Hot 442

Like everyone else, I'm on a resto budget.

I m looking to recover my 72 442's buckets and rear bench only at this point.

Both buckets need springs and foam for sure. If I buy the things I need from Legendary, could I do this job myself or is there a special skill to rebuilding the seats from inside out?

I'm pretty handy mechanically but I've never done sets before.....

So is this a definite 'take it to the shop' item r a DIY job?

Aceshigh

Rears you can definitely do yourself.
Front buckets are not easy. I tried.
Spring repair requires the right tools and skills as well as proper padding.

I got one of the bottoms done, but the tops are hard.
I paid an interior shop to finish the job.the bottom they did was cushioned
properly....mine not as good.

Fakser

Here is a good episode of gears with stacey david that goes over interior installation it may help. http://staceydavid.com/episodes/drag...ilding-contest

Hot 442

Thanks guys.

I'm searching the threads and have seen some pics of stripped down seats....scary!

I have added up sets, springs, headliner, carpet, seat material w headrests and ouch I'm up over 1,600 from Legendary. I want to do it up right tho so....

Guess I'll debate it awhile for doing the rear but I might as well take it all in and have them do it for the trouble it's worth to me!

RAMBOW

These are words i live by. I have paid shops to do upholstery work for me, and every time, for one reason or another i have been disapointed- not necessarily by their work, but sometimes the materials, or the price, or a combination. THis led me to learn to do my own... and now I do them for other people- But if someone has the inclination I always try to push them to give it a try. There is nothing that feels better (ok, well almost nothing) than finishing a project yourself that other people have to pay someone to do for them.

The back seat is simple- Bucket seats are a little more complicated, but if you take your time, and do some research ahead of time, ANYONE can do it.

How to Recover 66-72 Bucket Seats(this thread covers several YEARS of posts... i'd start at the end and work backwards
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118256

How to Recover 66 (and basically the same as 66-72) back seats
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=337465

Scroll down this page, and there is a link to a video of how to install covers on 66-72 bucket seats:
http://www.puiinteriors.com/index.php/techtips

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
I have detailed photos showing the buildup of bucket seats. I've been meaning to compile them into an online guide- like a summary of what you see in those hundreds of posts in that team chevelle thead, but have never gotten around to it, but i do have the pics... I can share a link if you'd like.

RAMBOW

why are you including springs in that list? do you know you need new springs? Unless they are horribly broken or rusty you likely don't need 4 new sets of springs.

Also... If you pay a shop to install all that stuff you better hold your breath at the labor cost.
$400-$500 for the headliner...
Front & Rear seats will likely be $600+
carpet $200

There is nothing in that list that you can't do yourself..

Think of it this way... If you screw up and wreck any peice of that during the process- you'll STILL likely be cheaper than it would have been paying a shop.

In the end it all comes down to how much motivation you have to learn something new, and how much patience you have... vs pay money & have it done tomorrow.

MDchanic

I have only done seats in a '40s-era car before, but I would agree with Ben -
I have never had any job turn out well that I paid someone else to do.

Just do it yourself. Expect to have to do it an extra time or two before you get it right, but when you have done it for the last time, it will be just the way you want it.

Upholstery guys are not magicians - If they can do it, you can do it, too.

- Eric

Lady72nRob71

I was very happy about how my seats turned out, despite having a little shop in the sticks do them. Of course he had been doing this for 30+ years and has done many old cars like mine...
Best thing is to try yourself. If you give up, or find spring damage, take em to a shop. The back one should be easy though. Foam can be had at the foamfactory or local fabric shops.

Aceshigh

I think the whole interior you can do yourself , was just saying the front buckets are a challenge.

For me, I couldn't even slide the top covers OVER the top of the front buckets even using the garbage bag trick.
I have no idea how they pulled it on without tearing it.

Another thing, alot of guys shop interior shops by lowest price and more often you should verify quality of work
before you use them. The interior shop I used has 3 chains just outside Chicago with a good rep. Great work.

This guy sounds like he's made it happen and can possibly show you the ropes.

One thing I want to point out though, a good interior shop knows how to cushion the spring travel of the vertical movement.
Translation = When you sit on the seat, it doesn't bounce. The front seat bottom I did does bounces, theirs doesn't.
They wrap padding around the bars of the bottom of the seat under the upholstery so it's not as loose.

I wasn't aware of this until I compared the one I did to the one THEY did.
Something to be aware of if you attempt it yourself.

MDchanic

Now THAT would be a good thing to go into detail about so we could do the same thing whenever we get around to our own interiors .

Hint.

- Eric

Hot 442

Thx for the help guys!

RAMBOW - it's great to have someone in the industry helping out. I watched the vids u sent in the link, I almost peed myself when they did the buckets! looks like it takes some skill for sure, but again something I can prob pull off myself.

Worse case scenario I mess it up and take it to a shop. Basically the only thing i need help with is the headliner and buckets. I'm gonna take the old stuff off the buckets myself and see how I do at putting new on....that air tool (hog stapler?) sure looks handy.

As for the material, looks like I'll get the headliner and bucket material from legendary, the rest from a shop in Ontario called NOS Reproductions. I think they are just a middle man for some of this stuff and therefore the price is jacked up, so I'm better to get the seat material direct.

Aceshigh

DUDE.....

