hey..in my 75 the main "blemish" is the fact that it has a tear in the drivers seat...urks me like no other that such a nice car has a tear in the seat



Theres a picture of the rip...i was talking to a friend and he said they could replace pieces of the leather at an upholstry shop? and...to avoid the whole "matching" part, since it'll probably be off on the color...he suggested i could replace the same center section on both seats? like put a piece of nice black leather in the center of the seats so it matched the exterior (black)....what do you think? Is it possible? Would it look good you think? Sorta like a racing seat?


Here's a replacement cover for 379, for code 51 or w/e saddle color

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ght=seat+cover

Are these covers easy to do yourself? or is it somethign you take to an upholstry shop? I really wouldnt want to mess up some expensive leather Anyone have a set of these with a picture of how they look?

Any ideas? The tear doesnt look fixable to me without replacing a whole section..if it was possible

 

That tear is not repairable. Also, if you have never done apholstry work, I wouldn't suggest starting on your Corvette leather seats. You need to practice several times on dummy seats. It can be tricky to get eveything looking right.

As far as the repair, you're looking at two other things. First, adding a nice strip of new leather will repair the damage, but what happens when the rest of the older leather wears and tears or separates? You'll have spent the money on the patch and still have worn seats.

You can go with the new leather kit, or have the shop make you seat covers using any leather you choose. Color, style...sky's the limit. You can do multi colors, textures...go wild. It'll cost a little more byt almost nothing will set off an interior better that custom seat covers. I say go full custom, but money may restrict you to buying the new covers of patching the old ones.

 

I'm surprised a trim guy offered to do it, but find out the cost and warranty time. If it were mine, I'd live with the hole or replace both seat trims.

I would question a couple things regarding patching 31 year old leather. First the durability of sewing to the original aged and hardened leather and the risk of the seam separating later on. Second, the old trims will need to be separated from the frame and foam. The plastic at that retains the cushion to the frame will break apart and need to be replaced, and the burlap listings in the old trims may be shot for reuse. And there is the while-you-are-at-it syndrome. Do you replace the foam? I don't think you'll be able to stretch an old cover over new foam.

Vette trims are more difficult to install than regular car trims due to the number of listings that need to be drawn to make the pleats. You can do it yourself, but you need to be carefull to study the parts placement as you disassemble and take time during reassembly. If you mess up and don't tear the trim, just buy another install kit, take it apart and start over.

Here's a new leather trim for a '76 in saddle. This was a cheap, low quality trim that the owner purchased from a local Vette supplier (out of business). Poor fit, weak stitch quality and Windex removes the saddle die! But they fit with extra massaging and foam work. They were inexpensive and the owner was happy. If you buy new, make sure you get good stuff if you plan to keep the car.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/70-72-CORVETTE-L...QQcmdZViewItem

Not to hard to install, good vendor, reasonable price. You can do one seat while watching football on tv on sunday.

 

Good link..have you used this person or seen these exact seets covers in question? the leather's die won't come off with windex...etc?

I could look into having an upholstry shop to do it then...then the "risk" wouldn't be on me...And, i understand on the "old leather falls apart part", the rest of the leather is in good condition..and i'd hate to "waste" all that leather...esp if a cheap fix could be had (got alot of connections in automotive places around town/area). Custom seats would be cool..but, i think i'd like to stay with "stock" if possible, as the seat color looks great..and i'd rather keep it the original color, unless it was something like i had discussed earlier, the tan/black just to set it off a bit more.

No-one has offered to do it yet, and i havent gotten a quote or anything yet...i've just heard it can be done...

The original leather is actaully in really good condition...and minimal cracking, the seats are in way better condition than my mom's 97 GMC burb for instance. You guys make valid points, i'll check into things

 

I used this link to replace the seat covers in my 69 coupe. Although the install is on a 70, the basic concept is the same. Also, I had never done anything like this before and they came out fine.
http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2001...s/seatspg1.asp

 

Another option, unless you're an all original guy...is you can buy a set of modern buckets with tan leather and have them shipped to you for under $200 usually. Nothing treats the baskside better than a good bucket seat. I installed Celica GT buckets in my Vette and it's one of the better mods. I chose black cloth, but there are a lof of different kinds of buckets in all kinds of color. For good saddle leather buckets you could expect to pay more, but it'd still be comparable to the new seat covers and they would be a lot better for you driving comfort.

