OLD SKL 69

Well to give you all an update, when I purchased my 71 Supreme two months ago, I knew that it needed some work here and there but the most glaring cosmetic issue was the front seat. (I'm not complaining since this needed less work than my 69 did)
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It was ripped right in the driver's seat but also starting to crack on other areas as well.
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I put a front seat on my list for Santa this year and it arrived a couple of days ago. (I guess he couldn't fit it on his sleigh because it arrived late and with Fedex instead)
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So stay tuned and I will post pics on the progress.

redoldsman

If you have not seen Rob's (Lady72nRob71) thread about redoing the interior in his 72, you need to check it out. It is excellent and tells any and everything you need to know. He also used Legendary interior.

OLD SKL 69

Thanks I did see Rob's interior thread and got some good information off of it. I wouldn't mind putting in seat heaters as well but I'll have to save that for a future project. I've done interior restorations before, but it's been a while. Fortunately, Legendary does provide good clear directions on how to make this installation as straightforward as possible.

Lady72nRob71

WooHoo! Someone is going to have fun!! Their instructions are simple! "Remove old covers, replace foam, install new covers!"

If you are doing it yourself, start with the back seat to build confidence & experience, as it is easier to do. I heard you will need a couple kids to sit on it as you are hog ringing it down. I could have done mine seat, but I chose not to try....

Do you have the front bench or buckets? The buckets shouls be easier. The bench with armrest (like mine) would be the most difficult.

Use medium density foam on the bottoms and new burlap over the springs.
If you take your time and photo as you go, you should have no problems!
Keep us posted!

OLD SKL 69

You forgot the ice cold 6 pack is mandatory as well.

Fortunately, the rear seat is mint so I chose not to replace it.

I do have the same seat as yours, so lucky me.

Bluevista

I could of showed you how to fix those seats for a lot cheaper, but since Santa paid.

It comes in black too.



Seat heaters are easy.

OLD SKL 69

I started working on getting the seat out of the car this morning. I figured it would be easier to disassemble the seat backs and arm rest in the car and remove them individually. It seemed like a good idea until I tried to remove the seat pivot covers. They were stuck on and were a real pain in the @$$ to get off.

I used pump pliers to break them free and get them moving. Then I had to pry them off using a couple of flat bladed putty knives on either side and two screwdrivers. I also used duct tape to cover the seat side chrome mouldings to prevent them from getting scratched and the putty knives to keep them from getting pry marks. Took me an hour but I finally got both sides off. Sorry, didn't take pictures of me getting them off but here's a picture of the seat base:
IMG_0954.jpg?t=1262535254

I only found 22 cents, some old candy, a match book and a pen cap. No good treasure here.

Lady72nRob71

I could not recommend that until I figured out what seats you have. Since you have the bench with armrest, better plan on a 30 pack!

Best thing to do is do the backs separately (they come off easily) first to build experience. A thin layer of extra foam may be needed to firm it up, providing yours id not all deteriorated.

The armrest could be tricky - just pay close attention on how it comes apart. A little sewing might be needed.

OH - DO NOT lose the pivot caps for the backs! These are not repro'ed and will need to be reused (or glued onto new retainer rings).

The bottom will prolly need all new foam. Defineltely new burlap over the springs. Check the side springs to verify none are broken.
You will need to reuse the seat belt hole trim pieces, so try not to break them. Holes will need to be cut for them - do that towards the end. I might have extra pics of mine apart. If you think they will help ya, I can post em.

Are you installing new carpet?

Save that method for the jap cars...

OLD SKL 69

The thought crossed my mind but since I'm a glutton for punishment, I figured I'll torture myself!

OLD SKL 69

They are safe and sound Rob, but one of them did get a little marked up from the pliers. They were stuck on really bad, could not believe how difficult they were to remove.

Lady72nRob71

My trim guy said the same thing.
The bad thing is that these are one-time-use items. You will need to use a standard bare locking ring and then you can glue the original caps over them like I did.
If you are VERY lucky, you might be able to repair the old ones to make them lock on again. If course keep safety in mind. If uncertain how well they are repaired, use the new ring and glue method. The last thing you want is the seat back coming lose when driving...

