ImBatman

The seat covers are finally installed! :hurray: below are some pics I took at various stages. I also wanted to offer some suggestions and advice to any of you about to do this job. First of all it really is not that hard just very tedious and time intensive. I recieved a lot of help from this forum in particlar from dath and sb69coupe so I definately want to thank them for the help. Now here is what I learned.
1. Disassemble the seats one at a time. This way when you are putting one back together you can reference the old one as to where things fit. By the time you get to the last one you should be ok.
2.Scrub the seat frames with degreaser and use a die grinder with those 3m lock type sanding disks to knock off any rust.
3. Paint the whole assembly with rustoleum.
4. You can purchase the installation kit with your seat covers like I did but here is where I have a suggestion. Cover your ears any profesional upholstery guys or NCRS people :yesnod: The install kit I purchased was missing some of the rods used to attach the seat foam and covers to the frame. So instead of waiting on a new kit I swiped 3 of my wife's wire hangers :eek: :D Cut these to length and they are just as good as those that come with the kit.
5. I used the clips that came with the install kit to attach the bottom cusions to the frame. Here is where I have a suggestion that will make this job A LOT EASIER. Go get you a bag of tie wraps! :thumbs: I used these for the seat backs and MAN does it make the job so much easier. Attach all of the rods in place for the cusion to the cover first. Then go around and tighten all the zip ties one by one. Repeat this same method attaching the covers to the frame. You will not believe how tight a fit you can achieve using these. In areas that you think have a lot of tension just double up the ties. Look at it this way when you put the seats together know one will know but you.

By far the 2 hardest things about this job were attaching the upper metal seat molding insert to the seat backs and bolting the bottow of the seat strap bracket to the seat bottom. This is because the foam is so much thicker now that you will have to put a lot of pressure on the peices\bolts to get them attached. For the seat back insterts I pushed them through the front then flipped the seat back over and used the handle of a big screw driver to rest the front of the trim on and thepushed down on the back to get the studs to come through the holes far enough to attach the lock nuts. For the lower bracket all I can say is be patient and take your time they will go in with enough preasure.

Lastly and most importantly. Find a comfortable place to do the job. It is not messy so I sat in my living room watching college football and before I knew it I was done. I hope this all makes since and helps you guys. Please ask me questions if I was unclear on anything.

My69

Nice job Wade. Where did you buy your foam and seatcovers from? I assume you must have invested quite a few hours to do this job. Thanks for your advice.
Mike

72GACRZR

Nice job Wade on the seats and the write-up. I need to replace the foam, but have bot had the guts to tackle it. this gives me hope. I will probably order the foam and do this during the winter. Thanks.



[Modified by 72GACRZR, 8:32 PM 8/30/2003]

ImBatman

thanks guys. I got the foam, covers and installation kit from WILCOX. They are the leather like covers. As I said in my origional post you can go another way with the installation hardware. Use wire hangers cut to length and zip ties. I did leave out a couple of things that I just thought of. I did use hog rings to attach the rods to the zig zag springs. However this was just because I had them. You can do the whole job with zip ties and it will be just as strong. Also the clips that attach the seat bottom covers to the frame. If you by the kit you will need to get some more of these and they aint cheap! :cry The kit only gives you about 16 per seat bottom 32 total. For mine these were not enough I wound up buying 10 more from a corvette shop and they ran me about a buck a peice. :eek: I may have gotten taken here but at least I know that the bottom covers are firmly in place.
Lastly if I can do this job anybody can :lol: Just ask my wife about me and patience :smash: :yesnod: If you need any help when you get started just drop me a line and I will be glad to help.

Wade :cheers:


[Modified by BlackRat, 7:49 PM 8/30/2003]

Desertdawg

Thanks for teh write up Wade. Copied and saved..... :cheers:

I just noticed a new tear on the drivers seat today. I might have to do this sooner than I hoped to.

ImBatman

np desertDawg. This why I wanted to post my experiences with this particular job. A lot of people have helped me out on the forum and I am glad that I can finally return the favor with some detail.

BTW, Can anyone tell me what the metal clips are for that screw into the front of the seat bottoms. :confused: I am thinking that they are for holding maps or paper work because it looks like some kinda clip. If that is all they are for then I am leaving them off. I think it has a much more cleaner look without them.

Thanks
Wade

StrayDog

Great info........do you have e-mail address for WILCOX......... :steering: :seeya :flag

TonyQT

The metal clips are to hold the seat belts on 1970 to 1972 cars. I'm not sure, but there might be a few more years that they are for. If you want to sell them I sure could use them on my seats. I only have 1 and it's not very good. I am redoing my seats at this time and I hope they come out as nice as yours. :thumbs:

74 vert

:party: Looks great :cool:

MYBLU71

Good Job BlackRat. :cool: I did the same thing with my '71. I got my covers and foam from The Last Detail and the install kit. I had to go find some hog ring pliers and more hog rings... :banghead: I found them at a local Ace Hardware... And, I didn't have to pay $1 each... :D I got a whole box of 100 for about $6... :crazy:

Did your hands cramp for about two weeks afterwards??? I didn't use the zip ties, I used the wires and hog rings... my hands hated me for about two weeks...

74-Roadster

:thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

With them sitting in the house, did your oldest child want to use a seat as a TV chair? :lol: :lol:

ImBatman

It did my heart proud :yesnod: Not only did he sit in them but was going through the motions as well :steering: How cool is that.

MYBLU71

Yeah my hands hurt pretty bad after doing the bottoms. But using the zip ties on the tops made things so much easier. :yesnod: Also, it wasn't the hog rings that cost $1 per it was the little "S" clips that attach the seat bottom outer edges to the frame rails. The ones that you have to clip to the edges of the covers and then roll them over the lip of the frames. I couldn't find them anywhere. :confused: I finally got some from a guy in Rock Hill SC. He said that these were the most expensive parts of the whole install kit. Like I said he might have been feeding me a line but I wanted to get them finished so I bought 10 of those little BA$&@#*'s :smash:

Thanks for the complements. I got them installed Monday and man do they look good. Bad thing is I am going to be forced to go ahead with the tilt\tele upgrade. I can barely get in and out of the car.

Wade