I have some original upholstery that is in pretty good shape... a few signs of wear but pretty darn good. There is a seam that is un-sewn in the front and the rears are mint... I remember as a kid riding in cars with clear seat covers that had a diamond plate look to them so I did a search and found JC Whitney has some reproduction ones that looked like I remembered... Has anybody tried them or do you know anybody that has ordered them. I am trying to find out: How they hold up Do they keep moisture in the seats (preventing them from breathing) do they tear easily?
I'd like to know too, I bought some old sets in the box that I'm hoping to make work on my Edsel. I like the look, like an early 60's living room where all the furniture is covered in plastic.
I had them on a 69 LeMans. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter and since we didn't wear seatbelts back then, hang on when goin around a corner. It came in useful to get your date to slide on over though! Warm them up out in the sun before hog ringing them onto your seats. We always removed the seats to put them on. They will last a few years before falling apart. But then I am talking about original ones, not the current Asian ones from JC Whitney. They are probably pretty similar though.
I remember those from way back. Ride in there without a shirt on in the summer and your back sticks to em. They also turn a brownish color in the sun.
When I was kid growing up in the Chicago Metro area, there was RAYCO seat cover shops. A lot of people put the clear covers on their new cars. Seems I remember even a "quilted" version around 60's. If you do a google search for Rayco seat covers, you'll find some stuff. stu
Try Autocraft. I used to install these in the early to mid 90`s. Not real durable. The patterned stuff is called puff. I still have some left over from a job I did back then.
Had them on a 56 merc. Put a knee on the seat to get something out of the back. Broke through it was winter. Protected the seats well but kinda a pain.
I remember them very well from riding in Aunty Ivy's 1965 Dodge. They made you feel very hot and sweaty, and if you were wearing short pants, your legs had that diamond plate pattern embossed into your legs with little red welts. Everybody had those seat covers but they weren't so great if you were a little kid.
I can tell you from digging around in the junkyard, they can preserve seats for a good 40 years!! I tore an old cover off to find a '60 chevy seat in amazing condition underneath.
I grew up with those covers on my parents car in Chicago area. Hot a sweaty summer..freezing hard in winter... RAYCO...yep..boy I hated those seats...
The DIAMOND DESIGN ones used to be the used car dealer's best mending tool many years ago when everyone smoked. Press a set of those on the seats and you couldn't see the cigarette burns anymore. Just like magic!
I feel quite nostalgic for wooden beaded seat covers. Used to have a set in my 2CV - much nicer in the summer than the OEM Vinyl
I guess some dealers installed them back in the day. As I recall, they were impervious to almost anything, hot as hell in the summer though. If you had a smoker's car, they were often tinted brown from the nicotine. They used to make covers for the visors as well. I still have a local Rayco shop, but they do mostly repairs now and might not be in the seat cover business. Bob
Grandpa had the dealer install them new in his 1962 Impala SS, never forget sliding around on them. And the plastic smell was almost overwhelming when they were new as I recall.
I had a friend with a 65 Malibu (not an SS) with a L-79 4spd, 4.11 posi and those clear plastic seat covers. That was the only car from the 50s-60s that I ever saw with those ****y seat covers that I thought was even close to being cool. The drive train was the only thing that was cool about it. Don't take it personally, but they were way too practical and uncomfortable for me. In my crowd they were sources of ridicule and not thought of as cool at all. Pocket protectors for your car. I never thought 4drs would ever be popular either so I'm probably just lost in the 50s somewhere.
My Dad's new 58 4-dr Chevy BelAir had the plastic seat covers put on right from the dealer - as well as all the furniture in the living room too! We never removed them until '65 when we sold it - the seats looked brand new when they were removed. That was my first car - I nosed and decked it, fixed the "eyebrows" over the front headlights - and the color? Cay Coral or pink, inside and out - the guys hated it but man did the girls ever love it!
I wasn't going to say anything first time I saw this, but those have to be the most **** retentive things ever used. I guess it's okay to suffer using those to keep your seats nice for the next guy.
My Dad, who is now 90 years old, would always put clear plastic seat covers on his cars, as soon as he bought the car. I hated them damn things, but I guess it helped prolong the upholstery life, with 4 boys doing what 4 boys will do. He was a big fan of Montgomery Wards, which is where he would order them from. He would have to remove the seats to install them, they fit real tight.
The best part about those seat covers were tearing them off and getting to sit on the original seats.
Back in the day the seat covers on most cars didn't last long and it was common to drop the car off at a Rayco shop and have new seat covers made up. Before Vinyl and Nuagahyde most seats were a woven material or Mohair wool stuff that was scratchy on bare legs. There was a mail order company called Fingerhut that sold the clear plastic cover set for about $20 that did the whole car including the sun visors. It came with a set of Hog rings, pliers and instruction sheet.
<HR style="COLOR: #e5e5e5; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and ***le --><!-- message --> Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD cl***=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by gnichols One of the dumbest things ever invented. Gary </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I wasn't going to say anything first time I saw this, but those have to be the most **** retentive things ever used. I guess it's okay to suffer using those to keep your seats nice for the next guy. ---- My folks got ****ered into them, one set for a car and Mom got the living room sofa and chairs done, too. In the car, they were uncomfortable almost year round and since we didn't use the living room at all unless it was a holiday or a group of guests came over for dinner, those didn't make any sense at all since they got no sun or wear and tear. And don't forget how funny those wonderful, embossed patterns were in your bare skin - the back of your thighs or your back if you were driving in shorts and shirtless!!! We ended up putting beach towels over those ****py covers to make them comfortable. Duh. And of course, even if those things worked, in the "salt" states in the north the car would probably rust away under your perfectly preserved seats anyway. Gary
They were on my Merc when I bought it. I kept them on until I finished the dirty work of rebuilding much of the mechanicals on the car (dirty pants, under dash work, etc.). After I removed them I thanked the previous owner for sacrificing his comfort and looks all those years for my benefit.
like already said here.......hotter than hell and big time sweat machines. My mom had em and noone wanted to ride in her car. Hmmm,,on second thought?????
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