70 seat frames need major work.

[laguna-vette]

I was installing one of those " anti-sag" plates on my driver seat and in the process discovered the seat frame bottom and top are in pretty bad shape.

Anyone have a suggestion on what would be the best route to go to have my seat frames reconditioned. I was hoping to install the anti-sag plate, throw the seat back in and enjoy driving in the warm days ahead. Now, I must bite the bullet and have these seats totally redone. The more I messed with them, the more they fell apart.

Thanks in advance.

 

[James1970]

C3 Seat Repair / Overview

Hi laguna-vette,

I feel you pain as I'm in the process or restoring my 70' L46 Vert seats. Here's my quick $.02

1. If you decide to fix your seats correctly, you should probably plan on installing new seat covers and foam padding. The only way you can repair your bottom seat frame IMO is to remove the existing padding and seat cover.

2. The seats in the 70' are interchangeable. Therefore, work on the passenger seat first. This way you can still cruise your ride.

3. You can straighten the seat frame yourself and weld a piece of angle-iron/"L" bracket to beef up the week rails. I've never welded so I've taken mine to a auto repair shop that has not done a damn thing for over 3 weeks. I'm picking the seat frames up on Wednesday if no work has been done. A friend of mine suggested that a muffler shop could do the repair and would probably not charge much. Makes sense to me.

4. Installing new seat covers: Lots of folks have done this themselves and I am preparing to do the same. If you chose to have a professional install your new foam & covers, expect to pay anywhere from $75-$150+ per seat.

5. Foam and Seat Covers: you have the choice of Vinyl, Leather-Like vinyl and Leather. I have the delux interior in my 70' so I'm staying with leather. Lots of vendors sell the covers, foam and tools to do the job. I did a ton of research on this but focused in on Wilcox and Al Knoch. Wilcox offers a good product at a GREAT price. Al Knoch offers NCRS quality at a very competitive price. I decided to go with Al Knoch and am extremely pleased with the product quality. Drop me an email and I'll give you more information on this if you like. You can be sure other CAC members will offer their opinion on alternative vendors to consider. I suggest you weigh all advise.

6. Miscellaneous: I've downloaded a bunch of links provided by other members that explain "How To" refurbish your C3' seats. Al Knoch also sells a similar "How To" video for ~$45.

Anyway, this is just cursory information. Just watch...this link will EXPLODE with informaition!

Good Luck!

 

[James1970]

"Just watch...this link will EXPLODE with information!"
Still waiting for the explosion......... ;-)

 

[pasvorto1]

I just had the seats in my '78 completely redone. They leaned back so far the previous owner had to put wood blocks under the backs to keep them upright. It took the auto interior place a ton a time to reweld everything and reinforce everything. Then new foam, then new covers. Then a bill for $1100! But man, they are brand spanking new (like). It would have been cheaper (I think) to buy new seats. But where? I couldn't find any C3 seats anywhere.

 

[James1970]

They leaned back so far the previous owner had to put wood blocks under the backs to keep them upright.

LOL!!! And I thought I was "McGyver" by placing a few rubber grommets under the seatbacks!

Pasvorto, take heart that your seats are now 100% perfect and that the $1,100 you spent is a sunk cost. Just enjoy your seats and don't worry about your investment. I'm still squeamish about doing the seats myself but am going to give it a shot.

Update: I FINALLY found a shop to weld 6 "L" brackets to the inside rail of the passenger seatframe bottom. Of course, it's the same shop that will be doing $1,000 worth of paint/body work on my wife's new Accord (vandalized). Who knew the plastic "Accord" & "EX" emblems were so popular? They also bashed in her left rear window pillar. NICE!!

Moral: I guess when your spending a grand at a body shop, the least they can do is throw in a few spot-welds!