An Admin needs to put this into a "HOW TO" sticky in the interior section for this site.
This is priceless , and I had no idea this was even out there.

You shouldn't let this source of great information get buried.

rhodyrocket2

Replacing covers is a DIY job, try it. Tips, you can stray the foam with silicone to help slip the cover over. Just aoid getting it on your hands or they will slip too! And you can warm the covers up by putting in the sun, makes them piable. Make sure you get a good pair of padded diagonal dike pliers to cut the hog rings, they can be tough. I always liked the offset hog ring pliers to install hog rings rather than the cheap one you can get. Take off the rust from the wires that are in the vinyl for the hog rings, make reinstalling alot easier. If these are too rusted you can use coathangers.

silverfox

if you place the seat cover over a kettle and steam them this also helps.

wgonzo64

i've also hear putting the covers in a warm dryer and using a hair dry to make it plyable have not attempted to do these myself yet but will be durin the winter months

rroth01

Did mine 3 years ago. Get the Frames Media Blasted .Paint them with Rustoleum.It will eliminate the squeaks.Get plenty of Hog Rings. The swelling in my hands has finally gone down.The Folks at Legendary are a great help. I used garbage bags to help slide my front covers on. As Per the guys at Legendary. They slip right on. It easier to say you sent it out to get it done. And honestly you will take more pride in the end result.Remember to keep your stick on the Ice.Were all in this together..

silverfox

steam works the best I do it all the time and as rhodyrocket2 said the silicone works great.

wgonzo64

with the garbage bag trick the bag goes over the springs and frame and helps the covers to slip on easier ???
one other question if I was to sand blast the seat frames and springs what is the best material to use sand walnut glass plastic bead soda etc?????

Chumley

I did all my covers except the front bench bottom.(too many folds and wraps) The hardest part was getting the back bottom seat out and reinstalled. Oh, and removing the old hog rings. I cleaned the frames and springs, and coated with Por-15. The trickiest part for me was making sure the pleats line up on the bottom and top pieces. The back seat is off a bit still, but the front(split bench) came out great. Color is black, so it's not that noticable. Taking pictures before teardown is also helpful. If I can do it, anyone on this board can. My bottom line was about saving $$$. I spent a little over a grand at Legendary as well. Chumley

Lady72nRob71

I think it looks great - I saw no obvious flaws, even looking for them for a minute or two.
I wish i did mine to save a big chunk o' dough. Everyone should at least try the back seat!

Allan R

uhhh, I think we've all tried the back seat at one time or another

RAMBOW

Turned out really nice! Good job!

You'll feel like a million bucks next time someone asks "who did your interior" and you can say that you did it yourself!

MDchanic

Yeah, but if most of us tried it now, we'd probably be driving to the chiropractor's office next.

- Eric

malibru

I will be handling the headliner, carpet, speaker shelf and odds and ends myself. But I have a local guy who does great work on interiors, I'll let him handle the front and rear seats. I pride myself in doing my own work, but when it comes to this, and after pricing all of the materials I would need to do the job myself (seat foam, hog rings, covers etc) his price is competitive. So that frees me up to work on other things...my time is valuable so I think this one concession is ok. I guess it's sort of like the machine work on my engine block and heads: I could invest the money in the equipment and learn how to do the work, but in the end we all pay the machine shop to bore/deck/hone etc. I will still build my engine but some things, I leave to those who have the experience and skill set.

If anyone needs a good interior man in western mass, PM me and I'll give you his information!

lemoldsnut

Tagging in as I want to save this thread.

Yes Ron is right lots of swelling of the hands. But love how them came out.

steverw

I have done 3 sets of buckets and one rear seat. Its not easy but its not that hard. Mine all came out nice. The silicone spray trick i learned from an home upholstery friend. I used the thin bags the laundrys put over your clothes when you take them for cleaning. Got that from and upholstery guy. You cant rush it, just see how they come apart and reverse it with new stuff. I used some thinner welding rod for the rods that were bad, their stronger than coat hangers. The curved hog ring pliers are definately better. Bought new burlap and some foam and cotton padding at a local fabric shop. If you can compress the springs when pulling the covers to hog ring, compress and stretch the covers at the same time, evenly for all the hog rings, when its done the covers will be a little tighter as the springs rebound. Really its not that bad.

4R5

Ben (RAMBOW) - sent you a PM regrading your pics of bucket seat build up. Thanks!

Human

I re-covered the seats on a couple of VW Bugs when I was in high school. They came out pretty good. I've never tried an Olds or other GM car. My solution when I had a '95 Bonneville with worn out leather was to find a Bonne at a salvage yard with good seats and swap them. The car originally had a manual passenger seat but the donor seat came with an 8-way electric track, so I ended up creating a plug-and-play wiring harness that connected in to the driver seat wiring with no cutting. and splicing. I was pretty pleased with the final result.

ben442

I just completed my buckets and back seat with Legendary covers, new foam buns and the installation kit. Yes, get plenty of hog rings. This was the first time doing upholstery and I'm glad I did.
Take pictures from every side of your seats before you dismantle the old stuff.
Take your time, work on a table that's far enough off the ground to suit your height. I'm 6'4" tall and my back was killing me afterwards.

babailey

I have done several Miata seats. On those, I cut the old hog rings and used zip ties in their place when recovering. It worked well in the Miata and assume it would work well in our older cars.