Eddie 70

Today I was trying to install covers on the new foam. The old seat covers have strings attaching the cover to the frame. I ordered a seat cover installatin kit and it comes with several different length "wires" to attach the covers with. Does anyone know which length goes where?
Any help would greatly be appreciated.

ImBatman

Eddie,

Mathch the lengths up with the seams in the seat. Ex. Logest rods go with the top. I am not sure why but I think my kit was short on the long rods so I used wire coat hangers to make the extra's I thought I needed. It worked out just fine. Have you taken both seats apart already? if not go ahead an start taking the other apart to use as a guide for the one you are using. hope this helped. Just remember that top and bottoms should look like an odd "H" when All the rods are installed. Then you will either pull the clips or zip ties through the foam to attach to the rod. The seat backs will be very hard since the foam is so much thicker. that is why I recommend the zip ties for the upper seat backs.

Eddie 70

Wade
These are the wires I was talking about. I know they go in to the listing(bottom pic) but I am guessing the longest ones in the top picture go toward the thickest portion of the seat foam. What about the cross part of H, which of the wires goes there.



In this picture you can see the listing(gray) There are some wires that go inside of this, none of the wires that came in the kit match up to the length of the listing. But the lengths match the rods that came out of the old seats. My question on this is does the rod need to go toward the front of the seat or toward the rear of the seat. I hope you can understand what I am asking.

ImBatman

Ah I see. Starting from the top clips they go to the bottom covers. Cut small slits every little bit in the listing just below the rods you installed. Insert one end of the clip through the listing and hook it to the rod. The other end will go through the foam and hook around the rod on the bottow side of the foam. Take a peice of close hanger and bend the end into a hook and jab it through the foam and into the hook and pull it through the foam.

The second (little) ones are used for the upper seat backs. These are the ones that I did not use. They were a PITA to get through the foam and once I got them through, the cover would bunch up. This was where the zip ties were used. Remember the bottoms are going to have the most stress on them so if you feel uncomfortable about the zip ties you will be fine with the backs.

Lastly, the hooks you have pictured on the last 2 rows go to the seat backs. When you get the seat back cover attached to the foam lay it up against the frame. The headrest portion goes over the top and then has a "wing"\"flap" on either side that wraps around and then a solid plastic spine overlaps in the back. Get this part stretched first and cut the whole for your seat release button. Mount the button and this will hold the top in place. Now stretch the "wings"\"flaps" down and together. You will see the listing in the bottom of the winged area. This is where 2 of the 4 rods go that you have pictured. Now lookk at the sides and the bottom of the seat back. The bottom will roll over the frame and use 2 more of those rods to stretch over and attach to the frame.
One more mod that I did you might want to think about. I did not use the supplied side rods for wrapping the sides of the seat backs around. I made my own out of wire coat hangers.
I also installed stiffer seat bottom springs that I picked up from Home Depot. The reason I did this was that when I pulled the seats apart the bottom frames were bent like a very large person had been sitting in the car. since I am 6'6" 257lbs I figured a little extra strengthening couldn't hurt.
:yesnod:

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have anymore questions. This job really isn't about precision just patience.

Wade :cheers:


[Modified by BlackRat, 7:07 AM 3/8/2004]

Edzred72

I gathered info from three sources....and none of them gave exact directions on what wires go where, so I had to figure it out. The long wires that get inserted into the listing don't have to be the full length. Center them. The Q shaped wires are for the seat backs. I took all the wires, studied the foam thickness, and seperated them by length and number to determine what goes where. I did end up ordering more hog rings cause the kit did not have enough for my likeing.
Here's some info that will help some. http://rowleycorvette.com/corvette_repair2.html
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2001...s/seatspg1.asp
Eddie

Eddie 70

Thanks guys again. I have been studying the pics now in the corvette magazine article and it seems as though they are contradicting what Wade told me. It kind of looks like, in the corvettemagazine article they have used, coming from the top of the picture, 2 long wires through the listing, 2 medium wires through the listing, then 5 shorter wires(3 on the cross of the H, 2 on the bottom of the main listing). If this is so, then it would leave me with all of the Q shaped wires for the back of the seats. If this is correct then I am going to forge on. Any opinions on this. I am beginning to see the light, I think. :lol:

This is the picture from the corvettemagazine article.



[Modified by Eddie 70, 9:15 AM 3/8/2004]

ImBatman

Not saying that they are right or wrong just that what I did worked. :D Keep going they will look great :thumbs:

Wade

LemansBlue68

It looks like you're on the right track with where the clips go. I found that the seat bottom was the hardest to pull the clips through because the foam had to be compressed so much further. I looped some steel wire through each of the "eyes" of the clips and fished the wire through the foam with a crochet hook. Then I could grab the wire with a pair of pliers and really pull hard to get the clip through the foam. Another thing that helped was to clamp a 2X4 under the area of the seat cover that I was trying to compress. I cut the 2x4 a couple inches longer than the width of the seat on both ends and then compressed the foam and seat cover against the seat frame with the 2X4 and a C-clamp on each side. This made it much easier to fasten the clips to the frame because you're not fighting the compressed foam. As you work from back to front, keep moving the 2X4 and clamps up.

One other thing I found was that it was easier to attach the seat cover to the rear of the frame first before pulling the clips through the foam. Work from the rear to the front pulling the clips through and attaching them to the seat frame as you go. If you do it the other way you have to pull really hard to stretch enough of the seat cover material to wrap it around and fasten it to the rear of the seat frame.

I just finished my seats this weekend and they look terrific!!!

Good Luck!! :thumbs:

Eddie 70

Here is my first seat bottom. Thanks for all the help guys. I think I may be on to something.

Edzred72

Looks like you should pull the sides tighter. I flipped it over, and stood on it to get the sides pulled tight enough. A heat gun, or hair drier (use carefully.. not to close) can eliminate some of the wrinkles. Heat it up...let it cool...heat it up...let it cool. I wish I can post pics. Although it took me forever..Mine turned out great.
Good Luck
Eddie

ImBatman

Eddie,

The first real warm day that you get take them outside and set them in the sun. If possible put them up on the roof for about an hour. then go back and re stretch everything. You will be amazed at how smooth you can get them. Keep going they are looking good. :thumbs:

Wade

LemansBlue68

:iagree:

The covers definitely need to be pulled toward the front a bit. If warming them up with a hairdryer or sun still doesn't take up the slack, you can slide a 3/4" thick piece of foam rubber between the seat foam and frame and then secure the front of the cover. This would add more "fill". My covers were tight as a drum with the new foam. I used vinyl covers, though.

You look like you're making great progress. They look really good. :thumbs:

I suppose if you got lots of practice you could do this job relatively quick, but I spent probably 12 hours total on all 4 pieces.