Bedford QLT rear seat material and colour

[ColinR]

Good afternoon all,

Would anyone know or hazard a guess as to what the seats would have been covered with and the colour of the material would have been in this picture of a Bedford QLT?

I have one recovered in canvas and have seen others with the same, but it doesn't look like canvas in the pic.

[mike30841]

I looked over the remains of a QLT body a couple of years ago. As far as I could see the seats appeared to have the remains of a black leathercloth type of covering, which would tie in with your picture.

 

Mike.

[ColinR]

Oh right ok Mike. So something along the lines of a black vinyl may do the trick or not?

[Baz48]

Back in the eighties I owned a QL-Trooper from what I recall the rear body seat and backrest coverings were canvas over I assume horse hair filling same as the drivers and front seat passengers seat squabs - sorry no colour photos to offer as proof

[mike30841]

Have managed to find a rather poor picture, which shows that the covering is very dark, either black or a very dark green. Certainly, in your picture the covering looks very dark and has a fair sheen, so it doesn't look like canvas. Possibly the ones with canvas seats have had them re-covered at some point, either in service or subsequent civilian ownership, or maybe when they were built the factory used whatever they could get hold of. It does seem odd that they may not have been canvas when every other contemporary vehicle I can think of had canvas seat covers - I doubt if anybody knows the reason after all these years.

Personally I would probably go with black vinyl or similar, but I am no expert, and have only had the chance to inspect the one example.

[Baz48]

13 hours ago, mike30841 said:

Have managed to find a rather poor picture, which shows that the covering is very dark, either black or a very dark green. Certainly, in your picture the covering looks very dark and has a fair sheen, so it doesn't look like canvas. Possibly the ones with canvas seats have had them re-covered at some point, either in service or subsequent civilian ownership, or maybe when they were built the factory used whatever they could get hold of. It does seem odd that they may not have been canvas when every other contemporary vehicle I can think of had canvas seat covers - I doubt if anybody knows the reason after all these years.

Personally I would probably go with black vinyl or similar, but I am no expert, and have only had the chance to inspect the one example.

 

[Baz48]

I’m no expert that’s best left to others I am not sure vinyl was widely available or used during the forties as seat coverings in British military vehicles, those I have owned or worked on had canvas coverings on seats. The only vinyl type material I have seen on a vehicle of that era is a greenish-gray coloured foam square glued to the roof of a Canadian Chevy C15A to offer protection to the head of the driver when bouncing over rough ground the passenger get’s a grab handle between the knees anchored to the floor. Go with what is correct for you    

[Richard Farrant]

1 minute ago, Baz48 said:

I’m no expert that’s best left to others I am not sure vinyl was widely available or used during the forties as seat coverings in British military vehicles,

Hi Baz,

There was a material called Rexine that was used in vehicle upholstery in that period, I have come across remnants in WW2 British vehicles, although not in Bedfords.

I had some nos seat covers for a QLB crew compartment and they were in olive drab canvas. The photo of the Trooper seats seems to indicate a smooth material was used. Those bodies were built by Austin as I recall.

cheers Richard 

[mike30841]

You are almost certainly correct in stating that vinyl was not available at that time. The coverings on the body I saw were, as I said in my first post, some type of leathercloth ( the trade name "Rexine" springs to mind but I am not certain if this is correct), which pre-dates the plastics era. I very much doubt if this can still be obtained, so a modern vinyl type of product would probably be the nearest equivalent.

[Richard Farrant]

From Wiki:

Rexine was also widely used in trimming and upholstering the interiors of motor vehicles produced by British car manufacturers beginning in the 1920s, and the interiors of railway carriages, its cost being around a quarter that of leather.

Rexine is still available I think, do a google search

 

 

[Baz48]

I can only comment on the vehicle I have owned or worked on for others and as yet haven’t come across “Rexne” in ex-military vehicles of that period, that’s not saying it wasn’t used. Austin is credited with manufacturing trooper bodies though there are two types distinguished by the shape of the side panel pressings so suggest the panel pressing may have been done elsewhere, sorry digressing.  Interesting post and anyone saving a British WW11 lorry gets my vote

[MatchFuzee]

3 hours ago, Richard Farrant said:

From Wiki:

Rexine was also widely used in trimming and upholstering the interiors of motor vehicles produced by British car manufacturers beginning in the 1920s, and the interiors of railway carriages, its cost being around a quarter that of leather.

Rexine is still available I think, do a google search

 

 

Richard,

From a Google search:-

FJ Ratchford have been stocking and supplying quality materials since 1889, and one product is often associated with us more than any other, and this is Leathercloth. The reason being that Ratchford have been closely associated with Rexine leathercloth since its origination over 80 years ago. The last roll of Rexine was produced in 2005, and since then we are pleased to launch our own quality Leathercloth, which is available in similar shades to the old Rexine quality.

[ColinR]

Many many thanks for all this info.

I have an old roll of black vinyl/leathercloth which I'm hoping may be suitable.

The seats are covered by green canvas at the moment but this is a replacement as it has not put on properly. I have looked for period pictures of the rear of a QLT but the pic above is the only one i could see the seating properly.

And going back to the mention of the side panel pressings, what's the differences between the two types?

[Baz48]

7 hours ago, ColinR said:

Many many thanks for all this info.

I have an old roll of black vinyl/leathercloth which I'm hoping may be suitable.

The seats are covered by green canvas at the moment but this is a replacement as it has not put on properly. I have looked for period pictures of the rear of a QLT but the pic above is the only one i could see the seating properly.

And going back to the mention of the side panel pressings, what's the differences between the two types?

The pressings in the side and rear doors for strengthening purposes are ether rounded or square end pressings – my former trooper were square as shown in photo

[ColinR]

Looking a bit sorry for herself but we'll get her sorted.

[Ashley.g.photography]

On 10/19/2017 at 4:45 PM, ColinR said:

Good afternoon all,

Would anyone know or hazard a guess as to what the seats would have been covered with and the colour of the material would have been in this picture of a Bedford QLT?

I have one recovered in canvas and have seen others with the same, but it doesn't look like canvas in the pic.

Could you please send me all the photos of the lorry please because my dad use to own one but we sold it and someone blew it up and i would love to see it again and hope its back on the road and if its the one you have i can tell you the full history of it all and the seats and everything 

[Ashley.g.photography]

On 10/24/2017 at 9:26 AM, ColinR said:

Looking a bit sorry for herself but we'll get her sorted.

my dad is the was the owner of that from 1999 -2009 the numbers match up and everything that we done matces it really looks sad for its self so please do get in touch with us so we can talk about where the poor old girl traveled 

[RAFMT]

Not sure how often Colin comes on here, but I've been meaning to get in touch with him for a while now. I'll mention this to him.

[Ashley.g.photography]

On 10/1/2019 at 10:00 AM, RAFMT said:

Not sure how often Colin comes on here, but I've been meaning to get in touch with him for a while now. I'll mention this to him.

That would be amazing and if he can get in touch that would be great i am on all soical media if that is easier to contact me just get him to look at my website www.ashleygphotography.com