The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Seat rehab

Scored a complete seat... cushions, frame and adjusters today for my 54 3100. Seat needs to be recovered and a bare spot or two in the padding.
I would like recommendations for a stock-style seat cover. There are several on-line and prices vary greatly, so I would imagine the quality does too.
What do the Bolters recommend?

I purchased a set of seat covers from LMC for my '76 F-150.

They fit perfectly and look great. Pleated red vinyl. $129.

If you aren't looking for something that's identical to factory, $179 for the AD, I think.

Did a fit test on my "new" seat today. Got it from a fellow Bolter. Now to re-cover it period correct.

Look at the plain version (no pleats) of the LMC covers.

I recovered my seats with a kit from Jim Carter. It fit well and went on with no issues. I also got their installation kit that has padding and clips. I reused some of the original padding.

That looks pretty nice.

Yes, that looks very original...nice. Now you got me wondering If I could recover my seats! Good job Kevin .

Dusty, the kits come pre-made and pre-sewn with all the piping, pleats, padding, etc. already in place.

It installs just like the Indian blanket seat covers from K-Mart except you fasten them in place underneath with the hog rings and pliers supplied with the kit.

If your old seats were more or less intact, it's possible to install the new covers right over the old vinyl.

Anyway, for the price, it beats paying an upholstery shop to do it.

Lay the vinyl out in the sun for half the day so it gets really soft and supple before you start.

I never did it before and was worried I'd screw it up. Nope. It actually went on faster than it took me to remove the old stuff - that's not how most auto repairs go.

The original upholstery and the recover kits come with "u" clips rather than hog rings. They clip the material over the edge of the frame. Pretty easy to install with a pair of pliers with some leather around the jaws so the teeth don't damage the vinyl. Jim Carter sells these individually Here or with an installation kit here.
Anybody who's reasonably handy could do the job. I did mine over a period of 2 days, including stripping the old stuff off, repairing a couple of spots and painting the springs, then installing the covers.

Jethro,
Love.. Love the fishing rod & rack....

Thanks... I put the rack in back in '86 when I hunted in it. Had a dog box on it with a pack of Walker hounds. Killed a lot of deer out of that truck. Can't ride around with a gun in the window anymore so I zip-tied a period Pfleuger outfit on it.

These are part no. 28-452 from Classic Parts. Only difficulty was just not enough length because I used more cushioning than stock. Wife sewed on extra from my old seat cover to get plenty of meat for the hog rings. All the extra is well hidden and allowed folding for multiple layers (hog rings have a tendency to rip when stretched). Shoulda held out for maroon like Kevin's which looks really good, but the maroon sample from CP doesn't have the tight grain structure of the brown. Been looking at brown so long in my truck I'm not sure the burgundy would match door panels like the brown does.

If your seat doesn't slide easily nor smoothly any longer, I posted some stuff at the end of this post about how to fix those. You may need to buy a new ball bearing or two.

https://tinyurl.com/2ssh3xnb

Thanks Jon... My "new" seat came complete with frame and adjusters. I now have a set to fix while I ride on the other set.