Recovering a bucket race seat

[gliding_serpent]

I am hoping to get a kick in the right direction.

An attempt to get Momo Supercup race seats recovered locally with dark brown vinyl did not go as planned. As such, I am regrouping and doing some homework first.

The problem as I see it (and my understanding of the topic is quite limited), is that one-piece fiberglass bucket seats are tough to recover given the lack of anchor points for the fabric on the inside of the bucket (edit, for the outside it is a metal wire). For the OEM momo covers, it is Velcro. We have all seen beautifully recovered race seats, and I am assuming there is a trick to the anchoring problem; Integrating in a wire support system, epoxying in high strength fasteners, fabric adhesives, or maybe some seats are not designed for such recovering, and some are. Or maybe, there is just a trick to it that does not require fasteners.

In the meantime, the upholsterer that I gave my seats to does not know the answer, so I want to send my seats to someone who does.

There is a fellow Pelican that I remember to be an upholstery expert. Can anyone help me get started on this project?

What I have


What I want

[H-viken]

The Recaro Pole Positions use a wire around the perimeter that tightens the upholstery on the backside (looks like the Sparcos in your pic has the same set-up)

Johan

[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by H-viken

The Recaro Pole Positions use a wire around the perimeter that tightens the upholstery on the backside (looks like the Sparcos in your pic has the same set-up)

Johan

The momos have the same outer wire. I am wondering how (or if) heavier fabric like vinyl or leather must be anchored on the inner portion of the bucket... Under/around the seat and lumbar cusions.

[gliding_serpent]

Magnus Walker did a set of the same seats for his 964 build. Sent him an email. Lets see if he can share any tips. Worse case scenario, maybe he will sell me a single original over to replace the one the the upholsterer destroyed.



Separating the plastic harness hole surrounds can be done... but I have yet to succeed.

[sleepy911]

I've been doing this for 25 years now. What I found out is find a different upholsterer. Every trimmer has his strengths and weaknesses. You need to find someone else. Yes those seats are tricky and you cant use just any vinyl or it might not work. I've seen many guys fail because they were using material that wasnt right for the job.

[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by sleepy911

Yes those seats are tricky and you cant use just any vinyl or it might not work. I've seen many guys fail because they were using material that wasnt right for the job.

I presume you want vinyl with a bit more stretch?

How do you advise anchoring the vinyl/leather in the regions under the seat cusion?

[gliding_serpent]

Bumping for exposure. I had emailed Magnus Walker originally as i heard he responds, and if nothing else, i figured i might get a oem replacement cover. with his terrible news, i will let it slide. Seats are just seats.

[zl0ca]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

Bumping for exposure. I had emailed Magnus Walker originally as i heard he responds, and if nothing else, i figured i might get a oem replacement cover. with his terrible news, i will let it slide. Seats are just seats.

just be patient he generally does respond. I believe his wife passed away a few days ago

[gliding_serpent]

She did. Must be tough.

[xjoegtix]

try loves trim in Georgia! He's great!




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[gliding_serpent]

Thanks for that link. Shipping would not make it feasible, but it looks like he coud do it, and give tips on how it is done.

[xjoegtix]

Call him he was cool about shipping with me.


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[gliding_serpent]

When i looked into shipping last year the best i could get was 300$ each way. But his work looks stellar.

[gliding_serpent]

For anyone interested, I found someone local (Moncton, New Brunswick. East Coast of Canada). He used to do a lot of work for SEMA cars and won best interior in 2009. https://www.facebook.com/Collins-Auto-Upholstery-313061509961/ Great guy to work with.

The trick is indeed adding in an internal wire frame. Below is one of my momo seats that he stripped down and added an internal wire frame to. He is starting with all new foam and the seat will have a totally different look, and different seat cushion design... closer to a Recaro Pole position but fancier.


When they are done I will post his step by step photos. What goes into a "from scratch" job like I am giving him is incredible. Because these seats (and their foam) were not designed for leather, he had to start will all new custom foam (well he did not have to, but to do a proper job of it, he did).

[unclebilly]

I had my cobra Imola Kevlar seats done a few years ago. They came out great but use Velcro to hold the cushions in place.

[gliding_serpent]

My guy hates velcro. Here is a tease of what is to come. No more copying the brown seats. This will be truly unique. This is my family tartan.







Sneak peak in my build thread: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/canada/881579-1984-911-3-4-sleeper-hotrod-end-beginning-part-2-a-11.html#post9019684

[schmidder]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

My guy hates velcro. Here is a tease of what is to come. No more copying the brown seats. This will be truly unique. This is my family tartan.







Sneak peak in my build thread: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/canada/881579-1984-911-3-4-sleeper-hotrod-end-beginning-part-2-a-11.html#post9019684

This the same gliding serpent from the old almsfans forum...has to be...miss those days!!

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[gliding_serpent]

Originally Posted by schmidder

This the same gliding serpent from the old almsfans forum...has to be...miss those days!!

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Haha... it is. Small world. I wonder what ever happened to old Murphy the bear. Interestingly, I call my car Murphy, but for unrelated reasons.