Matra Logo Die

[Titus]

I'm going to have my interior retrimmed and would like to emboss the leather with a Matra logo. Does anyone have a die already made up for this that I could hire and return?

Regarding my post on the 1.6 air filter pan sticker, a fellow MEC UK member is having it checked with our French friends. I'll wait for the feedback before making a few up.

Titus.

[suffolkpete]

I noticed today that Matra Magic are selling the Ron Murrell version of the air filter sticker.  I'll wait and get the correct one though

[Titus]

Well, it's nice to have somebody else print the thing but what's the point if it's wrong? Ron did the initial work with you, Pete, finding the correct LF logo. As you saw at the MEC UK meeting I have put the two together. It seems that Will still has the 'LC' logo.

My final version will be a yellow on clear transfer and not a yellow on black sticker.

As said, Phil from the MEC UK is running my version past his French Matra contacts. It should therefore be as correct as we can get it.

I'll post the final version as and when, and if anyone else wants to take on the initial costs of printing a few off as a clear transfer I'll be first in the queue.

[JL]

Hi Titus

Are you buying a retrimming kit or are you using a UK company to make them from scratch?

Regards
John

[Titus]

I'm having them done here as I want leather with cloth insert. I know you can get the three seats and door cards etc in full leather 'off the shelf' as it were, but I prefer the two tone look and feel.

I've bought the leather myself and have found somebody to do the work. The only thing holding things up is finding a suitable cloth. Not as easy as I thought because I'm trying to source something close to the original designs.

[JL]

I agree the two tone looks good but I was thinking of two tone leather; I am sure that there must be trimmers here in the old heart of the UK motor industry. I was also considering heating elements in the seats given that the heating system may not be the best in the winter.

John

[suffolkpete]

Having driven from Yorkshire in a blizzard on Sunday night, I can assure you that the heating system is more than up to the job   Takes a bit of time to warm up though.
I think you also need to consider whether the capacity of the alternator is sufficient for a heavy electrical load such as heated seats.

[JL]

Glad to hear that the heater is better than I anticipated, I will check the alternator rating before I go further.

John

[krede]

The standard alternator is 55amps I believe. if you need more juice Simon carry a 80 amp unit thats a direct swap (I have fitted one to my car.)

The standard heater fan is pretty miserable. However this is mostly a problem during summer, where it has a hard time providing descent ventilation on hot days. 
For heating and defrosting the system is quite adequate, though you WILL need to run the fan all the time as there is no (or VERY little) airflow into the cabin otherwise.

One word of warning though.
The heater draws all its current through the heater switch.
If the connections are loose or corroded it will get very hot and eventually catch fire, or melt something.
Many here have had that happen (including yours truly)
So if your car has been in storage for some years I would recommend that you check it before you leave it in setting 3 for any length of time... Its not hard to get at..
If you do a search on the forum I think you'll find several posts about this subject.

[murramor]

Well, it's nice to have somebody else print the thing but what's the point if it's wrong? Ron did the initial work with you, Pete, finding the correct LF logo. As you saw at the MEC UK meeting I have put the two together. It seems that Will still has the 'LC' logo.

My final version will be a yellow on clear transfer and not a yellow on black sticker.

The ones that Will has are the surplus ones that I printed.  Seemed a shame to waste them and I figured that only the most observant would notice anyway!  One word of warning though.  I originally printed them on transparent stickers but the result was awful.  You could hardly see the writing and the transparent part was highly visible.  Either the plastic was too thick or the glue on the sticker became visible when affixed to the black background of the air cleaner.  This could be a problem with sign company not being accustomed to this sort of work.  Perhaps the best solution would be a waterslide transfer but I haven't found a company locally who can do the work.  My Italian friends seem to have no trouble getting transfers for motorbike tank logos/decals printed so perhaps you will have better luck in Europe.   

[Titus]

Thanks Ron,

You confirm my thoughts about stickers, that's why I was going down the transfer route, waterslide, as you correctly put it.

Titus.

[JL]

Thanks for the information Krede, I will be checking the connections carefully.

John