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Yes, Al Knoch is the only commercial supplier of full leather seats. NEVER forget that leather/vinyl was and still is used for durability as only the finest leather AND upholstery design intended for all leather will prove serviceable for any length of time. Both early and late C3 seat designs used vinyl to endure the wear of the "fall-in, climb-out" seating.
Do as you like but keep in mind that you will pay a premium price for a product very likely less durable than what you might consider inferior because of the word "vinyl".
Both Al Knoch and Corvette America make full leather seat covers.
68's and 69's order with leather seats, got full leather seat covers. These were the only two years that came with a full leather seat.
On 70-78 leather seats, the seating surface was leather, but the sides and back were vinyl. Only the pleaded section in the of middle of 79-82 seats was leather, the side bolsters and back were vinyl.
Knoch and Corvette America offer every year seat cover in full leather, for those that prefer full leather, to the leather vinyl seats.
I installed 100% leather in 2001.
The seats have held up very well.
After about 10 years and about 30,000 miles, there was a bit of wear on the outside seam of the driver's seat back.
Switched the seats.
Seat material is just a matter of personal preference.
Pick the covering that you dream of sitting on as you cruise down the road.
Yes, Al Knoch is the only commercial supplier of full leather seats. NEVER forget that leather/vinyl was and still is used for durability as only the finest leather AND upholstery design intended for all leather will prove serviceable for any length of time. Both early and late C3 seat designs used vinyl to endure the wear of the "fall-in, climb-out" seating.
Do as you like but keep in mind that you will pay a premium price for a product very likely less durable than what you might consider inferior because of the word "vinyl".
Nope , Corvette America makes and sells their own leather seat covers . That's who I bought mine through . A lot better quality with their parts .
Do as you like but keep in mind that you will pay a premium price for a product very likely less durable than what you might consider inferior because of the word "vinyl".
Leather looks and feels better than vinyl every time. Worn well cared for leather has a nice patina too.
I carry the 100 percent covers, below is the link... but are you sure that is what you want. As stated above, the seats switched to leather vinyl in 1970 and the main reason was failure in the side bolsters of the 100 percent seat cover.
When you get into your car, your rear always rides in on the rear outer section of the cover, leather will tear and wear way faster than vinyl and thus the design change.
Here's a photo, that I took today, of my 100% leather seat with the wear on the left bolster.
I agree with Willcox, as one gets in and out the seat wears a little.
The discoloration has not worn out the leather, there is just a verticle mark.
And it took years before this happened.
Now that I switched seats, I had not thought about the mark until this post came up.
I got a pair of all leather seats from Ridies and just finished installing them a couple of weeks ago. I'm very happy with them. I have the Anniversary Edition with 'shale' seats. Ridies shale was different, but they sent me samples and I finally settled on their 'sandstone' and it is a very good match to my interior. I didn't care for the perforated leather, so I ordered the seats without it. I did all the work myself, including fixing a broken fiberglass wing on the drivers seat, fixing a stuck air pump and fixing leaky side bolster air bags. The new seats really upgraded the interior and I couldn't be happier. I watched C&S Corvettes helpful videos and they made the project much easier. Spoiler alert: The new seats have wrinkles, but I don't care. They say I could get rid of them with a hair dryer, but I don't plan on doing that.
I got a pair of all leather seats from Ridies and just finished installing them a couple of weeks ago. I'm very happy with them. I have the Anniversary Edition with 'shale' seats. Ridies shale was different, but they sent me samples and I finally settled on their 'sandstone' and it is a very good match to my interior. I didn't care for the perforated leather, so I ordered the seats without it. I did all the work myself, including fixing a broken fiberglass wing on the drivers seat, fixing a stuck air pump and fixing leaky side bolster air bags. The new seats really upgraded the interior and I couldn't be happier. I watched C&S Corvettes helpful videos and they made the project much easier. Spoiler alert: The new seats have wrinkles, but I don't care. They say I could get rid of them with a hair dryer, but I don't plan on doing that.
Look great, how difficult was it to fit the Ridies covers? I have a pair to go on the c5 seats in my 71, I think the wrinkles are from the old foam, new foam seems to solve it.
Look great, how difficult was it to fit the Ridies covers? I have a pair to go on the c5 seats in my 71, I think the wrinkles are from the old foam, new foam seems to solve it.
Look great, how difficult was it to fit the Ridies covers? I have a pair to go on the c5 seats in my 71, I think the wrinkles are from the old foam, new foam seems to solve it.
Everything went well. I used zip ties where the original covers had hog rings (Hog rings are very hard to work with unless you're a pro). I used the old foam, but I installed the seat repair kit from West Coast Corvettes on the driver's side to rejuvenate it, and I'm happy with those results. Generally speaking, I think you're right about new foam solving wrinkle issues.
Apologies to all the C3 owners out there for initially mis-posting in the C3 forum. (I used to have a '75 Flame Orange coupe, and I miss it!)
03-19-2017, 09:12 PM
(I used to have a '75 Flame Orange coupe, and I miss it!)
