The market today offers many ready-made reproduction seat covers and interior kits. A lot of these interior kits use generic materials that are not correct in color, texture, and fit. The tailoring on some of these seat covers and interior kits fits well, but many do not fit. This is why a professional upholsterer should install these kits so that alterations can be made to the panels and seat covers to make the finished job look good. A lot of time and effort can go into fitting and re-fitting these kits, and it is for these reasons I prefer to make the interior panels and seat covers from scratch.
The goal of a restoration is to have a new seat that looks like the original, but an original-style seat cover is based on the choice of materials, pattern, and design used for the restoration. Some of the original materials used in vintage cars are no longer available, so a substitution of modern materials must be made. Products chosen for the restoration should be similar in characteristics to the original materials in look, feel, and performance. One product that is not available today is the thin cotton coach wadding used in almost every component of an interior. Coach wadding is no longer produced, leaving the trimmer to substitute a felt underliner to cushion the fabric from the subsurface of wood or sheet metal.
Seat cover materials produced today are more durable and colorfast than their vintage counterparts. The modern synthetic fibers being produced are also softer and more comfortable than the vintage woolen fabrics, yet they are very close in appearance to the originals.
The look of a new interior in a classic automobile can vary considerably. A custom tailored interior is suitable for a highly modified street rod but just does not have the right look if you are going for a vintage restoration. The seat pattern can be the basic design or upgraded to the deluxe interior of a higher-level model. Most manufacturers produced base model cars, which were more affordable but limited in accessories and options. The base model had a very simple interior covered in wool broadcloth and a rubber mat covering the floor. Deluxe models were equipped with more luxury and upgraded options. Door panels and plush seat covers of mohair with wide pleats was a common design along with woven carpet on the floors. Whether the seat cover is plain or fancy, you are striving for a period correct restoration, meaning that the interior reflects the vintage of car.
Seat Cover Panels
A seat cover is made up of many individual panels and each panel has a name and purpose. Knowing what to call them helps with the design and assembly of the seat cover.
The face panel of the seat is called an insert. Inserts can be plain, pleated, or made up of decorative patterns. Raised panels called bolsters surround the insert. The insert and bolsters make up the top and/or front of a seat cover. Around the outsides of the seat are panels that make up the boxing. The face panel is attached to the boxing by sewing them together. The seam may be trimmed with a covered welt cord, a single top cap stitch, or a decorative double stitch called a French seam.
The front seatback cushion has an outside back cover that is either sewn to the seatback cover or it may have a metal shell–type back that is covered with matching seat material. The seatback outside cover may also have a robe cord attached.
A denim sleeve is sewn along the outside edges of the cover. This sleeve is referred to as a listing; inserted into the sleeve is a listing wire that will be hog ringed to the seat frame.
Overall, the seat cover is assembled in a sequential order by creating subassemblies and joining them to create a complete seat cover.
Seat Removal
The first thing that you need to do is to remove the seat from the car and put it up on the bench. Early-model seats have a frame that the seat cushions are set into. This seat frame is called a sleigh. The upholstered cushions simply lift out of the frame starting with the bottom cushion, and then the backrest can be lifted off the frame.
Postwar cars had seatbacks that were assembled to the lower frame as one unit. Many of these bench seats had skirts to hide the seat tracks and backrest pivot arms, while robe cords graced the backs of the front bench seat. All these extra fittings make the bench seats exceptionally heavy and awkward to move, so the simplest and safest way to remove the front seat from the car is to disassemble the seat by section while it is still in the car.
Before the seat can be unbolted from the floor, the seat-bottom skirts and aprons need to be removed to gain access to the anchor bolts holding the seat to the floor. Remove the countersunk washer trim screws with a #2 Phillips screwdriver and disconnect the power seat actuator from the seat by removing the bolt that connects the power ram to the seat frame.
The decorative side skirt is attached to the lower edge of the seat bottom with countersunk washer trim screws. Use a screwdriver to remove the trim screws and set the lower skirts aside. If there is a power-seat switch in the skirt, label and then disconnect the wires from the switch. Remove the switch from the skirt by removing the screws that hold it in place.
Pivot points for the seatbacks are under the skirts on each side of the seat bottom. A two-door car has a seatback that pivots forward, allowing the passengers to access the rear seat. Remove the spring clip by prying it off the pivot post. The center pivot point on this seat uses a long bolt to hold both inner arms in place. Simply loosen and remove the retaining nut and washer and remove the bolt. The backrest can now be removed from the seat bottom.
Many variations to these anchors are available depending on the manufacturer, make, and model. Some seat pivots use a cotter pin and others use a spring-clip pin through a hole in the pivot post. Other models are secured with an “E” clip fastener. Grab the fastener with needle-nose pliers and pull on the clip to remove it; now slide the backrest off the post and lift it out of the car.
Four-door cars do not have backrests that pivot. They are typically bolted directly to the seat bottom frame. Simply remove the bolts and lift the backrest off the seat bottom.
When you are down to the seat bottom, adjust the seat all the way to the rear and unbolt the front seat anchor bolts from the floor. Adjust the seat forward and then remove the rear anchor bolts. Now carefully lift and float the seat bottom out of the car. I find that it is easier to remove the seat through the passenger’s door because it is not obstructed by the steering wheel. Place the seat components up on the workbench so they can be worked on much easier.
Removing a Seat
1 A hydraulic ram under the seat provides power for the seat. Apron panels on the front of the seat cover the access to the under-seat accessories. The panels are removed from the frame by unscrewing them from the seat.
2 Not only are the side skirts decorative, they are also functional. The side skirts conceal the seatback mounting hardware and pivot point. By removing the trim screws and skirt, you gain better access to the seat mounting bolts that hold the seat to the floor.
3 Before the backrest can be removed from the seat bottom, the spring retainer must be pried off the pivot post. The center pivot bolt must also be removed to release the inner pivot arms from the seat bottom.
4 The hardware used to assemble a seat varies by manufacturer and seat type. A two-door car has a split-back seat that pivots on a pin or bolt allowing passengers access to the rear seat. A spring clip and washer retain the seatback pivot arm to the frame.
Disassembly