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1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

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Old 06-27-2018, 05:09 AM
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1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Hey guys,
My seats have that diagonal design and are fabric which Ive been told are unique to the year. The problem is that there is only one company in this country that has this fabric Ive also been told which I find hard to believe. I'd like to know if there's anyone out here that has replaced his/hers upholstery on this year car with that diagonal design (1987 btw) and where you got your covers from. Im not interested in anything but the original fabric so Velour, Vinyl and Leather are not an option for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am very frustrated in my searches and what Ive been told so far. Additionally, I am planning on replacing my door panels as well and will need those diagonal pattern ones as well. Its amazing how difficult this search has been for these things! Thanks to all who have any input
Old 06-27-2018, 07:38 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

No one is reproducing the correct cloth. What there is, is left over from when it was still made.
Old 06-27-2018, 08:05 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Hard to imagine that no fabric company is producing a fabric that is similar. Im hoping
that there is someone out here that can share some info with me. The only company that has it here on the net is SMS and their price is out of control.
Old 06-27-2018, 10:33 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

What's "out of control"?

If close is good enough, then hit your local upholstery shop and ask them to show you some samples of what they can get. Or just order up some ACME covers from whoever. There's a reason 4th gen seats are so common.
Old 06-27-2018, 10:45 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Out of control is over $100 a yard. I plan on going to a local shop this weekend. Thanks for your reply.
Old 06-27-2018, 12:09 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

If I had an 87 with worn original seats I’d get the synthetic leather (vinyl) version and get the “Camaro” embriodered.

The 87 interiors were some of the best looking, but didn’t hold up..

I got my 87 with 26k miles and the drivers seat was chaffed.. even my buddy who had the identical car had worn seats.. That material used to stain like crazy too.. if it got wet even with water it would leave marks.. it would pill up and wear even if you were meticulously careful..

I think these look good:



Literally the first pic when I googled 87 IROC seats had stains all over it..



I love the 87 leather though.. those are good looking seats!
Old 06-27-2018, 03:36 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Has anyone here replaced with the vinyl ones before? If so, let me know

your thoughts on them.
Old 06-27-2018, 04:39 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

personally I like vinyl aside from the sticky and hot on the bare hide in summer I find them well wearing and stain resistant. Bring a towel to throw on them if you are wearing shorts or going swimming.
Old 06-27-2018, 08:18 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

I saw a place that did synthetic leather 87 style that looked really good.. I’ll see if I can find it again..

Doesn’t Lethal Interiors do the 87 style?
Old 06-28-2018, 06:40 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

I had a gray custom cloth 87 IROC and one of the reasons I didn't love the car was that factory cloth was like a gunny sack. Nothing special in it. If you do not need an exact restoration, then I recommend treating yourself to something that feels nice to the touch.
Old 06-28-2018, 08:15 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Hawks gets the 87 style seats in Hampton Vinyl but you have to call and ask for it and it’s $25 upgrade:

“Available in Hampton Vinyl, which is a leatherette (leather like) high grade vinyl. Comes as follows Hampton Solid Vinyl/Hampton Perforated Vinyl inserts (small holes in insert) or as an option with Non Perforated Inserts. “

I’m assuming you could have an upholstery place make real leather 87 seats but my guess it they could run $2000+

I’d rather spend a few extra$$ to get the “Camaro” embroidered..

I’d check with Lethal Interiors to see if they do 87 style seats because they do the embroidery too.

Leather and vinyl get hot in the sun, but you can wipe the sweat off.. the cloth just absorbs it and starts looking dingy after a while..
Old 06-28-2018, 08:20 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

BTW, the door panels have the fabric glued to a base that has the diagonals in it. Drew just recently reglued his, as have a few others. So if you find a fabric you like for the seats, it'll be easy to do the door panels. The fabric just glues onto the shaped board.
Old 06-29-2018, 06:04 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Lethal recreated the seats for the final Norwood Car and did a beautiful job with them. She did not however embroider the Camaro into them and that had to be done by someone else.

