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Does anyone know of a reputable upholstery shop on the West Coast that can recondition and upholster '72 seats?
Thanks in advance
Dougtov
Doug-
Why not do them yourself? CA has an excellent tutoral video on how to do this and if you get stuck, well... I've done six sets of 1970-1975 seats in our shop in the last two months so I can probably help you with any questions.
My advice whether you do them yourself or not...
Never put new covers over old foam and always order the install kit for doing this.
The install kit comes with all the wires, rings and clips you'll need so it's a must.
A quality set of hog ring pliers is a must and the seat clip tool is something you'll have to have.
The only issue I see with their video is that they call out the clips sizes incorrectly but it's not hard to figure out by watching which clip they pull in the video. For example, they call the clips on the seat back 1" but they are actually 5/8" long. If you watch the video, make sure you pay attention to the technique used to install the clips. When you pull the clips through you don't try to raise them high enough to clip them, once you get the clip close, you use the tool to flip it over the wire.
Also check the seat back to seat frame alignment before you install the covers. This design seat frame has a tendency to bend or be bent. So mock everything up, tweak the seat frame and then install. If the rear lower support is broken or damaged (the part the bumpers screw into), it is available new.
Willcox
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Jul 3, 2017 at 07:34 PM.
I bought new foam and leather covers (CA) for my 74. I couldn't find anyone who was interested in covering the seats. I reviewed the videos and decided to go for it. Once stripped I welded up and beefed up the frames. Cleaned and painted them. Ordered some new clips, buttons and dyed the seat backs. Came out great.
I have plenty of pictures of the seats installed on our foam, but one complaint I get is people try to pull the clips up and over the wire... If you try to do this you'll think the seat clips are too short, or you'll think the foam is tight on the cover. If you use the seat clip installation tool, you use the end of it to flip the clip over the rod and you won't have any issues installing the covers on the new foam.
In the old days I used to have issuess with the foam being too tight and hard but the new foam supplied today from CA has the exact same IDF as the original seat foam..... and it fits like a glove when installed.
The hardest part about installing the 1970-1975 seat cover is installing the seat back upper molding. The molding should be centered in the relief in the seat back and I see seats all the time where the molding is too high and on top of the beading. The trick is to cut a X in the cover so that you can move the cover up or down and then loosely tighten the three nuts on the seat back molding. If you do this you can move the cover once it's flipped over the seat back.
Willcox
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Jul 6, 2017 at 11:21 AM.
Why not do them yourself? CA has an excellent tutoral video on how to do this and if you get stuck, well... I've done six sets of 1970-1975 seats in our shop in the last two months so I can probably help you with any questions.
My advice whether you do them yourself or not...
Never put new covers over old foam and always order the install kit for doing this.
The install kit comes with all the wires, rings and clips you'll need so it's a must.
A quality set of hog ring pliers is a must and the seat clip tool is something you'll have to have.
The only issue I see with their video is that they call out the clips sizes incorrectly but it's not hard to figure out by watching which clip they pull in the video. For example, they call the clips on the seat back 1" but they are actually 5/8" long. If you watch the video, make sure you pay attention to the technique used to install the clips. When you pull the clips through you don't try to raise them high enough to clip them, once you get the clip close, you use the tool to flip it over the wire.
Also check the seat back to seat frame alignment before you install the covers. This design seat frame has a tendency to bend or be bent. So mock everything up, tweak the seat frame and then install. If the rear lower support is broken or damaged (the part the bumpers screw into), it is available new.
Willcox
Wow, Thank you for this great info. I have decided to attempt to recover these myself--after all, it is a project car!
When I did the seats last winter it was the first I've ever done. I took one apart at a time so I had the other for reference. Took me about three evenings. Second one went much faster. I did order and used the clip tool.
I got my covers, foam and hardware from Willcox, followed the C/A vids and it went pretty well. First time I had done anything like it. Very pleased with the result. I did have a helper which made things a bit easier. 2nd pair of hands doesn't hurt.
