I'm having a hell of a time trying to install a new set of seats :banghead:. I bought the kind where the covers are pre-mounted on new foam, and supposedly they're ready to just snap into place.

The bottoms weren't too bad, but the backs are a titanic PITA. I just can't seem to get the metal wires in the foam to snap into the clips in the plastic shells. :(

Before I resort to Velcro :D, I thought I'd ask you experts. Any assistance or advice would be gratefully accepted. :flag

 

Basic question but did you buy a good pair of hog ring pliers. I was told to not even try without this tool.

 

You need to bend the seat back and use a large screwdriver to push the metal rod on the seat back over the clips on the seat frame.

Might help to make sure the seat is warm (bends easier).

Hope this helps.

Terry

 

Bob, no I didn't buy hog ring pliers for this project. Hog rings (along with wires) are used to attach the seat covers to foam underlayment. The seats I purchased were already pre-assembled with the covers ringed to the foam. I did this to avoid having to use - among other things - the pliers. :rolleyes:

I spent the last week replacing most of my interior - carpet, console, gauge bezel, etc. - and it went much easier than expected. The seats I always figured would be a piece of cake. :nopity Oh well, I'll 'Bubba' through it somehow. :D

BTW - Nice website, very informative.

 

Thanks! I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

 

Quote:
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Bob, no I didn't buy hog ring pliers for this project. Hog rings (along with wires) are used to attach the seat covers to foam underlayment. The seats I purchased were already pre-assembled with the covers ringed to the foam. I did this to avoid having to use - among other things - the pliers.
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The seat covers do not attach to the foam underlayment. Anything attached to the foam will rip right through the foam. Various length wires with a loop on each end are fed through the foam and attach to the springs in the metal frame with hog rings and to horizontal and vertical wires threaded into pockets in the seat covers. There are some very good seat cover installation FAQs out there which should contain all the information you need. A Forum member gave me a tip that made my second seat cover installation easier. A lightweight garbage bag placed over the seat back foam enables the cover to slide right on and can be pulled out easily afterwards.

Hope this helps,
Craig

 

I don't really understand the question. Like VetteNut72 says, the metal wire on the back of the seat foam is not in any way directly attached to the covers, except that there is a fabric sleeve sewn to the covers, and the seat back rods are inserted thru this sleeve and hog ringed in place. The whole thing should move. On '81 seats these attachment wires have the "loops" that fit into the rectangular holes on the plastic seat frames, so my guess is, unless somebody screwed up, you have nice tight covers and have to manhandle the "clip" parts to match the seat back. You can be pretty forceful here. If it don't fit, get a bigger hammer. But eyeball the problem first. If you eyeball it and it doesn't make sense, call the manufacturer. It seems to me everything should line up Almost. They should fit with a little persuasion. Work from the bottom up, but eyeball from the top down.

By the way guys, I used long nylon wire ties to attach vinyl covers to 2 1/2 inch '81 seat foam. The hog rings rust and get nasty, but the foam was in good shape. I used plenty of them. There were a couple of wrinkles, but they came out with a mere hair dryer. I would be afraid to use a heat gun. Too hot. We will see if the nylon ties hold up. One thing for sure, unless you want to really know about daytime TV, it is much, much easier to get an experienced upholstery guy to install the covers for $25 bucks a seat, or to break down and buy the mounted ones. I just wanted to try it.

If you call the vendors ahead of time, they will often bring them to Carlisle mounted at no extra charge. You trade your old ones in. Oh yeah, and a guy at Hershey mentioned that he often switched driver and passenger bottoms to prevent the leather from wearing out too soon. That was a good tip.