Re-covering 81 Seats

[DDLS3]

Well I got the 81 Blue Shark out of storage yesterday. After a welcome home ride around town I put her in the garage and removed the seats to send them out for re-covering. The question is, should I remove the foam cushions from the frames or send them as they are? Next question would be how do seperate the frames from the cushions?

 

[barrier5]

Getting them out is the easy part.Start with the seatback,push the side toward the center and they should unhook,the clips face each other and there are 2 on each side.Next grab hold of the back of the bottom and pull up.OK now there out,getting them back in is a whole new adventure,especially if you get new foam ad.Did you check any dealers,MidAmerica etc.I just bought a set from a local supplier for a lot less then catalog and even less then having them recovered

 

[DDLS3]

barrier5,

Thanks for the reply. Yes I've checked various catalogs and their all way over priced. I plan on taking them to a local shop on Monday. The first estimate is around $200 installed.

 

[desertsled]

find any good deals?

Hi im looking for a deal on my 1979's seats. I think Ill need foam also. Mid America wants 749.00 and zip wants 699.00 for foam with leather on them pre-installed. Where have you looked? My local shops want big bucks to do it. (450.00 for plastic, and 1000.00 for leather.

 

[Nut]

Dale,

Send me an email and I'll sketch you up some instructions. Too lengthy to write them all out here. Personally, if your shop is not aquainted with Vette seat pans I'd pull them myself. BUT....... if they know how to do our pan type seats let them do it. The first one is not as easy as it looks. Once you've dome one side the other is easy. It's the reassmbly that is the real trick.

Desertsled.... As for mine, I went to Eckler's. They matched my (rare 1 year only Cinnabar) perfectly to the side panels and dash. I was VERY pleased with the color and delivery (2 days). I did order new seats with new foam. It was a little pricy but they are sweet. Also, once you ge the cushions out of the pans re-dye them before you put them back togther. It's the one thing (in hind sight) I wish I have done.

Call me at home if you need help.

............ Nut

 

[desertsled]

Re dye them???

Hi NUT. I thought the pre installed seats came colored from the factory ( Mid America and zip has the red ) Did your seats need dye? Thanks for the tip ill check Ecklers
Mark

 

[Nut]

Mark,

No... the seats came dyed (PERFECTLY) from Eckler's. I was very happy with the color match and they came in 2 days. I am not considering re-dying my carpeting. It has faded in some areas. Good luck.

............. Nut

 

[Nut]

Mark, Here is a shot of the seats.

.......... Nut

 

[chockey]

I will be uncovering my 81 this weekend and one of the things that I want to take care of this year are the seats too. Has anybody had any luck finding cloth replacements. My seats are dark blue cloth and in OK shape but would like to make them a lot better than OK, any suggestions?

 

[DDLS3]

After a trip to a somewhat local upolstry guru I have decided to order new covers from Ecklers. He actually recomended purchasing them from Al Knoch in Texas but in all honesty he is a bit more pricey than I can justify. No doubt top quality, but at a premium. Bob thanks for all the great info, I'll keep your number handy in case I need a consultation, can't beat experience, thats for sure. I heard you mention dye, is there a specific carpet dye? Mine could use a freshen up. I plan to paint the seat frames with semi-flat black as original while I have them out. I will likely have the covers installed locally on the existing foam unless it is found to be deteriorated.

 

[barrier5]

I hunted high and low for cloth seat covers,no luck.The places that said they had them on there web sites didn't,so I went with leatherlike with new foam and they do look good but I really would have liked new cloth covers.Also said what the hey and put in new carpet,door panels and spray bombed the floor boards and deadner to get rid of the old car smell,figured after painting the car might as well do the rest.If you find a good source of cloth seats let me know,I'd EBay my new ones and go back to cloth.

 

[Scott81]

I will be uncovering my 81 this weekend and one of the things that I want to take care of this year are the seats too. Has anybody had any luck finding cloth replacements. My seats are dark blue cloth and in OK shape but would like to make them a lot better than OK, any suggestions?

I saw cloth seats for sale about 5 years ago in some catalog, haven't seen cloth since. When I had my seats recovered I dropped them off at a local shop since I was going to Europe, the guy said cloth was no problem. Came back and he installed covers that were the "leather-like" on the outside and cloth centers, I believe 80 vettes had these. I was kind of PO'd but after a few days of looking at them I like them. A good custom shop will be able to find the correct material and make them but they may be pricey.

 

[Nut]

Cloth seats are virtually impossible to find unless by some stroke of luck you find them on eBay, CAC Auctions, ...etc. The original material is simply not available anymore; anywhere. Color is academic, the stuff just ain't out there. So...... what'd ya do? Replace with Leather, Leather-Like or Vinyl or unless you have a top notch upolstry shop that can find material "close" to the original, these are the only options you have. I came very close to having a local seamstress do up some new covers using drapery material that was VERY close, but the cost would have been double what I paid to have Eckler's ship me new stuff with new foam.

Dale, I've heard that Al Knoch does great work. It is worth the money if you have it to spare. As for carpet dyes, I think Eckler's sells this too. I stopped worrying about originality and went with comfort, looks and cost.

................ Nut

 

[jsimpson]

Forget leather-like; the sems split in no time. Spring for the real cow; you'll be glas you did!

 

[chockey]

DDL-81 ( DALE )

Hope that there are no hard feeling for jumping in on your topic but I took advantage of what might make my rides better and make my blue shark sharper.

Scott81 and NUT thanks for the input, not sure what I will do, its a long time to the Corvettes at Carlisle and hoped to get some thing before having to search each booth there.

Chuck

 

[DDLS3]

Chuck,

No hard feelings at ALL. That's what this forum is all about.....helping each other out. Hope you got the info and input you sought. I did:cool

 

[Corvette Craig]

Seat Covers

I hope this helps.
Last year I ordered new leather-like seat covers after MONTHS of searching for type, price, color etc...
I've stated this before and I am quite happy with the results.
Ecklers, Corvette Central, Mid-America and many smaller outfits offer seats, leather, leather-like, vinyl, foam, etc...
But...
The best deal I found was from a website in Tampa, Fl.
ANTHONYSUPHOLSTRY.COM

They offer embrodiery of CORVETTE logos on the head rests.
Prices were quite reasonable, about $250.00 leather like set.

When I spoke with them, I questioned about new foam also, and was instructed to steam the foam before installing the covers. By doing so, the foam bounced back to like new condidtion.

As for the installation, they told me to call a car detailer, who refered me to a woman in my area who said she'd install them for $50.00 if I brought her the seats.

End result: NEW SEAT COVERS W/LOGO INSTALLED FOR LESS THAN $300.00, and they LOOK GREAT

Good Luck

 

[cscarlson]

that e-mail address. it doesn't work. is it all one word or how do you type it?

 

[Corvette Craig]

Seats

Spelled wrong, sorry and try:

www.anthonysupholstery.com

 

[Scott81]

Craig,

Way to go on that site! Nice and close to me so when I need mine covered I'll be able to get embroidered ones. Thanks!