The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors seat foam

Has anyone replaced spring and frame using high density foam? I am going to build seat from hd foam and I am curious as to how thick/tall to make it.

I have not done a foam seat for my Stovebolt, but on my F250, I've had the seat covers repaired and the foam on that is roughly 4" thick. That might give you a starting point. Get some 3" thick and 4" thick foam samples and test sit them on a piece of plywood. I would make the seats about the same height as the originals.

I know little about seat foam, but when restoring my '37 the seat springs were too deteriorated to use. I only had the seat base frames. This truck has a split front seat. My upholstery guy suggested using high density foam, which ended up being 5 or 6 inches thick. Seven years later the seats look and feel great. So the seat construction is vinyl, foam and a plywood base attached to the seat frame.
Kent

my originals were a complete mess, about how thick were the original springs and padding?

Just saw some dimensions in another thread that will help. Thanks.

I am shocked that someone has not mass-produced all-foam seats for theses trucks.
I have read about someone creating them for themselves. I don't remember who it was.
They used a more dense rated foam and used progressively less dense foam on top of the dense layer. Three layers total if I remember right.

Good point Carl, Seat springs that are 70+ years old take a beating. There are enough of these trucks out there that there would be a market for them.

It is a bit easier to build a google document describing how I tackled a foam seat in my 54.

Hopefully, this link works

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10ZFImUBt9RIfaLQ1K2Rvmcrl6uAJl2NKEqIrG6bogEM/edit?usp=drivesdk

Your link is asking for your approval for me to see your document.

ops, flipped the access to anybody using the link… should work

I have a few seat foams I robbed out of school bus seat from work. They are quite dense and about 4" thick. The foam is not a solid one piece, but lots of small crumbles molded into one slab, I believe it what makes it stiffer. Back cushion foams are single injected types of foam, softer and more pliable, and thinner.
You will want a stiffer foam for the base and outer edges with a softer foam in the middle, so when you set it feels similar to a bucket seat. A one piece slab won't have much feel or control to it. The stiffer edges will help keep its shape longer. The bus drivers seat foam is an injected foam, after a few years, they are just flat foam, with no shape left. I would also want an open bottom to the plywood base with heavy webbing for a little give and air flow, similar to a lawn chair.

Go to your local foam dealer and stack up a few different grades and set on them, keep swapping grades till you find a combination you like. We just bought a new bed mattress, one of the latex types with three different firmness to choose from. I like a firm mattress, so one side has three layers of firm, the other side is one firm, one medium, one soft. It feels really good and you can really tell the difference in how you stack the slabs, we tried a few variations. Your seat base needs to be the same way, you just have to try a few to see how you are going to like them. Theres nothing worse then an uncomfortable seat on a long drive.

My '37 seat frame was decent but the outer edge springs were worn out. I had no support under my knees and leaned towards the door. I cut some of the bus seat foam in to small slabs and shoved up through and around the seat springs to stiffen the edges. It made a huge difference in how I felt on long drives. No more back aches or stiff knees, and when cornering, I don't feel like I'm going to fall out anymore.

Kilted54 - Your link works fine now and that's a great write up with pictures. Thanks for sharing!