I am in the same boat and have been buying every set I can find but am pretty certain I have the set I'm going to use so if you want to go through my others you are welcome to them.
Attached Thumbnails 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma-img_4009.jpg  

Last edited by PurelyPMD; 06-29-2018 at 06:08 AM.
Old 07-04-2018, 07:59 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

I am in the same boat. My 87 z seats have stains all over them from sitting over the years. I have tried cleaning the drivers one with little success. If I get my seats redone I will be going away from the charcoal color and going a darker gray or even full black interior. What sucks is the back seat and rear carpet area back to the hatch has zero wear marks.
Old 07-04-2018, 10:29 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Originally Posted by PurelyPMD
Lethal recreated the seats for the final Norwood Car and did a beautiful job with them. She did not however embroider the Camaro into them and that had to be done by someone else.

I am in the same boat and have been buying every set I can find but am pretty certain I have the set I'm going to use so if you want to go through my others you are welcome to them.
Those look perfect.. wow!
Old 07-04-2018, 10:32 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Originally Posted by pmikefox
I am in the same boat. My 87 z seats have stains all over them from sitting over the years. I have tried cleaning the drivers one with little success. If I get my seats redone I will be going away from the charcoal color and going a darker gray or even full black interior. What sucks is the back seat and rear carpet area back to the hatch has zero wear marks.
Once you shampoo them and get them looking good, gotta Scotchguard them.. New cars are all stain resistant now.. you can remove stains with a little water nowadays..
Old 07-05-2018, 04:42 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Originally Posted by 88IROCvertZ
Once you shampoo them and get them looking good, gotta Scotchguard them.. New cars are all stain resistant now.. you can remove stains with a little water nowadays..
What do you suggest to clean them with. I tried a mixture of dawn dishwashing liquid mixed with some simple green.
Old 07-05-2018, 05:45 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Originally Posted by sgeorges714
Hey guys,
My seats have that diagonal design and are fabric which Ive been told are unique to the year. The problem is that there is only one company in this country that has this fabric Ive also been told which I find hard to believe. I'd like to know if there's anyone out here that has replaced his/hers upholstery on this year car with that diagonal design (1987 btw) and where you got your covers from. Im not interested in anything but the original fabric so Velour, Vinyl and Leather are not an option for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am very frustrated in my searches and what Ive been told so far. Additionally, I am planning on replacing my door panels as well and will need those diagonal pattern ones as well. Its amazing how difficult this search has been for these things! Thanks to all who have any input
Like another post, try lethalinteriors.com, princess Dion does excellent work
Old 07-05-2018, 08:03 AM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

Originally Posted by pmikefox
What do you suggest to clean them with. I tried a mixture of dawn dishwashing liquid mixed with some simple green.
Dishwashing soap will strip any stain resistant properties from the fibers and Simple Green is overkill.

I would use an upholstery cleaner, some water and a wet vac..

I like Resolve Uphoulstery cleaner and it has worked wonders on many interiors for me.

Test it first to see if it will affect the color. (I’ve never had an issue in hundreds of cars with this product)

I usually start by vacuuming thoroughly. Then spraying the product on and using a damp, clean terry towel to distress the stains and let it sit a few minutes. Then I will lightly distress the area again with a clean damp towel and wet vac to extract.

I make sure to do the whole area within seams or sections so when it dries it looks even and doesn’t have more water spots.

If the more gentle terry towel technique doesn’t work I will use a brush carefully, more water, more product and extract with the wet vac.

This machine actually works really well but basically does what I just explained.

https://www.bissell.com/spotclean-pr...t-cleaner-3624

I’ve gotten almost white cloth interiors destroyed by kids and dogs looking brand new again..

Once it dries even and looks the way you want it, seal it with ScotchGuard but follow the directions.. have to let it sit a while.. that will give you some stain resistance..
Old 04-02-2019, 05:43 PM
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Re: 1987 Camaro Z28 upholstery dilemma

FYI, THE solvent for COFFEE stains is WHITE VINEGAR, followed by upholstery cleaner or "409" . (Usual "test in inconspicuous place first " warning). I bought a 3Rd gen Camaro w/ TERRIBLE coffee stained r/f bucket. It took some work, but white vinegar got the gray fabric looking like NEW!
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