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Thing Shop Front Seat Rebuild Kit Experiences?
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herewego
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:51 am    Post subject: Thing Shop Front Seat Rebuild Kit Experiences? Reply with quote

Does anyone have any experience using The Thing Shop front seat rebuild kit and re-covering their own front seats? I am moderately handy and good at following instructions, but don't have lots of experience in general and have no upholstery experience at all. Trying to keep the appearance as close to stock as possible.

Will I live to regret attempting this myself? Any idea how long it might take for a novice? Is the instructional DVD helpful enough? I've seen one or two passing references in other threads, but I'd appreciate any specific thoughts anyone might have.
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Semper_Dad
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

At one time you could order a free DVD that gave an overview of what the shop did. One part showed the assembly of a front seat. Looked pretty straight forward to me.
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Rabid Irish
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just used one of their rebuild kits and a set of their seat covers. All in all it was a great kit. The main thing is that you need to have a good starting point. By that I mean you need good frames and good springs. When you order the rebuld kit it will come with a DVD that walk you through the rebuild and recover. The only tool you will prob. need to purchase is a pair of hog ring pliers. It is a bit pricey for all the stuff but well worth it in my opinion. Another thing to keep in mind is that shipping is wicked exspensive from them. Over $100 to ship me the rebild parts to MD. Good luck I definitly reccomend their kit.
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Ferretkona
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, same as Rabid Irish said.
Straight forward, well made.
I got lucky when I ordered. I ordered before a VW show and they brought the order to the show where I loaded it in the truck.
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GI Joe
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike at Thingsunlimited.net has seat covers and parts as well. He's a TMI dealer and also carries some Thing Shop parts(i believe)...

I did my seats last year with his parts and am very satisfied and glad I didn't pay the $300 labor for an upholstery shop to install the kit..
Pics are in my build thread, search "Our Thing"...
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Big Red Love
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 1:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just completed this job. The seats look great! I could not be happier with the outcome. The DVD explained it all very well. Hardest part was finding the hog ring pliers.
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Semper_Dad
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Big Red Love wrote:
I just completed this job. The seats look great! I could not be happier with the outcome. The DVD explained it all very well. Hardest part was finding a good set of hog ring pliers.


Fixed, Avoid the cheap Chinese set and buy a good pair
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JBall8019
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello, how long did the rebuilds take ot perform? A weekend?
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blsthng
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:09 pm    Post subject: Seats Reply with quote

I used TTS rebuild kit and it went great. Like others have sais ensure your frames are in good shape.
The first seat took me about 3 hours
The second less than 2
I really don't move very quick
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GI Joe
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Semper_Dad wrote:

... Avoid the cheap Chinese set and buy a good pair


Can't echo this enough!! I think my cheap china plyers broke on the 7th ring of the 1st seat.... can't remember how many rings there were total, but 7 wasn't even near the end....

It's a good weekend project, If you restore your frames(rust bust, paint) and then install the fresh stuff. really not too tough at all with the modern kits sold.
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herewego
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great input as always. Thanks guys.
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CraigInPA
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did front seats with the TTS kit and covers this winter.

A couple of pointers:
1. As someone else said, buy GOOD hog ring pliers. Stretching the cover and trying to use regular pliers isn't going to result in a good outcome. Breaking the cheap chinese pliers 1/4 of the way through the job will result in a lot of frustration.

2. Watch the TTS video several times to familiarize yourself with the steps. Ignore the fact that the guy does a whole seat in 15 minutes. It's going to take you hours.

3. Be prepared with a wire brush, sandpaper, rust converting primer, and a flexible top paint (like bumper paint). Underneath your original covers and deteriorated coconut husk pad lurks rusty springs. If you're lucky, they'll be intact and only needing an hour or two of work per seat. If you're unlucky, they'll be rusted through and not salvagable (ask me how I know!), and you'll have to postpone finishing the project until you can acquire new-to-you ones from a junkyard.

4. Warm up the covers before you attempt to put them on. I draped mine over a radiator covered with a bath towel. Once warm, they stretch easier and go on nicer.

