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I bought my 98 C5 Convertible knowing that it had a few things here and there to do, but I am a tinkerer so it was ok. I took the passenger seat out and did the seat track repair and the foam blocks under the bottom cushion. Al went fairly well following all the great instructions on here. I have now pulled the drivers side seat out and it had a problem with the seat back. I pulled the cover off and the foam off to find that the fiberglass "wing" on the outside of the seat has broken off. I have found hundreds of posts about seat repairs, but nothing about this. Can this be repaired or do I need to buy a new seat back, and can you buy a new seat back? Thanks for any tips.
Bolster... I would check with Marc at Vettenuts for replacement. Possibly find a C5 bone yard close by and pick up a trashed out seat that you can dismantle for the seat back if the bolster is still good
This is a great idea also
It's fiberglass - just repair it. Clean up the break (loose fibers, etc), use some suitable repair resin or epoxy to glue the broken wing on (use packing tape to hold in place while it cures), then scuff the joint and surrounding area well and use glass cloth and resin to reinforce the seam.
Do some online research if you are not familiar with fiberglass repair, this one is about as easy as they get (it's hidden so appearance and finish quality of repair is not an issue).
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
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Originally Posted by dbarrym
It's fiberglass - just repair it. Clean up the break (loose fibers, etc), use some suitable repair resin or epoxy to glue the broken wing on (use packing tape to hold in place while it cures), then scuff the joint and surrounding area well and use glass cloth and resin to reinforce the seam.
Do some online research if you are not familiar with fiberglass repair, this one is about as easy as they get (it's hidden so appearance and finish quality of repair is not an issue).
Good luck!
Barry
That's one way to repair it.
Or you can use a couple pieces of aluminum sheet metal about 2" to 2 1/4" (~) wide and cut to length. Drill some holes through the metal strips (and seat) on either side of the break, and pop-rivet the strips into place. I would use some large flange pop-rivets along with reinforcing washers on the opposite side to spread out the load. Simple and cheap. sort of like seen here:
Thanks for the responses, so now I have another question (or two). The person I bought the car from evidently tried to repair the seat and did a crappy job. I am looking at having to order new foam and covers as well as the switch covers. The bladders are broken and the power seat module isn't working on the passenger seat. So here are my questions:
1. I have read that there is only one Seat Control Module and that should be under the drivers seat. Mine has one under the passenger seat, is that normal?
2. At this point it looks like it might be cheaper, easier, and possibly look better to swap out for a set of good used C6 seats. I have read a bunch of posts on this, but do I have to use the Seat Control module from the C5 seats? If so I would still have to buy one for the passenger seat. And is it possible to get the heated seats working?
Again thanks for all the help. I love working on stuff and this is my latest project. Once I get it comfortable to drive, I get to the fun stuff.....
I JUST fixed this same problem last night. Like someone already said, cut two 3x3 pieces of steel or aluminum, duct tape the piece back where you want it (since you don't have 3 hands) and rivet one metal brace on each side. Had it done in less than an hour, works like a charm.
Sat down to recover my seats last weekend, and irony of ironies - I just had to make this very repair on the driver's seat of my own FRC. There was a small cut in the cover and foam by the lumbar support when I bought the car, and I always assumed it was from a sharp edge on the corner of the lumbar extension...Nope...
I bought new foam, including the heavy duty lower foam AND the base reinforcement kit (not needed with the DJM foam, so installed it on passenger seat), and was in a rush to install my new seat covers so decided to use some 1/16" thick G10 fiberglass sheet I had lying around. After scuffing the seat and the back of the G10 with 60 grit and cleaning well, I used some aircraft grade Loctite epoxy to glue the reinforcement piece in place with plenty of clamps.
After a couple hours of cure, I added some slit 3/16" ID fuel tubing reinforcement, duct taped well all around the edge of the lumbar support, and re-assembled everything. There is no way it will break again, the seat back is going to go first.
Wa-la, at the end of the day, redone seats (apologies for crappy pic):
Not a difficult project, and another method for quickly repairing broken seats. You can get the G110 and Loctite (ask for 1 hour cure) at McMaster-Carr for under $20.
Broken Seat - HELP!!
