I want to replace the foam in my seats when I recover them. I got my covers from legendary, but where's the best place for the foam? Do they make foam for the rear seat? I have a 68 442 convertible. Are all a body foams the same (Olds, Chevelle, etc)?

 

I assume you have buckets, so molded foam is available at Legendary and a few other suppliers.
If you have a bench seat, I would say just use medium density sheet foam that can be had online or from upholstery or fabric shops. 2" thickness for base, and 1" thick pieces to cut to make side bolsters or lumbar supports.
I would go this route for the rear seat for sure. The rear seat back may use cotton batting instead of foam.
This would be the cheapest and easiest way to go. It will even work for buckets if you stuff 'em right.

Not all A body seats are shaped the same, so molded foam is not one size fits all.
I heard of the molded stuff needing extra stuffing too, so not sure if it is worth the price.

 

Thanks for the reply and info. I looked into Legendary's website, and they have no listings for the foam. I guess I could call them. I do need to do the rear seat also, and it does have the cotton on the seat back. I think I can save it and reuse it. Could the seat back cotton be replaced with foam?

 

No foams are available for the back seat.

American cushion (ACI) is rumored to be the best. I used a set on my 68 buckets and had trouble getting the seat backs to fit right. After frustration and a few calls to Legendary, they told me to trim the foams and pull tighter on the seat covers. In the end it all worked out fine. My foams were bought from Year One about 10 years ago for my '70. If I recall, they might have been a one size fits all application, but this may be why I had to trim them to fit.
https://www.legendaryautointeriors.c...&year=68&desc=

However, the manufacturer lists each application different:
http://www.americancushionind.net/ca...es/cutlass.php

For the back seat, I could not get the seat cover to stretch over 2" foam. I can't exactly remember what I did. I think I used a combination of 1" foam and layers of poly batting. I used burlap over the springs, then a layer of 1/2" jute. I couldn't find the jute padding anywhere. I ended up buying 2 package tray insulators (jute) from the Parts Place and used them in my seats. Apparently some Lowe's sells it in the carpet department, but not where I live.

 

I got seat foam from OPGI b/c it is down the road from where I live in Los Angeles. Brothers Automotive Products in Overland Park, Kansas also has foam at a good price. For what it is worth, these guys have the cheapest prices around for many items and rather quick shipping. Most of their interior stuff is from PUI. Anyway, the back seat foam is not available as stated by MX442. I used 1.5" medium density foam and applied polyester batting over the top for a nice fit. I did not use burlap over the springs. Instead I got a thick vinyl. Remember, it can not be too thick becasue the foam needs to be hog ringed to the wire in the seat spring. Take your time and it will look professionally done.

 

You mentioned hog ringing the foam to the springs. Don't think I have heard or read about that in the process. Do you have a good set or instructions to refer to for doing a bench trype seat cover.?>
Richey

 

this would apply for bucket seats. there are grooves in the bucket seat foam. There is a mesh on the back of the foam. So, attach the foam to the springs by placing hog rings in the groove every 4 inches or so. After this, the metal wires from the old covers need to be placed in the new covers. These metal wires are then fastened in the grooves, puncturing the foam and closing in the mesh. If you rely on the hog rings to attach the cover and the foam to the springs, it will not turn out square and the seat cover will be off center when finally pulling it over the foam. If you are careful and watch when dismantling the old seat cover and foam, u will notice that the foam is attached to the spings. FOR the BACK seat the process is different. View this link from PUI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9qllpW7yWI

 

Great video!!!!!!!!!

 

Great Video !!

I got my front seat cushions through Tamraz with my FULL PUI seat upholstery.
I used Tamraz mainly because they were VERY inexpensive, AND they are local to me.
The Parts Place is closer, but higher priced.

For my rear seat I just tore the upholstery off, and got 1" foam over it from a hobby store.
I wish I knew how to reinforce the springs better, but overall my seat is mint.

This is before I had all the wrinkles weened out in the sun.
However I can't brag enough about how nice the PUI upholstery was. They have me as a return customer.
IMG_1492Medium.jpg

 

One other thing is that if your current foam is still in amazingly good condition, you can reuse it and just put an extra 1/2 or 1" extra layer of new on top of it to compensate for breakdown from age.

 

I need to replace the foam on the front buckets of my 68 442 but the seat covers are still intact and original from 1968 so I am wondering if I can re-use the seat covers and just put new A.C.I. foam and starting from 1970 they did away with the springs and went to a solid steel surface under the foam which I wouldn't mind doing if it gives me a firmer feel but still comfortable.......any thoughts on these ideas?

 

If your old covers are good, you should be able to (or have a pro) remove the old covers and replace the foam, and reinstall the covers.
The covers were installed with hogrings, so you would need to get some of those and an installing tool if doing it yourself.