I know this topic has been covered many times on the forum, but I could use some expert advice on a few things. In the instructions from CA they say to unhook the metal retainers carefully so when you remove the cover you can note how long and where the retainers are to go on reassembly. Well, the darn things are so rusted and broken I just about could define and measure what was there. It appears that the back seat uses the smallest retainers 3/4" lenght throughout the foam. (1) the installation kit seems to have short changed me on 3/4" in clips. I count only 8. On the bottom part of the seat I find 2-1/2", 1-3/4",and 1-3/8" retainers going from front to back along the sides of the foam. The middle cross piece uses (3) - 1-3/4" retainers. That means that I need (10) 1-3/4" retainers. They only provided 4. Has anyone experienced this problem and how did you work around it? Is it that critical to match these retainers perfectly? Do you suggest I go to a auto seat cover place and purchase more retainers. Also if anyone has any hints on making the install better, I would gladly take their advice. Thanks :confused: :confused:

 

uhoh you got me and ED giving you advice!!!

your in for trouible now!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :conehead :conehead :conehead

were the best bubba'ers on da forum!! :conehead :conehead :hat

my kit too also only contained (4) 1.75" retaining clips./.

i reused the clips from one seat!!

you can also just go down to 2 retaining clips across the center wire it wont hurt nothing!!

your also gonna run outta hog rings!! so dont go crazy ripping em out with your teeth and all.,.. take em out gently so u can reuse about 10-20 of them....

you might also have to reuse the metal rods for the seat stay for the seat backs... (the metal rods that go around the bottom of the back leather that attaches to the edges of the seat frames)

i reused the wirvy curvy rods that the clips hooked upto on the underside of the foams since you WILL be short from what the kit gives you!!!


how the broken bolts goin ehh??

:lol: :lol: :lol: :blueangel:

 

oh and heres a tip...

goto home depot and buy the seat back bumper washers for .07 cents..

5$ bux for a 2#@#@$#@!ing washer is highway robbery!!!

and another tip....

those new seat back bumpers suck!!! the heads break off of them for no reason... all u gotta do it look at them the wrong way and they pop off...
so make sure u seat em all the way and they can support a cow pushing against the seat back otherwise.... kiss the $5 dollar bolt goodbye and youll be pulling the seat out to drill out the @#@$#ing cheaparse bolt and buying another!!

whew!

glad i got that out

:mad :mad

 

doh!!!

well i only used one length of chainlink

it actually works pretty darn good!!

:lol: :lol:

 

bl75vette,
I just finished this job myself on mine, new leather seat covers and new foam, this job is not hard, just tedious mind numbing work, here's a couple of things I learned and mine came out great......

- Buy an additional seat installation kit, it will be worth it. You will need to use all of the small clips on the seat backs and one kit will also not have enough hog rings for you to do (4) seat covers once you ruin or remove a couple (which you will do). Buy the hog ring pliers too, you will never use them again, you can have mine.
- Measure and mark all of the holes in the new foam (exactly), both on the back and bottom foam pieces. I drilled holes thru the foam where the clips needed to run thru, this will help you tremendously to pull thru the clips (and bailing wire later) when you go to attach the metal seat backs to the seat covers clips. This is an important step as this will determine how your seat covers align on your seat frames, take the time to measure where the holes/clips go.
- Trim the foam, if your new stuff has rough edges or excess foam, trim it off, especially on the top and sides of the seat.....(not too much though) this will improve the final smooth fit. Cut out the entire section of foam on the top of the foam backs where the seat belt bezel and guide is,(should be indented) this will improve the fit and reduce the foam compression on the top of the seat, it will also help you to get the the bezel thru the front of the seat and compress it to the back so you can attach it without comprimising the fit.
- Once you have the foam attached to the seat cover backs, slide in the frame, top first, align and attach (poke thru) your seat belt guide (mtd on the front of the seat) then pull your seat cover over the top of the frame (carefully). Start attaching your seat cover from the top of the frame first, then stretch and attach the bottom next, then the sides last, start the sides at the top also, stretching towards the bottom of the backs keeping the covers smooth.
- The bottoms are much easier, but use the "right" length hook/clips in the right places,(longer towards the front, shorter towards the seat back) again mark the holes on the foam and drill holes thru the foam, this will help you to attach the seat covers to the frame. Stretch the cover over the frame/foam and attach. Don't over do it with the cover/edge attaching clips here, just use enought to attach the seat cover to the frame edge.
- Another tip is...once you have the clips/hooks attached to the seat covers, cut some bailing wire or buy the J-hook seat install tool(bailing wire works well and is cheaper) cut it long enough to run thru the foam for you to grab it, cut a piece for each hook/clip and run it thru the foam as you attach the seat cover, this will help you to grab the hooks/clips so you can attach the wire supports on the underside back of the seat foam.

hope this helps....good luck and take your time.
CC

 

Hey guys!
Thanks for all your input. I will proceed slowly and let you know how it all turns out. Thanks again.