 

If you take it to a upolstery shop, what would you loose. They might be able to fix it adequately enough for a driver.

 

No arguement there, I'm just saying an old seat will degrade around a new stitch, and then, maybe in a year or so he's left with another seat problem. That's why when possible I usually suggest new covers or new seats. Sometimes it more cost effective that way.

 

I had contemplated putting in new bucket seats, but putting in new seats alot of times is a pain unless you know what will fit easily, or if you're going to modify brackets. I'm not an "all original guy" but i JUST bought the corvette, and it's in all original condition..so if posisble, i'd like to keep it that way...i got it for a steal, and i'd hate to detract from the value from something as stupid as trying to save a lil $ on new seats

 

I fully understand that, and you have a few options. Best option, for looks and durablity and quality...is have an apholstry shop MAKE custom seat covers. The fit will be perfect, and you can choose ANY make, color, style, and texture material you want.

Second best option in my head is order a set of new seat covers, and have a shop install them. They'll do the best job that can be done with those covers.

Final option, and this is if it were my car and my choices...would be for the shop to replace the one stitched panel.

Other than that, there are some really cool, nice leather buckets out there. I bought a set of black leather buckets from a 2006 Pontaic Solstice to go in my 1971 Charger. LOVE those seats. Great bolsters, manual tracks, they're great. Hop on Ebay, search for leather seats and go through all of them. Watch for ones you like, and mark what car they came from. Try to get some measurments and see if they'll fit. That's all I did and I got a great pair for my Vette.

 

I looked at your PIC of the damaged area of your seat and couldn't tell exactly were it was? Is the tear on the seat bottom or seat back?

I don't think this tear is such a "big deal". Just pull the whole seat out of the Corvette and drop it off at a upholstry shop that you know has done original Corvette interiors if original is what you want.

I had a pretty good tear on the upright side of the seat back on my '79 L82 when I bought it and otherwise the interior was ALL original and flawless.

The shop I took the seat to was featured in a Corvette magazine on a restoration article on a '62 restoration job. The shop installed a complete Al Kock interior and looked great.

Anyway back to my red leather seat on my '79. The seat needed just a piece of new leather section. It matched perfectly on a 25 year old interior. If you looked real hard you can see new stiching verus older soiled stiching, but that was it.

One week without the seat in the Corvette and $100 bucks!

Good luck.

Peter

 

It's on the bottom of the seat...and..i hope i can find a deal like that, 100$ and a damn good fix would work for me! I'll check into that

 

No one mentioned a leather patch. My brand new Infinity G35 Sports Coupe got a tear in it by my sweet little angel baby 18 year old son. I was SICK. 800.00 for the bottom skin and not install.
So I ordered a patch kit on line, sent in a small sample of leather so they could match my color and for about 65 bucks, I got a kit.
I did the repair myself and took my time. The color they sent matched perfect. It turned out great! I have used the left over stuff to patch several other car seats. It also works to patch other spots on my vette interior I am working on right now. Pillar post etc.
It is worth a try.
Ruthie

 

Judging from teh size of that hole I don't know if anything other than a new panel would work. I think a patch would be like a bandaid on a broken arm.

 

The tear is through a seam..it's shape is so big and stretched out, it's not just a slit or something...it'd be a big hugely obvious patch, that probably wouldnt last..and it'd be too ugly for me to claim

 

Here, get some of these...

 

Only a true chevy guy would like those...i'm a ford guy, i just like stingrays and got a hell of a deal on a chevy

 

Okay, so these are more your speed? They are cheaper quality, but seeing what they go on you should already know that.