OLD SKL 69

The center console wasn't in bad shape but still needed to be done anyway. The new vinyl was much softer than the old one. Once I undid the four bolts, removed the metal brackets and took the staples out, it was ready to come off. I turned the cover down and pulled it over, kinda like peeling a banana. It just slipped off.

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The new one went on relatively very easily. (I kept it near the heat vent in the room to make it extra soft.) A few staples and it was ready to go back together.
IMG_0971.jpg?t=1262548788

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On to the seat backs next.

OLD SKL 69

Thanks Rob for the advice and offer for more pictures, I'll let you know.

The carpeting is really in good shape with no wear spots so I am going to leave it alone and just give it a good cleaning. That's the great thing about black, kinda hard to tell if it has any stains.

Lady72nRob71

Wow - it sounds pretty easy to do, given your explanations... No cussing involved either.

Hey - your new armrest has the correct seam in the middle! Mine does not and that is about the only thing non-original looking on mine., I guess they are constantly improving!

OLD SKL 69

Well, maybe a little cussing, but I have to watch my potty mouth with a 3 and 6 year old helping me!

Here's a detail shot of the seat before taking it apart:
IMG_0949.jpg?t=1262564281

Once the headrest and trim was off, the seat cover came off the same way as the armrest, I just peeled it back about halfway down and it came right off:
IMG_0950.jpg?t=1262564374

With date coding! Think that is worth something to someone on ebay?
The original foam looks great and does not look like it needs any extra padding or replacement.

Lady72nRob71

Looking good so far. My back foam looked okay too. My trim guy steamed it to "revitalize" it and he added another 1/2" thick layer of foam in the front to make up for deterioration of the old foam. If it felt firm enough for you before, then it is probably okay to reinstall as is. If you want some lumbar support for your back, make a small cushion with firm foam and insert at the bottom of the back. I like how mine came out this way.

Keep it up!

BTW, those date codes can be worth a lot on evil bay - someone might want to sew them into a repro set of covers so they can sell them off as NOS...

OLD SKL 69

I was able to get back to work on the interior today and finished the seat backs.

Passenger side:
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Drivers side:
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Once I got the covers pulled over the seat, I stretched it out about 1/2" more and tightened the hog rings around the seat cover base and attached it to the frame. They came out great and do not have any wrinkles. Really not that difficult but you do give your hands and arms a workout.

The seat base is next, hopefully I'll get that finished tomorrow night.

Eightupman

This is some good info! I will be doing this to my convertible before too long!

John

we jeep inn

Looking good!


X2 Along with the rest of the interior. Good to see someone from SC here.

Robert

Lady72nRob71

Wow - you are rolling right along with very few issues! Keep it up! I am thinking I could have done my seats myself! Of course the trim guy sandblasted and painted the frames and wore out his hands and fingers... My dumb dynamat installation wore out mine.

OLD SKL 69

Thanks Robert and John. I did not stop and take a lot of photos of disassembly and reassembly because it was relatively straightforward. The key is to get the material soft (like putting it over a heat vent in the house) and that makes it a lot easier to get it to do what you want it to do. Once I got the seat back covers on, the only real adjustment was making sure the piping on each corner was aligned properly and then attaching the hog rings.

OLD SKL 69

I'm sure you could have done them if you wanted to. It mostly takes time, patience and a few beers. I was lucky with the seat frames because they were like brand new with no rust on them. BTW, I am going to look for the build sheet in my car later today. Was yours under the carpeting and if so, where? Thanks!

dc2x4drvr

Nice Job I found my build sheet on top of the gas tank, and your's could be anywhere, or not there at all.

Lady72nRob71

My sheet was under the carpet, under the seat, right in front of the left front seatbelt retractor. I found it after taking off the sill plate and lifting the carpet up. It was nasty looking, but intact.

