Ideas for replacing leather seats?

[NorwegianViking]

I have a '95 Artic White vet with red leather seats and black trim. My seats need to be replaced. When I took it to an upholstery shop, the man said that vinyl would wear better and look just as nice as leather. I would appreciate your ideas on what to do. Should I buy some already made that are on the web? Thanks!

 

[G Winter]

I have a '95 Artic White vet with red leather seats and black trim. My seats need to be replaced. When I took it to an upholstery shop, the man said that vinyl would wear better and look just as nice as leather. I would appreciate your ideas on what to do. Should I buy some already made that are on the web? Thanks!

Leather is much more comfortable than vinyl.

Glenn

 

[Rogue]

Buy the ready made ones with leather and cushions. YOu just need to install them on your seat buckets.

Don't believe for a minute that vinyl is as good or close to being as good as leather. Vinyl is hot and sticky in the summer, cold in the winter. Leather also smells good and is much more supple.

 

[PAULIE B]

I have a '95 Artic White vet with red leather seats and black trim. My seats need to be replaced. When I took it to an upholstery shop, the man said that vinyl would wear better and look just as nice as leather. I would appreciate your ideas on what to do. Should I buy some already made that are on the web? Thanks!

I HAVE AN 87 VETTE AND DID REPLACE MY SEATS. GOT LEATHER MOUNTED SEATS. ALL I HAD TO DO IS POP THE OTHERS OUT AND INSTALLED THE NEW ONES. MY SUGGESTIONS...BUY THE LEATHER AND HARDWARE. HAVE THE LOCAL UPHOLSTERY SHOP MOUNT THEM. BECAUSE...THE FOAM THAT COMES WITH THE MOUNTED ONES ARE TOO STIFF!! NOT AS COMFORTABLE BUT STILL NICE. LEATHER NOT VYNIL!

GOOD LUCK

PAUL:cool

 

[CorvetteArchives]

Buy the ready made ones with leather and cushions. YOu just need to install them on your seat buckets.

Don't believe for a minute that vinyl is as good or close to being as good as leather. Vinyl is hot and sticky in the summer, cold in the winter. Leather also smells good and is much more supple.

Do NOT buy the premounted seats! Buy the leather COVERS (it breathes better than vinyl) and use the OLD foam. Both Paulie and I regret the new foam as it is TOO stiff and you end up sitting ON TOP of it rather than IN the seat. You CAN easily reuse the old foam and can even do this yourself in an Hour with any sort of basic skills! You just need to buy the hog rings and pliers from ebay (cost me $20 USD) and a $5 wire clipper to cut the old hog rings off. If your foam is ripped and torn let an upholstery shop repair or make you some new ones! You'll be far happier and comfortable in the end than buying the new foam

 

[jrzvette]

If your car sits in the Texas sun alot during the summer you might want to consider cloth seats.

 

[91-Vetteman]

C4 Seat Cover Options

Hi, I have been looking to do the same for my 1991. I have found this brand on eBay and I have contacted four C4 Corvette owners who have purchased these and they all said they were very happy with the quality of the product. The link below is for your year C4, they also have these for 89-93. For $200 bucks, I am thinking of trying these.


1994~1996 CHEVY CORVETTE C4 S.LEATHER SEAT COVERS : eBay Motors (item 350121311081 end time Jan-29-10 17:07:21 PST)

 

[C2C3C4]

Read the info on this link about restoring leather seats. Interesting.
Do It Your Self Instructions | Leatherique Restoration Products

 

[PAULIE B]

Some changes

Here are some pics of what i have done to upgrade my vette: Seats(leather mounted), console(red to black), carpet, floor mats, clear mat protecters, info tag, etc..

 

[Rex S]

Ask you upholstry shop about Ultraleather. Man made product but is as comfotable as real leather and wears like steel it's OEM covering in high end, private jets. A little more expensive than leather but worth it.

 

[surfer93]

Hi, I have been looking to do the same for my 1991. I have found this brand on eBay and I have contacted four C4 Corvette owners who have purchased these and they all said they were very happy with the quality of the product. The link below is for your year C4, they also have these for 89-93. For $200 bucks, I am thinking of trying these.


1994~1996 CHEVY CORVETTE C4 S.LEATHER SEAT COVERS : eBay Motors (item 350121311081 end time Jan-29-10 17:07:21 PST)

I have these, I had to send the 1st set back. They had no openings for my sports seat, the 2nd set had two each per seat. Third set was very loose and are wearing out after 2 years.

