Opinions or Comments About Repro Bucket Seat Back Covers

[nelsontj]

Does anyone have any experience with the reproduction bucket seat plastic covers that fit to the back of the bucket seat for 1970-1972 bucket seats? Do they look good or not?

[jensenracing77]

i also am wondering the same thing. only thing is, they have to look better than the ones i have.

[70Post]

None of them seem to have the correct texture/grain...typically the grain is too "rounded" and not well defined around th edges of each "grain" like the originals are.

I would rather find a good pair of used ones and recolor them than install the repro ones. The black ones survive the longest in the sun, etc.

A lot of the repro parts vendors won't tell you they don't match....they'll usually start reading from the same catalog you have which doesn't add any info. Some of the more specialized vendors will give more realistic answers if you push them on it.

They seem to fit OK, etc but the grain isn't even close on the sets I have seen. Seems odd since they matched the grain on the repro armrest bases pretty much dead on (and that's the same grain as the seatbacks I think) to they do have the right pattern for some parts.

Check around a little...maybe someone has come out with an improved match. If the description reads anything like "these are the closest to original available" then you have been warned.

Finally, a lot of the vendors are good about taking back parts you don't like so consider the return policy also as that's your "out" if you really don't like them.

[z11375ss]

70 post. Here's a legit question. Not trying to flame anybody. If the grain is apart and away from any other grains that are similar why would it matter what the grain was? I need these to finish my interior and am looking at them closely too. It has all been done except for the seatbacks. I have the olive/pearl color and I want them to be a perfect match. The seat covers I ordered from OPG were dead on as was the carpeting. It looks awesome.

[Allan R]

Originally Posted by z11375ss

70 post. Here's a legit question. Not trying to flame anybody. If the grain is apart and away from any other grains that are similar why would it matter what the grain was? I need these to finish my interior and am looking at them closely too. It has all been done except for the seatbacks. I have the olive/pearl color and I want them to be a perfect match. The seat covers I ordered from OPG were dead on as was the carpeting. It looks awesome.

If you want a perfect match, I think 70Post is right on. Is your car going to be a trailer queen/show car? If so you want to stay OEM for the points. If its going to be something that most people won't notice because (like you say it won't be in direct comparison line of sight) get the repros that match the best. It really comes down to what you are planning for this car. Also, like 70Post states, you could return what you don't like. Only thing is it will cost you shipping both ways. Maybe ask your supplier for close up pics of the grain so you can compare b4 you buy? Just let them know the reason you need it. Some of the people on the order desks don't know their product as well as they should, especially about how it compares directly to OEM. Good luck.

[70Post]

Like Allan just said. The question was asked so I answered it providing the most accurate info I know. Does it matter? Depends on what you want. Answering the question, without providing the information about the grain match (or lack thereof) would have been useless IMO.

If you can't find real nice originals to recolor then these are the alternative.
The more I do this stuff the more "purist" I get on these types of parts...but that's just me.

The seat covers and carpets are made by completely different manufacturers than the seatback plastics so accuracy there is no guarantee of accuracy on the seatbacks. I put no faith at all in the answers provided by the "technical help" line at the typical repro parts vendors..especially the larger ones.

The only test that works for me is a side-by-side comparison b/n the repro part and the original.

I know where you are coming from as getting decent seatbacks to recolor can be an exercise in futility sometimes. To get a decent pair to recolor for a resto I was involved with recently we had to buy and reject the first pair we bought based on the seller's description and pictures.

[70Post]

It may be worth your while to check out the plastic bucket seatbacks offered by Ground Up Restorations (ss396.com), In their catalog they state "New exact reproduction of original GM".

Maybe, just maybe someone has got these things "right".

If you do end up buying some repros it would be great if you'd report the results here.

Thanks

[My442]

My .02...in the world of reproduction seat covers, there is basically two choices: PUI and Legendary.

I have a complete PUI interior in my 70 442. It is pearl color.

I bought everything at the same time, so the colors match.

The Legendary stuff I have seen appears to be a better quality.

So - is the repro stuff as good as the GM stuff? NO

But, it is better than 40 year old worn out stuff.