Triumph TR8 or TR7 Seat Removal and Exchange, Step by Step

Replacing the worn out seats in my 1980 Triumph TR8 with some better looking ones from a Triumph TR7.

[@TheLostWrenchGarage]

Boy those made a big difference!! I like the idea on the tarten in the door cards!!

[@philtucker1224]

Nice work Dave 👍🇬🇧

[@robertmorales391]

Those TR7 seats look much better. It’s hot as heck in Florida too, I installed 2 mini split units in the garage and that allowed me to work in there. Enjoy the ride in the TR’s !

[@jimconklin8040]

Looking good Dave.

[@wtbm123]

Cool , Looks good

[@timothysears6970]

It's such a nice looking TR8 ... I never was interested in these until these videos, now I really like them!

[@cheftush]

@@timothysears6970 they do kind of grow on you…

[@barry6274]

Definitely looks much better with that set of seats.

[@projectpacer]

Great quick change out to make it look way better. Love your idea with the black interior....especially with the Tartan accents. I would even do black Tartan with champagne to tie in the exterior color...maybe even a tiny splash of red. Red is for racing and you said the car is about go not show....lol. Good luck on this project....looks like it will be fun.

[@indyme2]

New toys are good. I always heard "he who dies with the most toys, wins!" Lol.

[@cheftush]

@@indyme2 I think you are still winning 😉

[@jasonbeck5424]

The label on the seat at 13.08 would have said Callow and Maddox Brothers they were in School Road, Exhall, Coventry. They made most of Original seats and interior for Triumphs at this time.Keep

[@cheftush]

@@jasonbeck5424 thank you for the education Jason. Love this stuff!

[@jasonbeck5424]

My mum, worked as a sewing machinist there in the 80's; she may have even made those seat covers!

[@cheftush]

@@jasonbeck5424 thats pretty cool!

[@alanm.4298]

Maybe it is just how it appears in the video, but I think your plan to vinyl dye or paint black to eliminate the blue interior would be a nice improvement. If you do the black & gray tartan inserts on the doors, I would buy enough extra to do a center section of the seats too, when you get around to rebuilding and recovering those. (Gee, do you know any good upholstery pros? 😀)

[@lordleonusa]

Gallow & Maddox

[@cheftush]

Got it! Thanks.

[@nicktomasi392]

Hey I'm First!!! Great step by step video. Now if I only had a TR8....

[@cheftush]

I owe you a cookie! 😉

[@gregpruitt3328]

Hi Chef, Carbuilders here in Melbourne Australia list the moulded carpet sets on their website.

[@BruceBoschek]

Well, the TR7 seats are a real improvement. They look original and comfortable. What is your feeling about the handling of this TR8? How does it compare to an original car? Thanks for the video.

[@cheftush]

@@BruceBoschek handles pretty well Bruce. I haven’t pushed it yet though. I’m assuming the tail end will really try to come around if I accelerate too quickly though….need to be careful with this one as I think it will be much more unpredictable than any of the other TR’s that I own.

[@lordleonusa]

What a shame someone put speakers in the door panels, I hate that in a Triumph. I put them in the front footwell side panels.

[@neilrogers8931]

Those are after-market speakers mounted in the correct factory location.

[@ericpfiffner5615]

I've used SEM Trim Black to dye panels, worked very well for me. Did you get rid of the Tundra?

[@ericpfiffner5615]

Nvmd on the Tundra, I see your comment below! Makes sense, definitely don't need the problems!

[@brucewhittle1255]

Will you give us an update on the EFI TR8 sometime?

[@cheftush]

Absolutely.

[@mikejackman4416]

Your back to a ford truck?

[@cheftush]

@@mikejackman4416 hey Mike.. yes. I bought the Tundra as they had great reputations as being a reliable truck…I loved the towing capacity it had, far better than the F-150…. However, I had nothing than problems with it since the day I bought it…I was tired of pouring money into it and not knowing if it would get me home on the next long trip….I like the ride and comfort of the F150 over the tundra but I do miss that 5.7 V8.

[@mikedx2706]

The seats in that TR8 were severely beaten with an ugly stick. I much prefer the nice factory tartan seats and door panels from my 1980 TR8. Where in the world did those goofy seats in your used 1980 TR8 come from? That is not the original seat upholstery. TR8's didn't come with seats covered like that. And the floors were covered with a molded carpet, not multiple separate pieces. Some DAPO seems to have had his misguided way with that car.

[@cheftush]

@@mikedx2706 hi Mike, these seats are original to the car..I have the exact same seats in my 81, also original to the car…unfortunately, they all didn’t come with the Tartan ( that I quite like). As mentioned in the video, this is a replacement carpet set.

[@neilrogers8931]

@@cheftush your interior trim code should be JAJ/JMN which is Navy Blue Velour. Mine were AAM/AMG Golden Tan Velour. Since the velour upholstery is no longer available, I replaced mine with leather because my wife doesn't like the check fabric.

[@mikedx2706]

TR8's did not come with seat heaters. It wasn't an option.

[@cheftush]

@@mikedx2706 yes, I know they didn’t. I have seen people retro fit seat heaters though.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

@@cheftush It's probably a "weight on seat" switch as part of the safety circuit... which is kind of what you said. Presumably "Normally Open" so you can just unplug it....

[@neilrogers8931]

@@johnmoruzzi7236 that's exactly what the wires are for. There's a flat unit about 6 inches by 6 inches that mounts above the diaphragm and it's part of the seat belt warning system.