The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors 1953 Upholstery Problem

I've got the seat cover kit from JC, and it has the drum clips, and I can't for the life of me get them on. I tried hammering the clip on, but it just ripped the cover. I opened the clip some, and now it isn't strong enough to hold the cover on.

How am I supposed to get these clips on? I would use hog rings, but the cover doesn't stretch far enough to get to anything I can ring it to.

Heres a pic of the problem clip:
http://i49.tinypic.com/eheqnl.jpg

From the picture it looks like you have to much material wrapped around the frame. Do you have burlap under the Naugahyde also??? the burlap and cotton pad should be hog ringed to the seat portion of the frame.
All you should have wrapped around the lower flange of the frame is a single layer of upholstery fabric. The barrel clips are tempered spring steel, I'm surprised you could spread them any with out breaking them, usually if you push them beyond the yeild point they will snap in half rather than bend.
DG

I only have the fabric wrapped around the frame. The burlap is hog ringed to the seat with the cotton on top of that.

Heck, when I tried to put the clips onto the frame without the fabric there it was still fairly hard. I had to tap it on with a hammer.

Denny,

This is a little off the topic, but would you please comment about the need for a coir-like matting material between the burlap and the cotton batting ?

We were able (with some difficulty, at first) to press the clips in place, and the material ripped in only one place.

Did you completely clear/clean out the channel that the clips go into?

I got my seat covers from JC as well, and either in the instructions, or somewhere in the archives here it said to put the burlap between the cotton batting, and the seat cover to allow the seat cover to move a little bit when sat on. I didn't see anyplace that said hog ringing the padding down would help. I also put a one inch thick piece of seating foam between the burlap and batting. It made putting the barrel clips on more difficult, but the seat sure feels nice. Also Tim where did you find coir like material? I would like to replace the matting under the fiber board on the interior fire wall.

Jimmie,

Let's wait to hear from Denny. The coir(-like?) material was discussed in a thread where Denny showed photos of his upholstery work.

As far as I am concerned, Jim Carter's installation kit is inadequate (and tough to sit on, even with a non-boney butt) because he does not include the coir-like material. I also followed his instructions but will not do so in the future.

Tim,
That's fine, Denny always has something to add 8-)to any discussion. I remember the thread where Denny was wanting to refresh the fiber covering of his COE? truck. Maybe I missed something when I was researching redoing the seat in the 52. I never saw coir mentioned in the seat structure. Matter of fact the first I heard of coir was in Denny's posts. I do recall as a kid the seats not being all that comfortable. That is why I added the foam rubber to my seat. How comfortable is the coir in the seat? Of course at this point in time I should be able to set on a slab of iron, and it should feel like vasco elastic foam!!

I did find Cior pads but they are blue and not quite as tightly bound as the original material. Here is a picture of the material: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/125148167/large
This is the original seat from a 1950, 3600.
Original Cotton/Cior pad/Burlap: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/120777583/large
New Burlap hog ringed: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/120777653/large
Reused Cior pad: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/120777683/large
New Cotton batting: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/120777697/large
Barrel clips installed: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/125144899/large
And Fern, it looks like you're trying to push the clip over the wade section of the frame edge from the bottom. The material is tucked in to the back side of the frame edge and the clip goes in from the inside of the seat.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
I just read the last few replies. The original seat was very comfortable, just worn where the driver sat. I rebuilt the seat just as the original one was done and I've been in the seat for hours at a time and not felt at all uncomfortable. If my "big old wife" doesn't complain about the comfort on a long drive in the summer, then that's good enough for me.
The Jim carter kit contains enough cotton batting to do at least two more seats. I just used the vinyl, the burlap, and one layer of cotton like in the original seat.

Well, now don't I feel like an idiot. That'll teach me to take better pictures of everything before I take them apart. Either way, thanks Denny.

Alright, I had another go at it today. I think I have it figured out, but figured I would double check before I put all the clips in. This is how I put in the first clip:

http://i48.tinypic.com/ezmlch.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/r9lfno.jpg

Is this right? It took a bit of work to get it to go in, so it wouldn't surprise me if I was doing it wrong again.

Thanks

That's the way mine were originaly on my 51 seat, so I put it back that way.Mine turned out alright. Intrriors

this is one area i like to send the seat out and have it done by a pro. i just got one back for my dump and its perfect. it cost me some $$$ but i had no frustration.

WHEW! I am glad I found this thread!
I bought a truck and it came with a seat cover kit from Chevy Duty. It came with a bag of hog rings and a pair of pathetic hog-ring pliers with handles that are too short.
I went to a local upholstery shop and got burlap, carpet pad, 290 foam and a softer less resiliant foam to go between the vinyl and the springs... I have it all together but couldn't for the life of me figure out where the hog rings go in the front of the seat. I need barrel clips apparently.
The seat feels pretty good so far. I'll post photos in a bit.

My seat is in a state of disrepair. I would not be able to reuse the coir material like Denny has. I have come up with a couple of different options. Let me know what you guys think.

I would like to preserve the original look of the seat while keeping the truck comfortable.

Option 1: I see Denny reused his existing coir material, but also found a source for new coir that is not exactly like the original. So option 1 would be new burlap, new coir material from Denny's source, new cotton batting, new vinyl cover.

Option 2: New burlap, carpet pad, "290 foam", new vinyl cover.

Option 3: Using another type of foam similar to what hot rod guys use for custom interiors of the correct thickness.

Again, I want to get an original look, but I dont want to dread driving the truck because it is uncomfortable. By the way, has anyone purchased a LeBaron Bonney kit?

Andrew

I got the package from Labaron Bonney last week. They offer a seat reupholstery kit for our trucks for around 220. I believe it uses foam. Any suggestions?

Andrew