The front seats on my 57 are fairly well worn, and sitting on them is more like sitting IN them. Obviously complete repair and reupolstery would be ideal, however I was wondering if you guys have ever bought any type of padding, and used it under a cover or blanket to make it a little less painful to drive your car around town. If so, what did you use and where did you buy it? TIA.
In one of the local Hot Rod 101 cl***es, we learned how to restuff seats. You can buy cotton batting at an upholstery store, but my favorite method involves using blankets and comforters from the thrift store. Here's a quick and easy rundown of the process. Pull your seat out, and remove the back, so you're only working with one cushion at a time. I ***ume you're focusing on the bottom of the front seat, so we'll use that as an example. All car upholstery is held on with "hog rings", little steel wires that clamp through the upholstery onto the wire frame underneath. Cut those all off and remove all the fabric and old padding. If you've got broken springs or rusty tracks, now's the time to fix them. When I have broken springs, I like to salvage good used ones from extra back seats from other cars, but you can buy them new also. At the very least, clean up all the springs and put some paint on them to keep them from rusting. Get yourself some thin guage wire mesh (any home store will have it, it comes on a roll and it's cheap), cut it to fit over the top of the old springs, and attatch it to the top of the seat springs with zip ties or hog rings. This will keep the padding from sinking down into the springs, it will also keep mice from chewing on it. Burlap works in place of the mesh if you want to keep it original style. Now is when you could use the batting that they sell at the store, but if you're on the budget plan, grab some old comforters from the closet or the thrift store. You want the kind with padding in the middle of two layers of fabric, not a single layer blanket. You'll want to layer that on over the wire mesh, and try to get at least one layer to stretch down the front of the seat frame, so the springs and frame don't wear through your upholstery. The more layers you use, the more cushy it's going to be. Most of it will get compressed down when you put the cover on it so use several layers. You can attatch that with zip ties or hog rings again. Now you need to cover it with something. If there's anything left of the seat upholstery that you cut off, you can reuse it, you could buy a generic seat cover at the auto parts store and attatch it properly with hog rings, I like to rob the upholstery covers off of back seats of junk cars which are usually real nice, then hog ring them on over the new seat (find one with similar dimensions) Or, just get yourself a big chunk of vinyl or fabric (single sided blankets work here) and attatch that over the top of the padding. You want the cover to be tight and put pressure on the padding, you don't want the cover to be loose or the padding will bunch up. With some time and effort you should be able to come up with a very respectable recovered seat, without spending too much money.
Sorry, not to hijack the post, but where would I find new, replacement parts for my seat? (i.e. hog rings, squiggly metal things that are hooked to the springs, etc.) Thanks, Ben
Now thats what I call an answer! Hadn't even thought of the thrift shop blanket route. I reupholstered a seat or two before, but it was with the correct pad and cover, so this is going to be some experimental territory. Thanks.
Umm, yeah, tried that before I asked... didn't see anything even resembling repair parts, just complete seat ***emblies, and then foam, and finally covering materials... I've been known to be blind, but I looked, and didn't see anything. Ben
You should be able to get hog rings and spring clips at any upholstery supply. http://www.larrydennis.com/supplies/trimsupplies/tcaf.asp Replacement springs are sometimes available. What kind of seat are you trying to rebuild?
Sorry Ben, Hampton Coach has hog rings and pliers. I know there's others but thats just off the top of my head. Luck to ya. Charlie
Bench seat in a Bel-Air. Springs appear to be in good shape, just need some padding for under the blanket.
You can order a bag of hog rings and the neccesary pliers from most auto restoration parts places...I got mine for a Chevelle I did at National Parts Depot (NPD)...but I'm sure any of your Ford/Chevy restoration type parts places which sell interior replacement kits would carry them...they may even sell the spring repair pieces. Might pay a little more than direct from an auto upholstery shop catalog, maybe not. I never checked.
I should just pack the seat up and ship it to you! It's the bench out of my '53 F-100. I just want to go the nickel route for now, hopefully upgrade sometime in a couple years. Ben
This is a little high tech, but wow it really works!!! My father-in-law bought some of the space foam (like a tempr-pedic bed). It comes in different densities and thicknesses. He built seats for his Cobra kit car (Yeah I told him he should build a rod, but oh well). No springs, just the foam between you and the seat pans. The seats are harder than hell when you first sit in them, but after about two minutes you sink in a little and they hug you while still having good support. You could put a thin layer of this foam over your springs and factory padding and still be able to get stock seat covers on. Good Luck. Tell us how it turns out.
I get mine at the local fabric store! It has a small upholstery shop inside, and they have everything you need to put under the upholstery...burlap, horsehair, foam in different thickness, batting, hog rings, pliers, etc. Look outside the usual 'auto shop' places. Some regular upholstery shops will sell you small quan***ies of supplies, as well. They seem to use all the same materials/tools.
You can get hog rings or smaller ones called shoat rings [for little hogs] and pliers at Tractor Suppy or farm stores .they are not called hog rings for nothing you know. AT last some good came out of being raised on a dirt farm.
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