5. Get a tetnus shot if you haven't had one in 10 years. In handling the frames, with their pointy and rusty hold downs, I jabbed myself quite a few times.

6. The front seats remove from the car by removing the spring underneath and then pushing a tab on the right seat track down to allow them to slide off the track while pulling up on the front-back position handle. When you pull the seats, note the condition of the plastic rails. If they're broken, you should order up a new set.

The back seats are even easier, although for some reason the TTS video doesn't really go into how to do them, just how to re-install them.

I think replacing the front seat upholstery and padding is one of the easiest tasks a Thing owner can do, whether they know how to upholster or not.

Craig
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Ferretkona
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CraigInPA wrote:
4. Warm up the covers before you attempt to put them on. I draped mine over a radiator covered with a bath towel. Once warm, they stretch easier and go on nicer.
Agreed.
I left mine in the summer sun for a few hours first.
If you have a problem gripping I would get a good pair of rubber gloves to tug with.
I am now 52 and my grip is not what it was years past, I have a great pair of blue rubber gloves near by when I work. I use them to unload my truck or unloading trailers at work.
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herewego
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So I've ordered the kit, and I'll pick up the other supplies mentioned above. Do hog ring pliers come in different sizes? Is there a particular size I should buy?

I'll let you know how it goes.
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Ferretkona
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

herewego wrote:
So I've ordered the kit, and I'll pick up the other supplies mentioned above. Do hog ring pliers come in different sizes? Is there a particular size I should buy?

I'll let you know how it goes.
I am pretty sure one size fits all. Hog rings are originally rings you pressed into a pigs ear with a tag.
I have a pair I bought 40 years ago and they were likely 50 years or older then. Some nice old cast iron ones out there for pennies.
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74 Thing
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The one thing I hate about doing upholstry is that my hands hurt from trying to stretch the material the next day.

Def warm up the covers-turn them inside out and let them sit in the sun or toss them in your dryer for a bit and keep a hair dryer near by in case you want to heat them up during the installation. Also, someone told me you can use a dry cleaning plastic bag like your dress shirts come back in and put that over the front backrest and that will allow the cover to slide over easier.
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tyiii
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Slide your covers on then set them in the sun. when they get warm the vinyl will stretch easily . Harbor Freight sells nice hog ring pliers, not to exspensive.
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Big Luni
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I restored my seats with TTS kit in 1994 or 1995 as a completely inexperienced teenager, after the original upholstry had all but disintegrated. Nearly two decades later, they still look great, and have proven to be harder-wearing than the original seats by far.
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Ian Epperson
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did my front seats with the TTS kit back in 1997, and I'll echo what everyone else said: biggest issue is the springs/frames, it's a good weekend project, get a good set of hog-ring pliers, warm them up first.

The vinyl looks great and is heavier than the original. My car has been a daily driver most years since 1997, and has only recently been pampered with a garage - those covers have been in the sun for almost every summer since. Two years back, the driver seat started tearing and now they're ready for replacement again. More than 10 years of abuse, I'll buy them again when I decide to ditch the covers currently on the seats.

Oh, and if you use glue that requires ventilation, USE VENTILATION. I ended up being sick for days afterwards.
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herewego
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So I received the kit. The video starts with seats that have already been completely dismantled, including the adjustment/reclining mechanism on the side. It shows him re-installing the cams on the rod that runs through the back of the seat bottom, including tapping pieces back on with a small hammer and driving a nail to hold the mechanism together. The kit does not include any parts for that mechanism, so the assumption is obviously that you will re-use those parts from the seat.

My question: did everyone dismantle the seats to that extent and rebuild the mechanism, or did you just separate the front from the back, strip it and clean everything up before putting on the new pads, covers, etc.? I want to do as thorough a job as possible, and I'm willing to take the time to take apart, lube and rebuild the mechanism, but I'm concerned that I will damage some mechanism parts in the process. That is, if they are tapped on with a hammer and held together with a nail, a rubber piece and a bit of plastic, am I going to be able to get it apart without wrecking pieces that I will not be able to easily replace?
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