Recovering seats.

Topic: Recovering seats. (Read 2956 times) previous topic - next topic

Recovering seats.

June 07, 2007, 02:48:08 PM

I am going today to find out how much it will be to have the interior in my 'Bird redone. I figured I would pull the seats and deliver to the guy, so my questions are, can I unbolt the seat from the seat track with the track still bolted into the car, or do I have to unbolt the seat track then remove everything from the car to unbolt the seat. I have dual power seats if that makes a difference. Also, what should I expect to pay to have the seats redone in leather, and have the "monogram" (see pic below) redone in the new material.

Recovering seats.

Reply #1 – June 07, 2007, 02:50:51 PM

You should be able to unbolt the seat from the track and leave the track in the car. It's only held on by 4 bolts. Move it forward enough to get to the fronts, then back enough to get to the rears. The heads on the bolts are 10mm.

Recovering seats.

Reply #2 – June 07, 2007, 03:05:55 PM

OK, that gets your seats out...the easy part LOL.

Real leather is VERY expensive. Be prepared for sticker shock. Man-made leather (aka vinyl) is cheaper, lasts longer, resists cracking and tearing better, comes in a wider variety of colors, etc. So...the choice is up to you. I'm using vinyl in the convertible and am very happy with it. Color-wise, you have a very rich red that might still be available in leather.

Far as the 'Bird logo...I really don't know what to say. If it's possible to save that part from your stock seats and sew them into the new covers, that would be the way to do it. Otherwise it's going to be custom sewing which means more big $$$.

I'd say for our part of Ohio, expect to pay around $1000 for the front seats. If you can get them done cheaper, even better.

Recovering seats.

Reply #3 – June 07, 2007, 03:12:01 PM

I'm in the same boat, sorta. I'd like to have mine done, but probaly never will. The bird logo looks hard to reproduce though. I'm opting for new white leather stang seats for the front of mine, then trying to save the rears. If i ever do recover, I'm with Eric on the vinyl idea though.

Recovering seats.

Reply #4 – June 07, 2007, 07:05:51 PM

I know here in Missouri I talked to a guy aobut real leather and he told me about $500-$700 / seat. THat was for the fronts.

Recovering seats.

Reply #5 – June 08, 2007, 07:37:37 AM

So I talked to 1 guy yesterday, and he told me it would be $280 plus tax to recover the seating surfaces only in vinyl. He said that he couldn't guarantee that the "monogram" he would have to cut the original out and use it as a pattern, and try, but couldn't promise anything, so I think I am going to try somewhere else.

Recovering seats.

Reply #6 – June 08, 2007, 06:23:29 PM

They should be able to stich that. Most shops that do upholstery do restoration work so I know if they can stich it for 60's T-birds they can stich it for yours. I paid ~$900 to have both my front seats redone in the factory leather/vinyl combo.

Recovering seats.

Reply #7 – June 08, 2007, 06:33:57 PM

Kyle, Is your stiched or embossed? Mine are pressed in, no stiching on it. Since I've never seen you car in person yet I figured I'd ask. I can see stciching harder for that too, but pressing a custom logo ( though stock) could be hard

Recovering seats.

Reply #8 – June 11, 2007, 09:55:10 AM

Quote from: 84 Fila;152740

Kyle, Is your stiched or embossed? Mine are pressed in, no stiching on it.

They are stitched, actually they are double stiched. There is the outline of the bird, and then about a 1/4" away, there is the exact same thing again.

Recovering seats.

Reply #9 – June 11, 2007, 10:02:01 AM

I think embroidery would be a nice alternative to having someone try and recreate the embossing effect.

Recovering seats.

Reply #10 – June 11, 2007, 11:18:28 AM

One of many reasons I prefer cloth seats. Wow, that expensive. Seats on Eric's convertible look realy good too by the way, in case you've never seen them.

Recovering seats.

Reply #11 – June 11, 2007, 12:08:04 PM

Quote from: Ifixyawata;153379

I think embroidery would be a nice alternative to having someone try and recreate the embossing effect.

Problem with that is, only the driver's seat needs redone. I was however impressed about the guys "collection". He had all the factory books going back to 1960 with most (the glue had dried up on some samples and they fell out of the books) the possible interior colors

Recovering seats.

Reply #12 – June 11, 2007, 12:27:01 PM

Just to let everyone know...virtually all of the original material used in our cars has been long since discontinued. From what I understand, a car can be just a few years old and have discontinued fabrics. Whomever is the OEM supplier for the seats is responsible for the fabrics; there's only so much left over. It becomes available to upholstery shops nationwide. When there's precious little left, it comes out of the general pool of fabrics and is usually bought by specialty closeout fabric shops (meaning the bend-me-over-and-don't-give-me-lubrication kind of shops). And once gone from there...it's gone forever.

Now the only saving grace is that you have actual leather. It still might be available in your color. However, I'd suggest going by the color in your car, rather than the sample from the book...you'll get a much better match. Also, for reasons unexplained, the real leather in our cars is "spotty"...there are lighter and darker patches throughout the material. This is considered normal. Some cars exhibit more spotting than others. But if all you can find is a solid red that's close enough in color, go for it...just don't ever clean it and you'll get the correct spottiness LOL.

Recovering seats.

Reply #13 – June 11, 2007, 01:56:31 PM

For some reason, only the back seats are leather(as far as I know). The front seats are vinyl. I am wondering if they were recovered sometime before bought the car.

Recovering seats.

Reply #14 – June 11, 2007, 04:00:03 PM

It depends on what your upholstery shop can do but they may be able to get material that matches yours in leather. I know that there is one shop by me that has the ability to actually dye leather to match your interior. They have all the equipment necessary to do the job. It does cost big $$$$ though. I was just lucky that the shop I used was able to find the stock material for mine.