l_dis_travlr

Has anybody re-upholstered third-gen front seats?

The original seats were pretty well worn. When I started
taking them apart for re-upholstery, it looked like the foam
was applied over the seat frame, as opposed to older styles
which had a (replaceable) seat bun. Long story short, a different
frame & aftermarket foam, turned out about 4-6" taller than the
original, which causes my head to hit the headliner.

Specifically, how did any-one deal with worn/trashed foam?

thanks,
kk

thecovergirl

The problem may be the different frame you mentioned because as far as I know from previous experience using the aftermarket seat foam cushions, they are the same size as the factory original ones were. What frame did you use? Depending on how torn up your old foam is if it is not too terribly bad, it can be rebuilt back up and will last a long time if done correctly. What company did you buy the seat foam cushions from?

l_dis_travlr

Well covergirl, good to see you back on the boards.
You still in the 'polstry business, or just lurking around here?

Part of the issue, is that the seat activity was started back in early '06,
but just recently completed to the point of "issue" noted above.
(Long boring story...)

As best I recall, the replacement seat frames I worked w/, were
from a base model 80's Camaro. The foam buns are an "American
Cushion Industries" product, and I think I got them from Classic Industries.
Their are a wide variety of seat styles available for third gen's, & I can
remember having difficulty finding what I though would be a good match,
& wound up hoping for the best.

So first question is, who/where is the aftermarket supplier you're
referencing?

Second question is, can you elaborate on your rebuilding technique?
Problem's I couldn't overcome are:
1) material -- even the highest density stuff I could get from local
upholstery shops, was not as dense as the OEM & replacement stuff.
2) shaping -- scissors were mostly useless, and the electric carving
knife was only slightly better. I heard some reference to a "hot-wire"
device, but had no luck finding one.

Any advice you can lend will be greatly appreciated.

thecovergirl

Yes I'm still doing the upholstery work.
I usually buy the seat foam cushions from Ricks and have had no issues with it. Seemed to be the same texture and size as stock factory foam. The frames I have never purchased and didn't think they reproduced them. I usually went to the local junkyards and found frames in decent condition, sand blasted and repainted them for a customer. There is also another place I have bought foam seat cushions from and it is camarodepot.ca. They are in Canada, but the shipping was not too high believe it or not. They had exact repro and the density was very comparable to factory.
I have always used the electric carving knife that has the smooth edge, not the serrated edge. I don't have any problem doing that, but if you don't have enough experience it can be difficult to do. I myself have never heard of a hot wiring device for cutting foam.
When I build up the old foam I use 1/2 inch foam to glue to the sections that need to be replaced and you use the high strength 90 glue by 3M in the spray can. That is some awesome stuff and I swear by it. You have to use some dacrn if needed which is that soft mushy stuff they use inside of comfortors. You can mash it down in the holes first, then put duct tape with glue over that and then more glue and more 1/2 foam. Let it dry real good (overnight) and then start to shave it down. It is sort of hard to explain how to do it unless I can show customers in person, but it isn't to terribly hard to do if you have an idea of what your doing. I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I have been wanting to put some tips with pictures on my website so my customers can see how to do certain things, but I'm so busy I just can't seem to find the time to do it. and have a great day!

ACCLR8N

iTrader: (8)

I found a Camaro front cushion set on Rick's #33-10998. They look like they might work on my daughter's '84 T/A seats. A bit of coin to drop based on a small picture. Anybody have any first hand experience?

Happy Thanksgiving!

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Just wanted to add that the hot wire tool is for rigid foam like that used for surfboards. I don't see it used very often because it's easy to mess up a block of foam (it cuts like a light saber ) and gives off nasty fumes when used with eps foam. Not to mention its easy to burn yourself.

thecovergirl

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. Those are Camaro seat foam cushions. They are not the same as TA seat foam cushions. Yes they are a bit pricey, but they are good because I have used them before in customers cars. I wasn't sure if you were thinking about covering them and putting them in your daughters TA which they will fit, but they are Camaro not TA.

thecovergirl

Yep I have actually seen those before and yes it gives off horrible fumes.

ACCLR8N

iTrader: (8)

Yes I was hoping to use those cushions as a foundation for reupholstering the early style '84 T/A seats as they appeared very similar. The lower foam is in really bad shape and uncomfortable. Not too confident on building them back up from scratch.

thecovergirl

Ok so you would have to have Camaro seat upholstery made for those cushions. I sent you an email, so if you have any other questions just let me know.

l_dis_travlr

Okay, Rick's
Google searches did not produce anything
that looked like a supplier.

thecovergirl

Here is the direct link. http://www.rickscamaros.com/pui-cama...1984-1992.html