Good laugh
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 914
Likes: 10
From: Brooklet Ga.
Good laugh
I needed to recover the seats in my 73 so I bought the covers and foams and just on a whim I stopped by the upholstery shop to see what they would charge to put the new covers and foams on. They didn`t bat an eye and said 400 per seat and that didn`t include any work on the frames. WELLLL I recovered both seats today and that included sandblasting the frames, welding in new nuts for the seat bumpers and painting them both with gloss black rustoleum. I guess his kid will have to find someone else to pay for his braces.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,814
Likes: 414
From: Pittsburgh suburbs Pa.
Not hard to do, just time consuming. $800. for two seats is just out of line and the real kick in the teeth would have been what he would have charged extra for reconditioning the seat frames. You would have been looking at $1200. total and you bought the covers and foams.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 914
Likes: 10
From: Brooklet Ga.
Let me figure out how to post pics I have put that off way to long. The only problems I had was the rubber bumper bolts wrung off in the nut that was tack welded to the seat frame and they are 5/16 -18 thread so I just tack welded 2 nuts back on. I hit the frames with some sand and painted them with a rattle can of black rustoleum. It`s not a hard job at all it just takes a little time, if you use the zip ties and you don`t like the way they fit the frame you can easily clip them off and add a little foam or shift the covers around and zip tie them right back. They are a whole lot better than the hog rings.
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Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 914
Likes: 10
From: Brooklet Ga.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,565
Likes: 2
From: Sparta Mo.
Well, I never installed NEW seat covers and foams, but I disassembled plenty of broken seat frames to weld back together and then stitched up the covers where the metal tore them. I never thought it was that difficult.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,200
Likes: 4,287
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi,
The thing I learned when I recovered mine was to leave one seat with the covers on but the back and bottom dissassembled. This way you can refer to the original seat to see how something was done if you have a question while doing the first seat covers.
Regards,
Alan
The thing I learned when I recovered mine was to leave one seat with the covers on but the back and bottom dissassembled. This way you can refer to the original seat to see how something was done if you have a question while doing the first seat covers.
Regards,
Alan
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,485
Likes: 7
From: Peekskill NY
Hi,
The thing I learned when I recovered mine was to leave one seat with the covers on but the back and bottom dissassembled. This way you can refer to the original seat to see how something was done if you have a question while doing the first seat covers.
Regards,
Alan
The thing I learned when I recovered mine was to leave one seat with the covers on but the back and bottom dissassembled. This way you can refer to the original seat to see how something was done if you have a question while doing the first seat covers.
Regards,
Alan
and take pics for reference!
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,116
From: Crossville TN
I try to 'guess-timate' what planned work would cost to have done by someone else. That always makes me smile and greatly eases the discomfort wrought by expense for replacement C3 part costs. When I finish [and know that I've done a better job than 'paid labor' would do], I celebrate with a nice dinner out with the "savings" reaped from doing the work myself. 
