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Sat Sep 26, 2009 12:00 pm

Pepper's new upholstry got here this week! I finally unpacked the boxes today and laid out some of the pieces. Over the next few weeks I'll be replacing the floor panels, doing a bit of work on the weatherstripping, then getting all this stuff installed.

I've read all the topics on how to best approach, so I feel pretty well-prepared. Thanks to all who have gone before me!

I'll be sure to take pics as I go, and will document here.

I'm so excited! :D

Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:15 pm

So, this weekend the weather was warm and dry, and I didn't have a bunch of stuff I HAD to do, so I did just what I WANTED to do, instead.

I've read posts where stretching the vinyl over the headrest foam was described as the most difficult part of doing your seat covers, so I started with those. I figured, If I screwed up one or more of the headrests, I could just drive around with ugly headrests, but if I screwed up the seats - eh, not so much.

I started by removing the old headrest cover. I wasn't quite sure how they went together, so I kinda picked around until I figured out how it worked. I figured out, the edges of the covers tuck into this channel, right here:

I pried those edges up and out, then seeing how dried and cracked the vinyl was, I decided they couldn't/shouldn't be reused. I slit the covers up the sides to remove the cover the rest of the way.

Looking down at my hands, I realized this was going to be a dirty job, and I'd better wash my hands often to avoid messing up my new covers.

I cleaned up the headrest, too - there was a lot of rust and crap in what I'm affectionately calling the "tuck channels".

I looked everything over carefully, and decided to unroll the cover down over the headrest rather than turning it right-side out and pulling it down over the foam. It seemed like the best way. It was not terribly warm this weekend, so I used the dryer method to warm up the vinyl before I started. It helped to have someone to compress the foam while I turned the cover inside out. I started slow, but once I got the edges turned over, I tried to pull the cover down as fast as I could, while the foam was compressed, to avoid stretching the vinyl and ripping the seams"

Once it was on, I straightened out the seams by tucking my hand in between the cover and the foam, and pushing the seams so they'd lay toward the top and sides, rather than the front and back, where they'd be more visible:

Before I did the final tucks and stretches, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to close up the "tuck channel" a bit more, and warmed the whole shebang in the dryer again:

I tucked the flap on the back side, first, which went pretty smooth. I realized, however, that one of the plastic edging pieces had a sharp corner, which you could see poking into the underside of the vinyl. I decided it was a good idea to round the remaining edges so it wouldn't happen again. You can see it in this picture, just above and to the right of the corner of this plastic edging piece (already trimmed):

To make the holes for the headrest posts, I used the bottom portion of the old cover as a template, drew the holes, and cut them out prior to folding over the last piece of vinyl. Also, I heated the headrest in the dryer one more time before slipping the holes over the posts. Like buttah:

A little more tucking, and here's the finished product:

Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:23 pm

Cookies!

I'll be watching this closely because this is going to be a project for the wife late winter or early spring.

Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:10 pm

Moving on to seat covers. Here's the tab you depress to pull the seat out:

The advice of having a person sit behind the seat and push with their feet while a second person guides the seat off the tracks was put to good use. The seat came out with ease. Now, for the disassembly. Removed the plastic edging piece - noticed it was cracked. Fixed it with epoxy before I reinstalled it:

Removed the bolts that hold the seatback on:

Saved the wavy washers:

Pulled off the seat release button (just pull straight off):

And the decorative flange that caps the opening for it (carefully pried it up with a screwdriver):

I pulled off the springs that attach to the lumbar adjuster:

..and then leveraged the seat back rails off the screws with a really big screwdriver (no pic, but I think you can figure this one out on your own).

I decided to cut the seatback cover off - like the headrest, the vinyl was really cracked. When I got to this point, I decided to put the dust mask on (what can I say - I'm a delicate flower :))

The masonite backer beard for the seatback was still in great shape - it still had the original plastic layer over the foam. The foam was disintegrating, though, so I replaced that with some batting. I kept the plastic cover, partly for posterity, partly because, well, why put a new one on when there was nothing wrong with this one?

Then it was time to pry up those famous v-tabs. There are some at the back, and at the front. Once you pry up the the back tabs, you can pull the edge of the seat cover off. There's a sleeve at the edge of the seat cover, where you'll find a metal rod you will save and use to install your new seat cover:

Like with the headrest, there's a "tuck channel" on each side of the seat bottom. The edge of the new seat cover will tuck into that channel. As you disassemble, take notice of how the cord lies into the bottom of that channel, and ties onto the seat bottom:

Looky what I found - a second layer of seat cover! Unfortunately, it was not the original - I could tell the holes in the top of the seatback cover were poorly made. This is at least the third time these seats have been covered.

I took special notice of how the foam was layered onto the seat. I wanted to recreate as closely as possible the shape of the foam, as I was pleased with the PO had covered the seats. No ripples, sagging, etc. on the seat bottom.

I bought additional batting to install with the TMI foam kit. I forgot to take a picture, but I also cut out a sort of half-guitar shape to go on the outside edges of the seats to give it more padding. These and the square piece I installed between the springs and the foam, not between the foam and the seat cover. You'll see later, I don't think I added enough. I was concerned about how others described having difficulty getting the seat covers over the seat because of the foam, and I didn't want to over-do it. I have ripples and sagging near the edges of the finished seat bottom. I'll experiment a bit more with the passenger seat, then go back to this one and install just that much more padding.

I didn't take before and after pics of the seat frames, but as you can imagine, I cleaned them up, coated them with rust preventative, and hit them with some Rustoleum before I moved on. The rest of the work took place inside and at night, so the pictures get a bit darker and less frequent at this point. I figure I'll do a better job of documenting the next seat and be sure to have good lighting.