OLD SKL 69

I started working on the seat base tonight. Took off all the hardware and started to remove the old hog rings:

I removed the seat belt sleeves very carefully so they did not crack. I squeezed them from under the seat and pulled them through the top. The burlap under the seat was still excellent and does not need to be replaced:
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Some detail shots as to how it is attached:

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OLD SKL 69

An update, I washed all the seatbelts in Tide (Thanks Rob for the tip), didn't look that bad before but boy was that water dirty. Came out looking brand new:
IMG_0975.jpg?t=1262916663

Lady72nRob71

You are doing great - keep it up! I am amazed to see your burlap in such good shape. Mine was so deteriorated that touching it would make it fall apart. The springs cut through the foam and I was about sitting on the floor! Your car was prolly in cooler climates for more of its life.
Glad the tide cleaned up the belts - hard to see dirt on black! They do look new again alright...
Looks like the seatback studs can use some derusting; a tiny tad of grease there upon final reassembly will prevent squeaks.
If mine looked as good as yours, i might have taken a crack at it myself. You are making it look too easy!
As soon as you are done, I bet you will change your mind and want to do the back seat, too...

OLD SKL 69

It must be the way the picture was taken because they actually do not have any rust on them.

It was in Kentucky and Indiana for all of it's life. When the original owner died in 1981, it stayed in a garage until 2002. That's why most stuff is pretty well preserved.

Thanks for the complements, I appreciate it.

OLD SKL 69

I started to reassemble the seat base tonight. The frame did not need to be cleaned up as it only had minor surface rust. I tightened up the springs to reduce minor sagging. The original foam is not bad, but I am going to add about 1/2 of extra foam to make it slightly firmer. Here's the base with the cover attached to the back already:
IMG_0964.jpg?t=1263002681

OLD SKL 69

I got the extra foam and trimmed it to size. Then I needed a helper to hold down the seat cover for my while I tightened down the hog rings. I told my helper that I needed her to stand on the seat frame, but instead she preferred this position:

IMG_0967.jpg?t=1263055876

Oh well, hope to get it done sometime today!

we jeep inn

Looks great! Fine looking helper too. I have a 2.5 yr old that will be "helping" me.


How did you do this? I want to firm my seat up a little too. My seat seems to sag some, esp on the drivers side, I suspect it's a combination of the foam and the springs. I'll know when I get it opened up.

Any tricky spots on the base install? Looks pretty straight forward.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Robert

Lady72nRob71

Darrell, looks like you might have a future model in the family - she is adorable... All dressed up and posing nicely!

How did you adjust the springs? I did not know you could...

Robert, take a look under your seat. If the burlap is deteriorated and torn, the springs will cut through the foam. That happened to mine and I was about sitting on the floor. I thought the springs were shot, but they were fine.

To firm it up, add more foam on top of your stuff (if it is not too far gone) 1/2 at a time until you get the firmness you want. If yours is too bad to reuse, use 4-5" of new foam but use the medium density foam. The firm black stuff is wayy too stiff.

OLD SKL 69

I had the cushion out and carefully lifted up the burlap. I tightened up the springs with pump pliers and squeezed the spring steel a closer together under the driver's seat. I didn't go overboard, just enough to make it a little firmer. I had the cushion out and carefully lifted up the burlap.

OLD SKL 69

Here's the finished seat base. Always fun to poke holes in your new seat cover when you put the hardware back in. I am pretty happy with the results:
IMG_0969.jpg?t=1263063832

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OLD SKL 69

Thanks Rob. She was a pretty good helper, even though I caught her sleeping on the job!

IMG_0974.jpg?t=1263064241

Kinda hard to put everything back together when people are using your car seat pieces as a pillow.

citcapp

good job looks nice. You have a cute helper

Lady72nRob71

Looks like that armrest serves another good purpose... I guess she wore herself out laying on that cushion...
Those seatbelt grommets sure look huge without the seatbacks and belts in place! They stand out on black.
Overall a fabulous job! You saved yourself at least 200 bucks in labor so use that for a few cases of beer and a perhaps a real pillow for your helper...

OLD SKL 69

Thanks Pat. Overall it was not that difficult of a job to do as long as you have patience and time. Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention the beer!

ent72olds

I haven't been around for a couple months and all heck breaks loose! Awesome work! Now I know who to call for interior work! Can't wait to see this beauty....your little girl is adorable too!!

OLD SKL 69

Thanks Erik! It was a lot of work but I am happy with the way it turned out.