Something doesn't look right

['74 Sport]

Anyone here familiar with upholstery in our A-bodies? Aaron and I pulled his back seat cover off and mocked-up the one from his Legendary Auto Interiors kit he recently bought. Take a look at these pics and tell me if you know this is correct or not:

Notice how the jute fabric is folded over and hog-ringed to the frame at the corner, covering the wire? But just a few inches away from the corner, the jute just hangs down until it gets close to the other corner, then it wraps the frame again. I would think the jute should wrap the frame the whole length to protect the foam cushion from rubbing the metal frame and wearing through. What good does it do to just hang there?

Any ideas?

Jerry

 

[RedFish]

The inside material is pinned here and there only to hold it in position during assembly. You can pin it any way you wish , short of interfearing with the fit of the cover or fit to the cars floor.

 

[2 Darts]

Just pulled the back seat apart in my 73 Dart Custom 4-door with the optional interior (split front bench, all-vinyl). Looks the same except that I had no jute on the front, just the seat foam wapping over the frame along the front edge of the seat.

 

['74 Sport]

Because the jute at the corners was folded over and fastened to the metal frame, it seems reasonable that it was done that way to protect the foam and prevent it from wearing through. I think I'll continue the same logic and pull the jute up over the frame for the full length. It will be interesting to see what was done on the bucket seats.

 

[2 Darts]

I had Legendary upholstery professionally installed on the buckets in the 66 GT I restored. The bottoms were massive blocks of foam over a steel frame, no zig-zag springs. Similarly the seat backs were all foam over a rigid frame.

Neat trick I learned for split seat backs. Get the springs and foam all in shape for covering. Cover with a leaf size plastic bag. The upholstery just slides on over the leaf bag. Otherwise it's like stuffing a size 8 girl in a size 4 swim suit. When you have the upholstery in place just rip the leaf bag out from under it.

Best of luck. Keep us posted.

 

[dgc333]

Another tip to make life very easy when putting new covers on is to throw the cover in the dryer for 5-10 minutes just before you are ready to put it on. Makes the material very soft and pliable. I didn't do this on my back seat and I though my fingers would never work right again after I was done. Did it on the front seat and it took less than an hour and went as smooth as silk.