Seat foam question 67

[kobi67]

I am replacing the leather seat covers on my 67, along with the foam. When I pulled my covers, I found the original foam had a section along the outside of the seating area added onto it. It looks like a preformed foam piece glued to the foam pads. This added foam would give the seat a more padded look around the edges. The new foam looks just like the old foam without the added piece. I can tell these seats have been repaired before and the original foam has a GM part # on it.
My question is, Is this added padding original?? If so, why not just shape the new foam to look like the old with the added sections?? Thanks Kurt

 

[BarryK]

Hi Kurt
I need to get my '65 seats (leather also) redone and when I mentioned it Sat to some others at a body drop get-together someone told me that that extra padding was only done on the leather seats, not the vinyl seats. Supposably it's additional foam to give extra padding around the edges as you mentioned and it's wrapped in a material (such as burlap?). He even showed me the breakdown of the seat showing that extra padding in the '65 AIM. Your '67 seats are probably very similar with the same padding because yours are leather also.
I'm guessing the new foam isn't already shaped with extra padding on the edges already because it was only used on the leather seat option, so all the seats could use the same main foam than only the leather option cars had this added padding.
The bad news is that he also said that extra padding is not available thru any of the vendors. I suppose any good auto custom upholsterer could shape extra padding to work to make it look correct, but other than that I don't know what people do if they do the seats themselves.
I'm considering having my seats done by Al Knoch at Carlisle but I need to check to see if they put in this extra padding. I think without it the seats will look too "flat".
if they don't add the extra padding, than I'll probably buy everything I need from Wally Knoch and have to find a good custom upholsterer to do the work locally including making the extra padding.

 

[kobi67]

BarryK, Great info... That added foam looked original to me.. I will see of I can get the added foam off and reuse it.. I was able to view a 67 AIM, sure enough the added foam is shown.. Thanks for the info. Kurt

 

[WayneC]

You may be better off shaping some new foam to fit rather than reusing the old pads.... that stuff doesn't last forever, sooner or later it'll start disintegrating.