The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors new seat foam for AD trucks?

I've done a quick Google search and looked thru my favorite repo sites and can't find new seat foam for my 47. Anyone know of someone reproducing a seat foam kit for the AD trucks?

Is it actually foam? I recall pictures of some that were, but very rare.
Most are steel springs with some burlap and cotton batting more or less, but no foam.

Well, to be a bit of a smart aleck (when did you last use that phrase) it's hard to get a reproduction of something that never was . Original over the springs was burlap, then a horsehair mat, then cotton batting. Pics of the original seat from my '51 are here.

If I were redoing my seat today, I'd go to the nearest Wal-Mart and buy a couple exercise mats along with some 1/2" hardware cloth/wire (hardware store item) to go over the springs. The hardware cloth will unitize the springs, preventing sagging and I suspect two exercise mats trimmed to fit would make a pretty nice seat.

When I redid my seat I wanted a firm no nonsense seat so instead of foam over the hardware cloth I used a medium pile Berber carpet. It's great for the first hour and putting around home, but on a long drive I wind up seating on a foam cushion.

Good Luck,

RonR

Touche! Well played my good man.

Grigg, you are correct.

I've got a friend that's gonna redo my seat and I think it's a little overwhelming at first look. I'm looking for the easy way out. If there was a molded seat foam kit that we could just throw in there that'd help.

If you use foam, please be certain to get foam rated for upholstery use. If you buy cheap urethane foam it will over a 5 to 10 year period turn to either a whitish powder or a gooey mess which you'll never be able to clean up...depending on from which branch of the foam tree it was derived. As I said, be certain it is rated for upholstery use and has a very high ppi (pores per inch) rating.

Buying burlap requires some understanding, patience and study to get the right stuff. I believe 30 oz is the highest available. Here is one source: https://www.bigduckcanvas.com/burlap/22oz-48-canvas-burlap-natural/
and there are other sellers out there.

Since today it is principally used for hobbies and crafts, most burlap sold is 7, 10 or 12 oz burlap. The difference can be seen in density of the threads. You can hold 7 ounce up and light will shine freely through it. It has the effect of a bunch of 2mm squares in fact. Basically I would have nothing to do with it. By the time you work up to 12 oz burlap, the threads will be next to each other, but 12 ounce still isn't tough enough. I like 22 oz treated burlap. It is strong enough to last longer than anyone reading this. You'll need a strong machine with a good needle if you're going to overlap and sew it (to make a bag, belt, etc), but for this kind of upholstery it should be just fine.

Contact Tim Sheridan (look in Gallery for 1946 or 47 truck). He did a great job rebuilding his seat with foam.

Try Jim Carter - UP100 , includes cotton, burlap, clips and instructions. Sounds like what you are asking for. Check it out.

http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/cart/product.asp?prodid=UP100&i=|||||

I found that Jim Carter's kit was woefully inadequate - painfully (on the butt & back) inadequate.

It might have been the loose weave burlap. Jon G's burlap looks much better.
Also, JC's other layers are thinner than the ones in the sales illustration, above.

JC's seat cover installation kit

Tim, thanks for clearing that up. Learning from your experience benefits us all.

I agree with Tim’s comment above about the kit. I added memory foam to mine and then compressed the springs considerably. Wish it was a bit firmer but it does the job and looks good.

I have added a piece of short-nap carpet (a piece of foam rubber would be as good) between the burlap and the cotton. Works like charm in all my Suburban's eight seat cushions.

I did burlap on top of springs, then memory foam, then vinyl covering. Been supporting my backside for well over a dozen years and still going strong.