Superformance Group's South Africa Factory Visit

[froggyman]

You've always wondered how these seats and interiors are put together? One of the points I made while at the Factory in South Africa, was to find all about was how exactly the Superformance Softtops were made for each car. There has been a misconception that because the tops are all individually numbered, they are made to fit each individual car they are numbered for and can not be interchanged. Through years of experience, I have found that while there may be a few anomalies, but most soft tops are absolutely interchangeable and fit well from early to late model Mk-III's. And now visiting the factory, that fact has been confirmed. And here, is that story... Take a look:

01making_wiring_harnes



02jig_wiring_harness



03assembling_dash



04finished_dash



06cutting_material. The tops are made in the sewing room to very specific patterns...




05steel_seat_frames



07sewing_material. Then they are sewn into their finished shape...



09fitting_seat



08assembling_seat



10finishing_seat



12softparts4each_car_beingmade



11test_jig_softtop_seats_interior. A final fittment is performed on their test jig in the sewing room where the snaps are fitted to the master jig...The side screen pins are fitted in each individual car door and tack welded into place on the car before final welding them into place on the bench. The side screen pins are made *to* each car, because there is just NO way to get the holes in the doors absolutely PERFECT for all three holes within 1/32" overall, due to the inherent "drill walk" during the drilling process and inserting the sleeves. That does not mean side screens from one car will not fit another, it just means some may not as easily in others and the pins can be easily bent to fit better in many cases in other cars. On the other hand, the soft top pin spacing can easily accept a 1/32" deviation very easily even though the drilling jig virtually eliminates any spacing deviation.

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by froggyman

You've always wondered how these seats and interiors are put together? Take a look:



05steel_seat_frames

Now I can see exactly what the seat strap that I tore looks like.

I was helping my nephew with his belts one day and put my knee on the middle of the driver's seat and heard something tear. One of these days, I'll have to pull the seat out and have an upholstery shop look at it.

Thanks again for posting all of the pics Juan!

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by Got the Bug

Now I can see exactly what the seat strap that I tore looks like.

Doug, while I too enjoyed these pics, I looked at the seat shots more so from the angle of "Aha! Now I know why my azz is so sore after a 2 hour drive."

Keep 'em coming, Juan! Awesome expose' on the Superformance manufacturing capabilities. A non-TV version of "How It's Made."

-Dean