Front Bucket Seat Covers

[Tcash]

Thanks to Resto-raider

[quote="Resto-raider"]Time for another upgrade. I ordered new front bucket seat covers from TMI in original style basketweave with smooth sides. The color is off-white (05). I am really happy with what showed up in a big box from UPS.
The covers look pretty much like the original ones.

Couldn't wait to start, so When I got back home last night at 9.30 pm I started tearing off the old covers and managed to replace one cover of the passenger seat with the open back.

Before. Torn and the wrong colour for my Savannah Beige bus.

The back. Loosened all the metal tabs to take off the old cover.

Take the metal strips out of the edges of the old cover, to reuse with the new cover.

Old cover is off

The felt that was underneath was totally shot so I removed it.

New pieces of felt.

To keep the new felt in place I taped them around the edges with some cheap kind of Duct tape. This will make it easier to slide the new cover over it and keeps everything where it should be. I used the tape on the top and also on the side.

New cover is on, but the lower part has not been strapped to the back yet. This is a hard job to do. I had to stand with my full weight on the back while the seat was lying on the floor face down, to compress the springs. Then with some moderate force I managed to hook the lower section into the back.

The end result of the first cover. I believe I started with the easiest one, beacuse of the open back, but it still cost me 1,5 hour to get here. The next one will hopefully go a lot quicker.

I will continue tonight replacing the rest of the seat and perhaps start the same procedure on the drivers side.

I didn't use a new hair pad because the one on there was still in good shape although it is still the original one. Today I replaced the seat base cover and this hair pad had to be replaced because it was all sagged and the structure was gone.

I managed to finish the seat tonight. I needed another 1 to 1,5 hours to finish it because the seat base is harder to do than the back.

Old cover

Old cover taken off

Old hair pad removed

New hair pad installed

Plastic over the hair pad and felt to make it easier to slide the cover over the base.

Slit the cover over the seat base, but did not pull it over the outer frame yet.

Compressed the springs and managed to pull the cover over the outer frame.

Put the stuff on the backside on again.

One bucket seat finished

Picture of the seat in the bus, taken in pitch black at 11 pm

[Resto-raider]

I see you have found my restoration topic. Suddenly I see photo quotes of my bus in all kind of topics
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- Baywindow microbus- aug '68 - 1641cc twinport (AS)
- Mk1 Golf (rabbit) - june 1977

[TMI Products]

looks great!
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Mario De Leon
1965 Turbo Mustang Fastback
1966 Type 3 Fastback
VW Division Sales Manager
[email protected]

TMI Products
1493 Bentley Dr.
Corona Ca, 92879
1-800-624-7960
951-272-1584 FAX

[Red Fau Veh]

That does look good! I am a skeered to do mine, looks crazy hard.
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1971 Deluxe Sunroof Bay 1905 stroker, dual idf40's, 74mm Scat forged crank, engle 110 cam. CB 044 heads, AutoCraft rockers, chromoly push rods
1973 Orange transporter stock type 4 with dual 40 Dellortos and Empi single quiet pack
1969 Adventurewagen blue whale Gene Berg 1776 built by Dave Kawell dual 36 DRLA's, Vintage Speed exhaust, Bosch 019 screamer
1961 Swivel Seat camper, L345 grey

[Trashman]

Would this be the equivalent to the 33 Light Grey that came on buses from '68 - '70?
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Bagged 1968 Neptune Blue "Deluxe"