27 July 2020
The gearstick gaiter sits high, front and centre in your cockpit. It's hard to ignore, especially if it's the wrong colour, looking shabby or even missing.
Unwanted carpet hole
This turned out to be a fun little project.
I had wanted to make matching gearstick gaiter for the Triumph Spitfire and GT6 but other projects always got in the way. I thought that the gaiter always came attached to a carpet panel, something I didn't want to get into. That was when I was contacted by a customer whose new carpets came with a hole that definitely needed filling.
Old gaiter stripped
He posted me the old Triumph gaiter from his original carpet which I found was quite neat and trim. The bottom edge was shaped so that it matched the contours of the tunnel cover on a Spitfire MkIV - 1500 or GT6 Mk3.
I carefully took it apart and then made some card templates of the main piece.
Working out how the top-sewn abnding was attached to the bottom edge took a few tries. The secret was to keep the cone inside out throughout sewing, similar to making headrests.
No attachments
When I posted off the prototype I asked him to let me know how he attached the gaiter to his carpet. A couple of days later the reply came back "No need to attach the gaiter to the carpet. It pops over the gearstick and sits there as nice as anything." Another case of me over-thinking issues!
A matching gearstick gaiter for your Triumph Spitfire or GT6
All in all a lovely little thing. I can make it in any leather or vinyl so it will match your interior perfectly.
Click below choose one now or maybe send a link to a friend.
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