I'm ordering the tweed for my door panels, seats, etc. tomorrow and just have one question. I plan on carefully taking the current seat covers off so i can trace/cut out the new fabric the same shape as the old ones, then sew it together and stuff. Shouldnt be TOO hard if i take my time and stuff, but my only concern is that i'll end up with that cheap 15 dollar wal-mart seat cover look...ya know, real loose, etc. How do I get the material to stretch nice and tight and conform to the contour of the seats? I dont want the fabric stretched flat across the seat back because of the bolsters or whatever, same with the seat bottom. Also, if I want to do some sort of design in the fabric, should I sew the fabric to some thin foam and sew the patern or whatever it is i decide to do in like that? That would be the only way I could think of to add shape to the seat covers so it looks better than just a sheet of fabric thrown over the seats. Thanks,
-Chris
(BTW anyone have pics of seats theyve recoverd themselfs?)

 

When you take your old ones apart, you'll see how it was done at the factory, hog rings attatched to the bottoms and backs. That's the way you want to re-install.
If you bought the hawks or aabestco.'s you'd get some with the kit and a little cheapo set of hog ring pliers...
Not too sure why you'd want to tackle a sew job, unless you can do something like that, or do upholstery work on the side...
My replacements had piping for strength for the side panels, can be done, but I'd want some experience under my belt before I tackled something like that. good luck..

 

Thanks
Yeah, I'm making this all my self...i know how to sew, my moms got a few big-*** sewing machines kicking around, and the tweed isnt that expensive to make it a horrible loss if it doesnt turn out right. I'll definatly post pics of my progress as i go along, i think i understand the hog-clip thing now, thanks

-Chris

 

4th gen seats are velcroed in, thats how I plan on recovering mine.

 

STEAM! The only way you can get it perfect.

I recovered my old '82's seats and used a steam machine while putting the covers on. Works wonders.

Before



After

 

pics didnt seem to work....

 

Darn cardomain and the linking issue. I know they are working on the site to upgrade it presently... 1/2 the time links work 1/2 not!

Most of the seat tightness is in the way the seat cover is made and if you put the the hog rings. The covers should be very tight to go on if done right. You can use a plastic garbage bag to slip on the seat then pull the cover over that is will help the covers slide on much easier.

Good luck can't wait to see it...

Link to my freshly covered seats

Some pics as i went

 

Wow, good looking seats. Really stands out and looks perfect. Nice job.

 

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/358159

Check out that page for some before and after photos. I made the seats/door panels myself. Sorry for the crappy pictures. Make sure you take your time and go slow. Use good thread otherwise its not going to last. You can't just use crap you buy from walmart. Also tweed isn't exactly the best fabric either for durability, although its popular. I used cloth, better I hate the cold/hot characteristics of leather/vinyl. Although I do think vinyl looks betters. Since you are using tweed though, if you mess up at least you can year out the seam and start over. Your old covers are most likely going to be stretched some and your old foam compressed so its going to be hard to get it to all fit right and look good. Good luck.

 

Please make sure to take a look at the backing that was used on my seat covers. The maker stitched in some foam with a net material around it. This was done all over, I believe to give more durability to the cover and well as give the stitched ribbed areas some personality and puffiness. the only place I did not see any foam backing was in the flaps that went under the seats!

I agree with the above post...you will have some issues with you stock seat covers being stretched slightly. There maybe some trail and error to get them to fit perfect. But I can't wait to see how they come out! Keep us posted! Good Luck!

 

Thanks
I'm still trying to decide what material to use for the interior....been going crazy lately cause i've gotta buy a new engine, wanna swap a 5 speed or something, and of course, dont have lots of money. I'm not sure if I should ge tthe tweed or the vinyl or what...... :-( unfortunatly this car isnt in the shape i thought it was in when i bought it, and right now making money for the engine/tranny is more important than doing the door panels and seats :-/ But they will be done....fairly soon...

 

If your going with a tweed check out the german tweed like they use in the porchse<-----mispelled its a lots stronger compared to the gm style.If you hold them both up to the light youll be able to see through the factory style tweed wherea as the german stuff is denser and you wont be able to see through it.I did a combo in my nova of german tweed,vinyl,and someother soft type material.Wish i had pics to show you

Oh i forgot to add we used a garbage bag over the foam to slide the seat covers on.

 

where ya buy the german tweed?