Seeking advice on reupholstering front seats for ‘74

[bluehills2002]

Now that the driving season is coming to an end (for me) I am dreaming about getting my black front seats redone this winter. It is as much about fixing the sagginess as anything else. I have priced out the pads (gasp) with Steve from Blunt, and I know GAAH and World are the recommending vinyl suppliers. Can I get by with just replacing the preforated sections , or do I need to replace the entire seat?  The side sections are in pretty good shape.  If anyone has any experience with Royal Auto Tops in  West Roxbury, Massachusetts I would be interested as well. I stopped in to check them out the other day, they do a lot of classic car work.  Thanks in advance for any advice. Tom

[2002#3]

bluehills2002,

 

My winter project exactly - same year, same color, same need for upholstery.  My plan is to use the new-fangled latex-coated "horsehair" material discussed a month or so ago here on FAQ as stuffing.  The big question remains:  where to obtain correct upholstery material with the correct or as-close-as-possible-to-correct pattern (see photo), or, preferably, complete assembled upholstery.

     

Larry

[Mike Self]

When it comes to seat upholstery, count yourself fortunate that you have a squarelight, as near-matching material is readily available; not so for us roundie owners; we have to either scrounge material or settle for non-original.  

 

Were your seats mine, I'd pursue dual paths and see which one works out.  From your pictures, it appears that only the center section of both cushion and back on the driver's seat is damaged. 

 

Path one is to find a matching black rear seat back--especially one that's sun-rotted at the top so is more or less unusable.  Have your upholstery shop take your current driver's seat apart and use material from the back seat to make new center sections; there's more than enough.  I've done that on both my roundies; the material is  perfect match, because not only is it original, but it's faded to the same degree as the original (mine are saddle/tobacco).  And back seats get little to no wear (ever ridden back there for more than a few minutes?)  Any good upholstery shop can take your seats apart and re-assemble 'em.

 

Path two is to find center material that's as close as you can find to what you have, and have it stitched in, same as the recycled back seat material.  If you can't find a close match, then have the passenger seat centers done too so the two front seats will match. 

 

You've got all winter to locate either a good used seat or new, matching material, so have at it.

Mike       

[joebarthlow]

there are some good threads on here dedicated to rebuilding seats...

[fljjmarz]

2002#3:

Could you please post a link to this “new latex-coated ‘horsehair’ material” thread you were talking about in you above post?

l also need to re-do my seats this winter.

Thanks!

Frank

[2002#3]

fljjmarz,

Here you go:  

Fortlauderdalian introduced this blue padding to us on September 3.  The process and posted results look pretty darn good.

Larry

 

[rstclark]

Regarding a partial replacement of the centers and not the sides That would not be wise. If you’re going this far, do everything The sides may look ok but they they are old and most likely a little brittle They will stitch but they may not hold well

In the end you will be happy with a complete job

[rstclark]

PS. As you probably know The 74s are unique seats. The only year with 7 pleats  The top widespread bar for the headrest is unique too

Be specific  if you order covers to be sure you can retain originality 

[PeterCS]

I too have very marginal seats on a 74 2002. Would love to see more members weigh in on this topic. 
I added more foam to my seats last year and put a bottom layer on to stop all the horse hair falling out onto the floor. 
PeterCS

74 2002

82 215 Baur

[rstclark]

Here are some for a 74 with grey piping

[PeterCS]

Spectacular. Must have done by a professional and cost alot.

[bluehills2002]

No kidding!  rstclark, can you provide more details as to where the material came from and who did the work?

[pminasi]

I have a 74 and used world upholstery with new horsehair padding and it turned out great. It’s a perfect match. I get my car back Monday and will post some pics. Definitely do the whole seat. Old vinyl dries out and will never fit perfect on new pads as vinyl loses its resiliency etc. You will be happy with a full replacement. Depending on your comfort level, you could do it yourself. 
 

[2002#3]

pminasi,

 

Thanks for the comments.  When you post photos, please show close-ups of the pseudo-perforations in the center sections of World Upholstery products (both front and rear).  Q:  By "new horsehair padding" do you mean the original replacement pads?

 

Larry

[pminasi]

Larry - I didn't get my car back today, there was one more thing my mechanic had to do, so hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday I can get some close ups for you. I did my seats about 8 years ago, and at the time, I got the BMW OEM seat "pads" for about $90 a piece - sadly, they are considerably more now. The pads are rubberized horsehair, but they don't use actual hair, it's like a sprayed rubber, there might be some natural fiber in it too. They are actually what provides the shape of the seat, so be careful if you get a roll of rubberized horsehair from an upholstery supply, as that will be even in thickness, and won't shape the seat to match the upholstery. But the aforementioned post addresses that issue. A good upholstery shop will be able to carve foam to shape the seat, but the horsehair gives an authentic feel! For the rear seat, the pads have been NLA for years, but the shape of the seat makes using foam or rubberized horsehair super easy, I speak from experience on that one as well.

 

Here are the part numbers for the pads:

 

52111824773 - Left lower seat pad (cushion)

52111824774 - Right lower seat pad (back rest)

52111824775 - Left back seat pad (cushion)

52111824776 - Right back seat pad - NLA, but you can use 52111824775 with a slight modification, and it works just fine.