Installing New Seat Upholstery

varies depending on number of seats and style, on at least 2 hoursbr Tools: standard wrenches, hog-ring flat-blade screwdriver, needle-nose (optional) Cost: anywhere from 500 and up, approximatelybr Tinware: upholstery, hog-rings and seat foam (optional) emstrongTip: Before installing new vinyl seat covers, lay them out in the sun to loosen the material and to relieve any folds or creases in the vinyl from due to Performance gains: none that are track-proven, but the added comfort and style far make up for it! a href"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504Lead-seat-shot.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-2001" src"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504Lead-seat-shot.jpg" alt"Lead-seat-shot" "625" height"417" abr Whether your vehicle came equipped with cloth or vinyl-covered seats, chances are its going to need a full cosmetic makeover at some Over time, seat upholstery almost always gets tattered and torn, regardless of the car. Sure, southwestern style blankets are cool and work fine while the rest of the car is coming together. But no resto would be complete without a freshly recovered interior. Its amazing what new skins alone will do for the look and feel of your cars inner sanctum. All of a sudden, you become overly anal-retentive about everything unclean that may come in contact with your new upholstery. After all, your car looks (and smells) factory fresh! There comes a time when everyone is faced with the classic dilemma: D.I.Y. or farm it out to a hired hand? Its funny, even some of the most hardcore gear-heads wince at the thought of attempting upholstery or interior work. Actually, it can be rather intimidating. Hopefully these tips and straightforward steps will help you get on your way to your interiors revitalization. Naturally, replacing the upholstery requires the seats to be removed from the car. Starting with the front, unbolt the seat from the floor On a split-bench, there will be two bolts at the front of the seat (one on each side), and four total at the rear. The rear bolts can be a serious to access, as the clearance is tight up under the seat. An open or boxed wrench should do the trick, however. Bucket seats follow the same basic approach. Loosen the bolts and simply lift the front seats out of the compartment. Removing the two-piece rear seat can be a bit more of a challenge. The rear seat bottom should be addressed first. Typically, the bottom is secured by the frame of the seat to retaining hooks which are welded onto the floor Forcefully the seat rearward to its furthermost In this the seat frame will clear the retaining hooks in the and can be lifted up and out of the floor. This should be done in one continuous motion. When the seat bottom is cleared, the back of the rear seat can easily be accessed and removed. The seat back is bolted to the rear wall of the floor at the bottom, and hooked to the rear tray at the top. a href"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-1.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1992" src"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-1.jpg" alt"shot-1" "600" height"400" abr emThe underside of the seat cover attaches to the bottom seat springs on ememthis split-bench.embr a href"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-2.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1993" src"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-2.jpg" alt"shot-2" "600" height"400" abr emThe hog-rings secure the upholstery to the frame of the seat.embr The covers are secured to the frame and the springs of the seats by small fasteners called hog-rings. The upholstery is stretched over the foam and tucked to the underside of the seat assembly. The hog-rings loop through the edge of the material and into the holes in the seat frame. Out of the bag, the metal rings have somewhat of a U shape to them, with slight notches cut into both sides. The arms of the hog-ring fit snugly into these notches, allowing the rings to be folded over and closed. To remove the covers, gently the hog-ring open with a small flat-blade screwdriver. Loosen all of the rings from the seat assembly and remove the skins. During the take note of the original mounting locations of the rings to the seat. This will help in getting the new covers stretched and installed correctly. a href"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-3.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1994" src"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-3.jpg" alt"shot-3" "450" height"459" abr emHog-rings and the specialty often come furnished with a new ememupholstery kit.embr While youre at it, it may be a good idea to replace your existing seat foams as well. The underlying foam is what actually creates the comfort level of your seat. Over time, these things somehow deteriorate and end up in a big of dust under the seat. Unless you enjoy being with sharp, metal seat springs, spend the extra money and install some new . Most seat foams come to a specific application and can be had from and of Ecklers automotive companies. Upholstery is readily available for any older GM vehicle and comes in most, if not all, of the original colors and a href"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-4.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1995" src"http:blog.ecklerscorvette.comwp-contentuploads201504shot-4.jpg" alt"shot-4" "600" height"400" abr emSqueeze the ring with the arms of the to close the loop and ememtether the new cover to the seat assembly.embr After tearing apart the seats, you have a close idea on how to install the new covers. It can be tricky in some areas, especially in the corners and at the bottom of the seats. Try to stretch the new material as evenly as over the foam. It may take several tries, working from one side to another, to really nail it. This is a that takes and to achieve the desired results. Take your time and be sure to buy of hog-rings the more the better. The results will be well worth your time and effort.