PetesPonies Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 bench seats? They're not built real well. I opened up my '82 seat today for the new upholstery I will be installing. They certainly are not heavy duty. The back frame is really weak. It has no interlocking springs or pieces. It has only vertical supports, not tied to each other and flimsy enough that I had three broken spots. I welded them back together, no issue there. But going forward, I think I might like to add some strength. I don't know how typical this is and why I posted this. I know I haven't seen this on earlier trucks to which I am much more experienced. Who knows, maybe a previous owner was 300 lbs . I don' know. But maybe this is more typical. Anyone have a less than firm upper seat ? This may be your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pebcak Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 About a week ago my wife and I took the AutoZone seat cover off and we decided that we're going to reupholster it because of the faded cover and broken down drivers seat. I can't say that it's broken metal or all the foam for sure. But I've felt like I'm sitting on a bar on the bottom and all there is for back support is a bar going across my shoulder blades. Please keep updates coming in and some pictures of any "lessons learned" during your adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 About a week ago my wife and I took the AutoZone seat cover off and we decided that we're going to reupholster it because of the faded cover and broken down drivers seat. I can't say that it's broken metal or all the foam for sure. But I've felt like I'm sitting on a bar on the bottom and all there is for back support is a bar going across my shoulder blades. Please keep updates coming in and some pictures of any "lessons learned" during your adventure. I'll take a picture tomorrow of what I'm talking about. I would like to add some webbing to help support the foam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Blin Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 I encountered the same on my 82 while I was re-covering last month. The foam was in decent shape except on the driver's side, where there many of the support wires missing, & the foam had been cut by what was left. In inspecting other seats at the P&P yard, I saw almost all were in similar condition under the driver's side of the bench for the "wire" support style. However, other seats had the "z=style" support springs, and they fared better. I welded the wires back into place, them picked up some thicker steel rod stock and placed them at a 3 inch spacing interval before I set a layer of plastic sheeting between the wire springs and the foam to give it more support before replacing the cover. I sat a little higher when it was all done The other surprise was having a bunch of hog rings and no holes to thread them through. My OEM cover was all J-channel-secured along the edges of the frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 I encountered the same on my 82 while I was re-covering last month. The foam was in decent shape except on the driver's side, where there many of the support wires missing, & the foam had been cut by what was left. In inspecting other seats at the P&P yard, I saw almost all were in similar condition under the driver's side of the bench for the "wire" support style. However, other seats had the "z=style" support springs, and they fared better. I welded the wires back into place, them picked up some thicker steel rod stock and placed them at a 3 inch spacing interval before I set a layer of plastic sheeting between the wire springs and the foam to give it more support before replacing the cover. I sat a little higher when it was all done The other surprise was having a bunch of hog rings and no holes to thread them through. My OEM cover was all J-channel-secured along the edges of the frame. Wires? I have about 9 ( need to count ) vertical sheetmetal supports, about an inch wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Blin Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Wires? I have about 9 ( need to count ) vertical sheetmetal supports, about an inch wide. Ah, I didn't read for comprehension. You mentioned the back support. I got all excited & jumped in with a bunch of pontificating on the bottom of the seat. I'll go back to unraveling the mess of the trailer wiring I just found. Nothing to see here.. Move along... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 Ah, I didn't read for comprehension. You mentioned the back support. I got all excited & jumped in with a bunch of pontificating on the bottom of the seat. I'll go back to unraveling the mess of the trailer wiring I just found. Nothing to see here.. Move along... I haven't opened the bottom yet, that complaining will probably start next :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Ah, I didn't read for comprehension. You mentioned the back support. I got all excited & jumped in with a bunch of pontificating on the bottom of the seat. I'll go back to unraveling the mess of the trailer wiring I just found. Nothing to see here.. Move along... Made me laugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetesPonies Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 I haven't opened the bottom yet, that complaining will probably start next :) The upholstery I bought looks nice, BUT . .isn't like the original in the way it attaches. The original has listing at the top, with wire and on the sides and bottom it has a plastic piece secures the material. This is the way most seats have been for many years now. I didn't expect it on this truck, but its there. Problem is, the new upholstery didn't have it on the sides and bottom. It basically had nothing. At least, I couldn't figure what it had for attachment. This is for the seat back. The seat bottom new upholstery does have plastic pieces to secure, but I haven't started on it yet. So why not the seat back? Good question. So I was able to secure the top with hog rings through the listing and listing wire as normal. The bottom I secured with hog rings, but no listing and no wire. There was a piece of plastic which was sewn to the upholstery and I used that to put the hog rings through. The sides? I had crap to work with. The three holes in my wall attest to that. Instead of using hog rings, I used zip ties. The frame, I added some elastic webbing, then a 1" piece of foam, followed by the factory foam. I have one wrinkle I'm not happy with, but I'l give it some heat tomorrow and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 The upholstery I bought looks nice, BUT . .isn't like the original in the way it attaches. The original has listing at the top, with wire and on the sides and bottom it has a plastic piece secures the material. This is the way most seats have been for many years now. I didn't expect it on this truck, but its there. Problem is, the new upholstery didn't have it on the sides and bottom. It basically had nothing. At least, I couldn't figure what it had for attachment. This is for the seat back. The seat bottom new upholstery does have plastic pieces to secure, but I haven't started on it yet. So why not the seat back? Good question. So I was able to secure the top with hog rings through the listing and listing wire as normal. The bottom I secured with hog rings, but no listing and no wire. There was a piece of plastic which was sewn to the upholstery and I used that to put the hog rings through. The sides? I had crap to work with. The three holes in my wall attest to that. Instead of using hog rings, I used zip ties. The frame, I added some elastic webbing, then a 1" piece of foam, followed by the factory foam. I have one wrinkle I'm not happy with, but I'l give it some heat tomorrow and see. Wrinkles can usually be worked out with a heat gun. When I reupolstered my seat last year I used the cardboard from the box my rear slider came in to keep the foam up out of the springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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