Paul L

...on my car. I set out last autumn to gather parts for a seat refurbishment and to add RPO A82 headrests and RPO A85 shoulder belts. These were rare options in 1967 with 1,762 of the former delivered and 1,426 of the latter. The production run was 22,940.

My intent was just to buy new covers and have them installed but as with most projects this one got out of hand. It's the "while you're at it" phenomenon hard at work. Some of that I blame on cabin fever and the urge to do something in the winter while my car is hibernating. I basically decided that the restoration would be complete short of the seat frames. So from a number of sources I accumulated these parts:
-headrests, mounting hardware, bezels
-seat belts
-seat covers
-plastic seat backs
-complete set of screws, bolts, washers, etc
-seat hinges or hockey sticks (EBay and then rechromed)
-seat cover installation kit (wires, clamps, etc.)
-seat top chrome trims
-seat release levers
-seat foams

I dropped by the storage depot on Friday and saw my car for the first time since October. She still looks pretty! Pulled the seats out and inspected the frames. They are in very fine condition but will be cleaned up and painted after the headrest brackets are welded on.

I am having the work professionally done after checking with friends and doing a little detective work. My choice was a one-man shop that looks like it is ready to fall over in a good wind. The owner looks like he just came back from Woodstock but...I saw examples of his work during my first visit. By coincidence he had just finished a set of 1967 leather seats. Very nice! At my age I should know better than to judge a book by its cover.

He has all the parts now and the job should be done by next Friday. I should have the seats back in shortly thereafter. The seat belts will have to wait until the car comes out of storage as the back wheels have to come off and that is not permitted by the storage company.

Thought I would share a little bit of progress with you. Some pics of components below.







Rechromed EBay hockey sticks



Here is a before pic. The covers were generally in fine condition but there were a few little things that I wished corrected.




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[Modified by paul67, 10:14 AM 3/14/2004]

joeveto

:cheers:

That's really cool Paul.

red79c3

Looking good. I'm doing the interior on my 79 right now too. :party:

Paul L

Thanks Ed. You know the old seats were in very good condition but sometimes I have a senior moment and do some odd things.

Paul L

Good luck with that project! I have a soft spot for 1979s. Here is my former L-82.

1FUNVET

WOW paul your interior was already looking good, man I can't wait to see it when it's re-done.

Here's what my carpet looks like now




so as you can see me and my hubby have our work cut out for us. This is how it was when I bought it and we knew about it, but I figured for what I paid for the car I can pay for new interior and still come out ahead of the game. Good Luck and I can't wait to see your completed pics. :hurray:

Jack71

That is going to look sharp. Is re-chroming very expensive?

Paul L

My carpets are fine.



When you do the carpets here's a hint as to how to keep them new. When I sold my 1979 the carpets were original and just as they came from the factory. The product is a rigid plastic liner that can be removed and hit with a garden hose to clean. Your shoes never touch the carpet. The company is Fox and the product is Weatherboots.




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Paul L

Yes rechroming is not cheap. But I have had some bad experiences with repro products and I wished to get a factory look, fit and finish. The chroming on the hockey sticks ran about $50.00 each. My cost on Ebay was $25.00 for the four. You can get a set of four repros for about $150.00. I do not know the quality level of the repros and I was not about to take a chance.

This is how they looked before rechroming.




[Modified by paul67, 4:18 PM 3/14/2004]

stingraymaniac

lookin good! :cool:
im into my interior also,its gonna be put together next week
:smash:

1FUNVET

Hey Paul-
Thanks for the advice, I was just looking at that in Ecklers today. :cool: However I saw these cool floormats I likes and now my hubby says to pick one or the other. I'll let you know what I decide. We will begin working after I order my new interior, which will be by the end of March. This next weekend my hubby is doing the shocks and bushings and just pretty much overhauling the front end. Keep checking my website and you will see each mod as they are done!!! :cheers: Thanks again Paul!!! :grouphug:

Paul L

When it all come together it gives a person a great deal of satisfaction. See the pic of the 1979 above. That car was lovely!

Paul L

This may be too late but I have a set of new A-arm bushings that I will never use. Let me know if you need them. The price is...Forum goodwill.

R1234

Your interior looks great before the seat recovering and it gonna look awsome with the new headrest. I would like to someday add the headrest option to my 68 (If I can find a set).

Paul L

Good question. I am now tied up with Family matters for the evening but Dr. Rebuild does have 1968-69 head rests. I am not familiar with what hardware might be needed. None is listed.

R1234

Dr Rebuild's catalog has the covers and the foam, no complete head rest. I think I'll have to go the used parts route to find some. I just saw a used set go thru ebay but did not sale at $151.00 due to a higher reserve.

medic007

:cool: