match the passenger side and now had support (without having to make the pads). The difference in the look is subtle. The effect real.

[manny]

Are you sure they are on the right way? When I got my car one was on backwards as they were different. I was going to get the wife to make up some padded padded covers, but when I replaced the foam in them (they had disintegrated to dust) I reversed the drivers side to match the passenger side and now had support (without having to make the pads). The difference in the look is subtle. The effect real.

Good day
oh okay..i did not notice the difference..i will recheck..

Ta

Manny

[manny]

Good day
one of the pictures show what i meant...they look like original seats retrimmed.

Ebay Tr7

Ta

Manny

[jeffremj]

They look like Rover SD1 Vanden Plas headrests - that will fit standard TR7 seats. I tried them out once, but they pushed my head too far forward. Ended up with the less posh SD1 headrests that are wider than the TR7's and pull out further.

[busheytrader]

I think I've only seen those rear axle drop straps on rally cars before. I have a pair of heavy duty tie wraps on my shortened rear springs. Can't remember the last time the rear wheels went airborne though.

Also haven't seen that radiator hose / header tank arrangement on a 7 V8 before. Normally the top hose feeds the top left and the header tank the top right.

Back to headrests. I've only thought of them as safety items in case of a rear shunt. Not much foam left in the earlier blue pair, much like the sun visors...

[Cobber]

Can't remember the last time the rear wheels went airborne though.

Clearly you not driving it enthusiastically enough!
Must try harder!

[manny]

Can't remember the last time the rear wheels went airborne though.

Clearly you not driving it enthusiastically enough!

I think mine last went airborne when i was fixing it the rear brakes for the MOT.

[busheytrader]

Can't remember the last time the rear wheels went airborne though.

Clearly you not driving it enthusiastically enough!

I think mine last went airborne when i was fixing it the rear brakes for the MOT.

I've remembered. It was just after I'd installed the V8 but still had the 3.9 axle. I could see down the deserted straight country road and Woah! I'd forgot about the shallow dip about 60 yards ahead.

[Hasbeen]

We are getting way off topic, but I thought some might be interested.

Back in 1968 I was given a contract to drive a Formula 1 Brabham Repco in the "Gold Star" series, our Formula 1 championship. This was the old world championship rules. When the world went to 3.0L we stayed with the 2.5L to buy old world F1 cars cheap.

My first race was at Bathurst. I had raced my own F2 Brabham there for a couple of years, even making the podium in the F1 race.

I did a few easy laps, just cruising down conrod straight to get the feel of a similar weight & design car, with over twice the horse power. On the 4Th lap I went for it, looking for a time.

The car was not all that much faster than the F2, 180 MPH against 145 MPH, but that 35 MPH made the whole world of difference. At the second hump, now replaced by the chase as the hump was killing too many people, the car took off. It was very gentle, I did not feel it take off, nor land, but the tell tale on the rev counter said I had pulled 11700 RPM while in the air. A bit high with a 9500RPM red line. No rev limiters back in the 60s either.

I pulled into the pits to report my mistake. They didn't show much interest. Resetting the telltale they sent me back out. I thought I would try shutting the throttle as the car took off, & open it again as it landed.

I got that wrong too. The car landed with far too few revs on the engine, the equivalent of locking the rear brakes at 180 MPH. I spent the next couple of hundred yards in a huge tank slapper, chasing the tail all over the road. The flag wavers told me later they paced out from where they saw me take off, to the big black skid marks where I landed, I'd flown about 210 yards.

Having a coffee after that practice secion, I heard 2 of our top experienced drivers discussing the speed over that hump. They agreed that 150 MPH was OK, but anything over that was just too dangerous. This very relieved new chum F1 driver was extremely happy to use that as my guide.

I am probably lucky to be alive. A driver in a Lotus 19B was killed there the next day.

Hasbeen

[Beans]

Nice story!

[Hasbeen]

Thanks Beans.

I'll just add I won the race the next day, after 2 of the top competition crashed & another had a rear suspension upright break. I won it's next race too, despite the huge over rev in that practice session.

Those engines were built on a specially cast magnesium alloy ROVER V8 block supplied by Rover. They won 2 world championships. So remember, when driving your 7V8 you are powered by a world champion.

Hasbeen