Rather than sisal or burlap, I used a fabric remnant of similar weight (the price was right) to cover the springs and then slipped on a layer of batting, and the TMI foam piece for the seat back:

I clipped on the seat backer board under the little clips at the back of the seat frame:

Again, more pics will be added when I complete the other side, but installation is pretty much the reverse of the disassembly. Here's a basic narrative of how I did it:

I slipped a plastic bag over the seat frame (from the bottom up), slipped the seat cover over the seatback (it went over relatively easily - love the plastic bag trick), and I got to the point where I had to decide where to punch the holes for the headrest posts. I didn't take a pic, because I was pretty disappointed with the results. The holes are pretty much covered by the plastic dress pieces on the headrest posts, but since I know they're not right, I zero in on it right away.

Referencing another's post to be careful where to punch the holes (he said something like "they don't end up where you think they would by looking at how the cover is situated"), I tried to accurately gauge where the holes should go based on someone else's "finished" picture. Their pic showed the holes punched pretty close to center on the vinyl, which is probably right where their posts were when they pulled the seatback cover all the way down. That's where the posts were on my passenger seat, too. When I had the cover pulled all the way down, and mostly centered as to where I thought it would be when I pulled the cover over the posts, the holes would have fallen just a bit closer to the back of the seat - perhaps because the frames were bent a bit, or perhaps because the seat foam is different than on my passenger seat. I made an "adjustment" to move the holes closer to the center of the vinyl, but shouldn't have. I should have trusted how it looked. The posts don't quite match up to the holes.

I used the hammer method, by the way, which worked great. I realize some recommend using X cuts to make the holes, but decided not to use that method because, just like with the "punch the hole by hammering on the end of the headrest post" method, if I made the cuts in the wrong place, I'd see it. And, with the slices, I thought there'd be a greater chance of tearing than with punched holes. It was just the way I decided to roll.

Cutting a slit for the seat release flange and button was easy - I could feel the workings through the vinyl, so I just made a slit and pressed the flange into place, then replaced the button.

The seat bottom went on easily, too. You slip those metal rods into the sleeves at the front and back of the cover, then stretch the vinyl over the v-tabs to secure. The string at the front of the cover lays down into the "tuck channel", and ties onto the bottom seat rail. Then you tuck the outside edges over and into the tuck channels. As I said before, I wasn't very happy with how it looked. I was really focused, so I also failed to document that part with pics as I went, so I'll be sure to do that when I complete the passenger's side.

Here's how the driver's seat looks installed in the car:

I can't tell you what a difference the new padding makes when driving. For the first time since I've started driving this car, I can see over the steering wheel without sitting on a pillow!

Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:19 pm

I don't think you are doing something right, I see no blood on, in or in any proximity of the new covers. :lol: Looks like a fine job you are doing, get the rest just like it :wink: JP

Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:30 pm

LOL!

This is the only casualty, so far - that, and the bump on my head I got jumping up to roll up the windows when we were trying to install the seat last night and all of a sudden it started POURING DOWN RAIN!

I expected much more, after listening to the v-tab horror stories! :lol:

Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:37 pm

Yeah, them little rascals will vaccinate you about like the copperheads around my parts cars. Looks great girl.......

Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:09 pm

Was supposed to be banging on the decklid today to repair the dents from the rear-ender a few weeks ago, but dammitall, it's cold as Hell and RAINING AGAIN!

I decided instead it was time to do the door panels. They look really good! :D

The new leather steering wheel cover looks pretty sweet, too!

Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:39 pm

I love it when the upholstery goes in, it make the call look complete!

Great colors!

Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:50 pm

thx for such informative step by step post on the seat covers! i'm gonna have to attempt this one of these days. :)

Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:50 pm

A well documented tutorial -- thanks. I'm encouraged to try the same...... How many hours would estimate it required to complete each front seat?

Sun Sep 19, 2010 1:53 pm

Glad it will help someone out. I did the first seat over the course of two days. That included time to figure out what I was doing, time for paint to dry, and family time.

Not including time for the paint on the frame to dry, the second seat only took me about 3 hours of actual labor. It went so fast, I didn't take the time to take pictures as promised earlier. :oops: I broke down the seats, stripped the old cover, brushed the rust off the frame, painted the frame (insert about 3 hours of dry time for paint) affixed the new padding, pulled on the new seat cover and put the whole seat back together all in one day.

I also had to use some hog rings on the second seat. Two of the tabs on that one broke when I pulled them back to pull off the cover, so even if you aren't sure you'll need to use them, I'd suggest having the hog ring pliers and hog rings to have on hand, just in case.

I think this was my favorite part of the restoration. Even using relatively inexpensive TMI covers and door panels, it made SUCH a difference to the look of the car!

Sun Sep 19, 2010 7:31 pm

74Pepper wrote: Glad it will help someone out. I did the first seat over the course of two days. That included time to figure out what I was doing, time for paint to dry, and family time.

Not including time for the paint on the frame to dry, the second seat only took me about 3 hours of actual labor. It went so fast, I didn't take the time to take pictures as promised earlier. :oops: I broke down the seats, stripped the old cover, brushed the rust off the frame, painted the frame (insert about 3 hours of dry time for paint) affixed the new padding, pulled on the new seat cover and put the whole seat back together all in one day.

I also had to use some hog rings on the second seat. Two of the tabs on that one broke when I pulled them back to pull off the cover, so even if you aren't sure you'll need to use them, I'd suggest having the hog ring pliers and hog rings to have on hand, just in case.

I think this was my favorite part of the restoration. Even using relatively inexpensive TMI covers and door panels, it made SUCH a difference to the look of the car!

We're encouraged to try it.... We also have a red Ghia, and like your choice of fabric colors ..... Thank you.

Sun Sep 19, 2010 9:18 pm

great tutorial and just at right time. will be ordering this week