Piaras Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 The front seat has become somewhat uncomfortable. So we took out the whole seat and removed the seat bottom and set it up on my work bench, table saw. Lots of the springs have shifted and dropped. They are in need of reattach to the frame naturally. The burlap is original I believe, and every spring is individually wrapped. The photos show the poor state of springs. So after removal of many staples and some hog rings, I removed the cover. Underneath is the original cover. See photos. The original was tacked in place and has a couple leather rub strips where the seat bottom sits in the seat base. The next step is to remove the original cover and repair the support system before reinstalling the cover. Fortunately this is not my first rodeo doing upholstery on large furniture. Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Actuality your seat looks to be in fairly good condition, compared to my cars. As for comfort, I don't think the seat will ever be as good as a bucket seat today. The actual amount of room (in width) is to limited. I've tried everything to make mine work. I've replaced, most of the springs, added padding under the cover, stuffed springs with upholstery foam. When all is said and done, I end up driving with my left side hanging off the edge of the seat. The seat just isn't wide enough if you ask me. I guess just not a good design. ERIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 We haven’t found the seat to be narrow, but it needs some TLC to bring it back. Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 As the repair continues there has been some attempts to repair the edge that sits in the seat frame. Added a pigskin strip on top of the colored canvas ribbon that was worn. The burlap spring pockets are badly in need of replacement. Once I get the top off and all the cotton etc, I will figure out how much material I will need to replace those. Pierre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 The top pad under the cover is sewn to the burlap and hog-ringed in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 Down to the base. Found an assembly tag. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 Got the frame stripped and now to order supplies to rebuild it. Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 (edited) Gave the cover a good washing in the bathtub. Water was black on the first pass. took another 2 washes to clear and 3 rinses. The silt in the tub was impressive on the first time! Now to tack the cover in place. Cleaned the car as the frayed old burlap was everywhere under the seat. Edited January 24, 2023 by Piaras (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 Cleaned the seat tracks of grease, dirt etc and re-lubricated. They have a huge 9.5" travel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VW4X4 Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 Was the frame of the seat in good condition. From the many cars of this vintage I've seen the frames are typically bent and difficult to straighten. Did you replace the springs? These also, get smashed and seem to loose there rebound. I've typically ended up stuffing the springs with foam. I'm sure the foam is not original and will not last nearly as long as a spring, but it seems to do a good job in giving support back to a bad springs. ERIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted January 23, 2023 Author Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) The bottom frame was in good shape. The top wire frame was slightly warped but the springs being secured to it via the hog rings takes care of that. The springs were done, I could flatten them easily. I purchased new springs and burlap. I did go up in wire size from the original 12 to 9 gauge and @ $3 per spring it is an inexpensive repair. Edited January 23, 2023 by Piaras (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 Nice work! I remember watching my seat being recovered and the upholsterer wrapped every spring individually… talk about patience! By the way, I had my upholstery guy use high density memory foam underneath the leather. I don’t know how long the high density memory foam will hold up, but boy is it comfortable now. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piaras Posted February 1, 2023 Author Share Posted February 1, 2023 While I was sewing up the burlap, “she who shall be obeyed” was amazed at the skill at doing the job I had! I told her the same as I told my mom, sewing is just a bunch of straight lines. I did order some high quality foam but could not use it with the felt pads at the same time. So it is set aside for now. Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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