Olustee bus

I am considering putting leather seat covers on my 63 vette. I am sure it came with vinyl seat covers. what is good and bad about leather seats

wmf62

the good: they look good and some people like the feel on the leather
the bad: they can be hot & sticky (or cold in the winter), they're slippery, they show wear easier than cloth or vinyl, and they need to be maintained or they will dry out and crack
Bill

63driver

The only color that had a leather option in 63 was Saddle. Everything else was vinyl. If your having it judged you will lose points.

But, I think leather will breath better, especially in a coupe. Keep you back a bit cooler. Probably looks a little better also.

Harry

JohnZ

If you go with leather, get some good leather cleaner and conditioner to keep them supple; I've used Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner (separate products) on my Ferraris over the years. The Connolly leather in Ferraris tends to get dry, and Lexol keeps it nice and supple.

OC-1

If your trim tag indicates saddle leather go with leather for 63 as it is another 'option' to claim when bragging about your car. If there is no hard evidence it was saddle leather I'd go with vinyl. Leather wears like iron but if not properly cared for it will go bad. My original leathers were solid but the smooth tanned suface was cracked in several place because it was not maintained and this happened before the car was 6 years old. The underside still looks great. Vinyl is relatively carefree unless it rips or a seam separates.

Ironcross

I like the leather as it`s definitely cooler than vinyl. Give the Vette some class!

PS, did you ever hear of plastic jackets or boots for Harleys?...

Jimbo64

john------who sells those products. thanks

woodsdesign

go with leather. It won't make any difference in value and it has the leather smell.

BLee

Our Walmart here sells Lexol products. Autozone also has them.

BL

vettebuyer6369

Cons?

Glenn's 67 BB Vert

Some poor cow has to DIE

stingrayl76

More expensive, less durable and higher maintenance, so I changed out my vinyl for leather 8 years ago.

vettebuyer6369

I'm as much a stock psycho as anyone, but I couldn't wait to hit the Al Knoch truck Thursday at B/G for a new set of black leather (yes real, is there another kind?) covers to replace my original vinyl!

stingrayl76

The 65 is a #'s matching, all stock Vette with a STD trim code, but my a$$ likes leather and doesn't care about the originality.

rene-paul

I had my 63 seats done by Al Knoch. I blasted and painted the frames then sent them off to Al. Saddle tan leather, nice. He recomended Lemon Pledge to keep them cleaned and treated. Six years plus so far so good!
brgds
rene

vetrod62

Leather is better. Looks, feels, smells and wares better.
Al Knoch '62 all leather (except dash pad ) interior.

BarryK

Al Knoch redid my leather seats 2 years ago and also recommended the Lemon Pledge. They said to use a hairdryer to warm the leather to open the pores of the hides and then spray the lemon pledge. Let it sit for a few minutes to work it's way into the leather than simply wipe them down. Once or twice a year is all you need to do it unless they have gotten very dirty.
It must the the LEMON pledge. It's the citric acid of the lemon that keeps the leather in good condition and from getting dried out.

I had never heard of using Lemom pledge before but figured thay were the ones that work with the leather everyday so they should know what works or doesn't.

Ironcross

Al made me a set for my 62 way back in 1991. They still are like new.

He also made sets for my 67 and 68 Camaros. I like leather! and there is no substitute for it either.

bobvet7

The only additional comment I can make is to make certain that the leather has been vat- dyed (soaked in dye solution) as opposed to spray- dyed. The difference is the depth of color as the seating surface wears. Chevrolet uses spray- dyed leather seating surfaces.

I'm not hard on upholstery, but I ran a 67 coupe up to about 300,000 miles (from the 15,000 when I bought it), then sold it back to the original owner. The upholstery was vinyl, and I think it's still the original in the car. I have a 96 Impala SS with 170,000 and you can see slight white wear lines along a couple of seams in the seating surface.

Both leather and vinyl are cold in winter, but leather breathes better on hot days. I use a lambskin pelt to cover the seat bottom to better handle weather discomfort. If I keep them conditioned as mentioned above they stay in place without much of a problem. This minimizes wear also.

ZRGator

All you guys forgot one important thing about leather seats...in time they fit your azz like a glove...pun intended.
Sure leather is cold in winter...so is vinyl! But I think leather warms quicker to your body heat. Sure leather is hot in summer...so is vinyl.
Leather also makes the car smell like...leather.
I have vinyl in my '67...would like to change it but I'm an originality freak, so it's gonna stay that way. I have leather in my '93 and I gotta tell you, that seat just feels good when you settle into it.
I also can't believe what I'm reading about how much care some guys think it takes to maintain the leather....these are the same guys that discuss how much time it takes to make the car look good with hours of cleaning and waxing and polishing and which wax is best and so on, but also think that taking a little time 2 or 3 times a year to lay down some leather cleaner and conditioner is too time intensive?
BTW, ironcross, you crack me up....plastic boots or jackets....makes me grin, big time...you Miami guys do have a sense of humor
Not to mention Glenn....best "con" I ever heard. But now that you've given them the idea, I expect PETA to show up at some Corvette show waving signs at all the leather interior cars