Wilcox is the place to get new seats, everyone says they do great work.

 

[91-Vetteman]

Read the info on this link about restoring leather seats. Interesting.
Do It Your Self Instructions | Leatherique Restoration Products

Hi C2C3C4, have you ever tried this ?? has anyone ?? My seats are not ripped or torn, just worn in the usual spots. This looks like for $100 or so, you could get your seats looking as good as new. would love to hear if anyone actually has used this product.

 

[NorwegianViking]

Leather is much more comfortable than vinyl.

Glenn

Thanks Glenn for pointing out that leather IS more comfortable. I will take that to heart. Thanks again for helping me.

 

[NorwegianViking]

Buy the ready made ones with leather and cushions. YOu just need to install them on your seat buckets.

Don't believe for a minute that vinyl is as good or close to being as good as leather. Vinyl is hot and sticky in the summer, cold in the winter. Leather also smells good and is much more supple.

Thanks for your ideas. I will certainly look at buying the ready made ones! Yes, leather DOES smell much better than vinyl. Excellent point! Thanks again.

 

[NorwegianViking]

I HAVE AN 87 VETTE AND DID REPLACE MY SEATS. GOT LEATHER MOUNTED SEATS. ALL I HAD TO DO IS POP THE OTHERS OUT AND INSTALLED THE NEW ONES. MY SUGGESTIONS...BUY THE LEATHER AND HARDWARE. HAVE THE LOCAL UPHOLSTERY SHOP MOUNT THEM. BECAUSE...THE FOAM THAT COMES WITH THE MOUNTED ONES ARE TOO STIFF!! NOT AS COMFORTABLE BUT STILL NICE. LEATHER NOT VYNIL!

GOOD LUCK

PAUL:cool

Good to know that you had success with buying the leather mounted ones and having your shop mount them. Appreciate your suggestion for leather

 

[NorwegianViking]

Do NOT buy the premounted seats! Buy the leather COVERS (it breathes better than vinyl) and use the OLD foam. Both Paulie and I regret the new foam as it is TOO stiff and you end up sitting ON TOP of it rather than IN the seat. You CAN easily reuse the old foam and can even do this yourself in an Hour with any sort of basic skills! You just need to buy the hog rings and pliers from ebay (cost me $20 USD) and a $5 wire clipper to cut the old hog rings off. If your foam is ripped and torn let an upholstery shop repair or make you some new ones! You'll be far happier and comfortable in the end than buying the new foam

Got it! Thanks for the tip. Sorry that you and Paulie had to go through the pain of ""newly mounted foam. I really do appreciate the lesson from your experiences. Many thanks.

 

[NorwegianViking]

If your car sits in the Texas sun alot during the summer you might want to consider cloth seats.

Yes, it does sit in the hot summer sun! I hadn't thought of cloth before you mentioned it. I will check it out. Thanks.

 

[NorwegianViking]

Hi, I have been looking to do the same for my 1991. I have found this brand on eBay and I have contacted four C4 Corvette owners who have purchased these and they all said they were very happy with the quality of the product. The link below is for your year C4, they also have these for 89-93. For $200 bucks, I am thinking of trying these.


1994~1996 CHEVY CORVETTE C4 S.LEATHER SEAT COVERS : eBay Motors (item 350121311081 end time Jan-29-10 17:07:21 PST)

Wow.....these are perfect! I really have to look at pricing and these are very reasonable. My interior is red and black. Presently, the seats are solid read---just like the ones on the eBay Motors site. After seeing the red and black, I think it might be hard to decide which color to get. What are you going with?.....solid? or 2-colored?.....Many, Many thanks for the link. I really do appreciate you sharing your research with me. Best wishes on your new seat covers! I know it will feel so good to sit in nice seats again!

 

[NorwegianViking]

Read the info on this link about restoring leather seats. Interesting.
Do It Your Self Instructions | Leatherique Restoration Products

Thanks for the link....very interesting and if my seats were not in such bad shape, I would consider, but the leather is badly torn about 9" long on the driver's left side. Appreciate the new technique though. It is good to know that there is a product like that.

 

[NorwegianViking]

Here are some pics of what i have done to upgrade my vette: Seats(leather mounted), console(red to black), carpet, floor mats, clear mat protecters, info tag, etc..

Paulie, Beautiful restoration! Thanks for including the pictures. You are an inspiration.