re-upholstering seats (pics)

tbitz · 03-16-2003, 10:45 AM

My vinyl driver seat was in bad shape and I've been wanting to recover them for a while. The passenger seat is in OK shape, but both have to be done to match.

Just my luck Auto International had some leather re-upholstering covers on ebay that were the exact color I needed. So I decided to pick them up. I was very impressed with the quality when I got them. The covers are really nice and professionally done.

I had the passenger seat out while I was doing my EFI conversion so I decided to recover this seat. It is not a simple job, but is definitely in the DIY realm. It took one afternoon, a few cuts and blisters to do one seat. The next seat will go quicker.

Here are the before pics:

And here is the recovered seat:

tryan · 03-16-2003, 10:55 AM

the seats look great.

i sat in the 914 with a key sticking out of my back pocket. i'm thinking of stealing a strip of basket weave from behind the door pocket

Doug Zielke · 03-16-2003, 10:58 AM

What a great looking job, Tony!
When can I send mine to you?

Dan Owens · 03-17-2003, 08:21 AM

Tony,

Nice job. How loose was the cover once you put it back on? Did you notice much shrinkage of the foam? I understand that if you have some minimal shrinkage you can steam the faom and have it swell back up for a tighter fit. I'm doing my sport seats right now.

Dan O

tbitz · 03-17-2003, 08:43 AM

Dan,

The cover is fairly tight. This was the passenger seat, so it probably hasn't been sat on as much for the past 25 years. I guess the foam hasn't shrinked much.

Thanks for the steaming tip. I may need to use it on the drivers seat. I'll be doing it in the next week. I'll post my finding on the foam then.

Let me know how yours goes.

RickM · RickM's Garage

Excellent job...looks like new.

BGCarrera32 · 03-17-2003, 09:13 AM

Excellent...that's the color I need. Can you post specifics on who Auto International is and how to get ahold of them?

Fantastic job...

tbitz · 03-17-2003, 09:52 AM

The color of the leather is "cork".

The person I talked to was: "Jeff Nielsen Autos International" his email address is Melwrm@aol.com

Tell him Tony the guy who bought the cork covers on ebay sent you.

GeorgeK · 03-17-2003, 10:24 AM

Oh boy, does that bring memories...

I went from the 2 skins to the 2 seats with these... couldn't use my fingers for a while.
GeorgeK

tbitz · 03-22-2003, 11:03 AM

I have taken apart my drivers seat to be re-upholstred too. The seat cushion looks to have some shrinkage. In hindsight I should have swapped cushions with the passenger seat since it hasn't has as much use

Oh well, I'm tempted to go back take appart the already completed passenger seat.....

I am going to try the steaming technique suggested by Dan, to "revive" it. If this doesn't work maybe I'll take apart the passenger seat. I looked into the cost of the cushion and I found a place on the web $235US just for one seat cushion!

Here are some pics:

Jandrews · 03-22-2003, 01:15 PM

I have an extra set of these seats in the "cork" leather that I didn't really know what to do with. After seeing this post, I would maybe consider redoing them in black.

I would be very interested to see what you end up doing with the cushions. No way I would pay 2 hun for a single cushion, but I might be willing to try the steaming. What about getting some high quality bulk foam and trying to sculpt your own cushions? This is probably no small task, I'm sure. I am open to ideas on what to do with these seats, however, so keep us posted.

Also, would it be overly rude to ask for a ballpark on what you paid for the covers?

Thanks,

JA

MRM · 03-22-2003, 01:35 PM

So you're the one who got them. I was watching them intently, but didn't bid for some reason. After the auction was over I felt like kicking myself. Glad they went to a good home and that I didn't run up the price for a fellow pelicanite.

I believe these went for $250 (do I remember right?) but there are several similar to it on ebay right now in the $300+ range.

For another fish that got away story, about the same time an entire 84-86 cab leather interior was up for bid starting at $700. I was watching that baby too, but the seller pulled it before the auction was complete and I didn't get a chance to bid. Same seller asked for about $2,000 for the same interior on his web site.

Jandrews · 03-22-2003, 01:42 PM

Actually MRM, I have had these seats for around five years. They came with my car as extras, and they have been sitting in the basement since then. I have thought about selling them, but I have also thought about re-doing them - both for the project and the end result.

If it turns out that I can't realistically re-do them, I will let you know.

JA

Elombard · 03-22-2003, 06:11 PM

You might try binging the foam by an auto uphostery place. I had a seat recovered one time and I was amazed at what they could do with old foam for very cheap.

tbitz · 03-22-2003, 07:26 PM

I tried using steam to revive the seat cushion, but I don't think it made a big difference. I decided to go ahead and reuse the cushion. I figured I could always change it in the future if I wanted. Here is a pic of the second seat complete. Comparing to the passenger seat (posted earlier) the drivers seat doesn't fill the seat cover as well, but it still looks OK.

I could also swap the drivers seat with the passenger seat. The only problem is the controls would be on the opposite side, not that big of a deal, really....

MRM · 03-23-2003, 06:02 PM

I was referring to Tbitz buying the covers from Auto International on ebay. I'm pretty sure they were the same ones I was watching and didn't bid on. Let me know if you want to sell your seats.