Seat restoration

[Skunkworks Challenger]

I'm about to redo the seats for my 70 RT and wonder if the foam is available ready fit or does it have to be custom fitted.  The old foam is "broken" but the springs look to be in good shape.  The leather is as hard as a rock and appears to have cut the foam where it flexed.  PK

[Bullitt-]

Yes it is, here is Legendary link, you might check with mapardave for better price
https://www.legendaryautointeriors.com/webmodules/catcatalog/dtl_allcatalog2.aspx?class=MF&year=70&desc=challenger

[Skunkworks Challenger]

Thanks Bullitt, good information.  PK

[NC RMP]

I redid my seats from bare frames using Legendary Auto foams and covers.  You get great products from those guys.  The guy from their tech support gave me great advice. 1) contrary to what the instructions say cut thru the foam in the two slots (two on the seat bottom and three on the back upright of each front seat, I recall) where the cover flaps in which you insert a wire into go 2) use hog rings to attach that wire-filled flap to the seat frame 3) start in the middle and work outward  4) do it when it's warm (warm covers are much easier to handel).  By cutting the slots in the foam you get a really crisp and defined crease where the seats seams are.

I did all my work and I am not a pro interior guy and it turned out great.

[Skunkworks Challenger]

Your seats turned out great!  Were you able to get the padding for the rear seat and back as well as the molded foam for the front?  My rear pads are musty smelling and I would like to replace them as well.  PK

[NC RMP]

No for the rear.  Mine we just "ok" but functional.  The top of the back seat was a bit dry rotted and it was musty too.  I pulled out all the hard dry crap I could and put in upholstery padding you can get at fabric and upholstery shops.  After thinking about it I realized that only very rarely would someone be in my backseat, so I did not do a lot of work on the padding in the rear.   I did look a bit for new rear foam etc and could not find rear anything.  I don't think they are available new.

I'd say for most e-bodies that 95 rides out of 100 are front seats only.  At least that's the track record for my car which I've had since 1980.  So unless you have water, bad sun damage, or a mouse/rat problem (which I have seen for cars left sitting a long time) you could clead, freshen, repair and reuse.   I'd just carefully disassemble, take lots of pics and clean them best you can if they stink.  Use the pics to get it back together.  If the underneath is functional, new covers will.....well......."cover" them. 

By the way after I bought all the Legendary parts (foam pads and covers for front and rear) just to check, I called three local auto upholstery shops to see what they charged to install this, thinking if it was reasonable I'd get them to do it.  Best quote was $800!!! To me NOT reasonable at all.  Fact is I did all of it in about 3 days working evenings.  Now after learing on my car, I could do a whole Challenger from bare frames in about 4-6 hours now.  If I had the volume of work for $800 a shot, I'd quit my job do that full time. 

[Skunkworks Challenger]

Thanks, NC RMP,
First off I like your dog!  Yes, no body sits in the rear of an E-body.  My rear padding is in good shape so maybe I can deoderize it.  The burlap with the thin wires is rotten and will need to be replaced.  That is true of the front as well.  All the burlap will have to go.  Did you use burlap with the wires  and muslin in the same way the factory did? I took lots of pictures and I'm not throwing anything away till I get it all back together.  The factory used small hog rings.  Were you able to get some about the same size as the factory used?  After purchasing all the materials putting it all back together is mostly labor and being retired my labor is pretty cheap so I plan on doing it all.  If mine turns out as well as yours I will be happy. PK

[NC RMP]

Your rear seats look great.  I'd just steam clean them or spray with febreze or something. 

Yes I used burlap to cover the frame anywhere the frame touches the foam.  Burlap keeps the wires from digging into the foam.  Hog ring it to the frame with a couple rings just to hold in place.  I bought better pliers and extra rings from somewhere.  Legndary sells a kit but I got more rings and more professional pliers.  Linen is provided with instructions to cut and where to glue it. That hold the foam in place while you attach the rest to the frame.  The "listing wires" are the key to a good looking installation.  They go into the cover and you put the cover flaps thru the foam where you cut it thru and hog ring the cover and listing wires to the frame wires.  That pulls tight the cover to the frame thru the foam in just the right way and makes the good well defined creases where the seams are.

Here is the guide I used.   But also talk to their tech help.   http://www.legendaryautointeriors.com/files/CDP%20Upholstery%20Install%20Guide.pdf

Do the work on a sunny day when you can put the covers in the sun or lay them on hot pavement is even better, makes them give a lot more.  You need good hand strength to do this as you are pulling, holding, stretching, squeezing, pushing, gathering, whith one hand all while clamping those hog rings with the other.  A helper is recommended.

[challengermaniac]

Paul,

I bought my Legendary seat covers (front & rear) along with front seat foam from Dante's Mopar Interiors (discounted over buying directly from Legendary) and had them professionally installed by Chris with Chris's Upholstery in Everett.  Top notch, best of show work at roughly half the price of most shops.  Chris's number is:  425-347-8583.

[NC RMP]

Yea, looks like the foam is $14 cheaper per seat ($28 per car) at Dante's vs Legendary, not sure about shipping differences, tech support, etc but probably a wash on shipping and Legendary will still help if you call them.  I'd check and get the lowest overall cost including shipping, etc as long as the quality is the same

If your local guy can do it for acceptable $$ then go for that.  You know your wallet size and what's acceptable to you. 

For ME, I just could not pay $800 which seemed to be the going rate here in North Carolina just to INSTALL all the new stuff.  After buying all the covers and foam already, $800 to install was crazy to me.  I'd have thought $800 to sew me new covers AND install them was more like it.  Maybe I'm living in the past here and that's a good rate but not for me.  Again, after I actualy did the work myself I came to the hard conclusion that $800 to do this installation is a rip off.  I would do Challenger interiors ALL DAY LONG 6 days a week if I could get $800 per car and have the customer provide the materials.   

But, that's me - if you are intimidated by the work then having someone do it is worth it.  You are guaranteed an outcome and have someone to yell at besides yourself if it is not to your standards.

[challengermaniac]

NC RMP,

I paid "a highly trained professional" $475 (plus tax) to breakdown the old seats, blast & paint the frames and install the provided Legenday seat covers & fitted foam on the two front seats.  He also provided the needed seat foam & other materials to complete the rear seat install of the Legendary covers.  That's still a lot of coin and to all that can & want to do this job themselves, I say go for it. 

[NC RMP]

$475 seems more in line.  If I had gotten that quote I might have paid someone to do it too.  I guess it all depends on your wallet size at the time and your comfort tackling it yourself.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

I did mine myself. I had no experience, and little expectations.

No way was I going to pay someone $500 or more to do it. It took me about 7 or 8 hours, but I was new at it. Just get hog ring pliers and a bag of a couple of hundred hog rings and you'll be fine. Do the back seat first to build your confidence.   

[walkAbout]

The time has come to do my rear seat. Just getting all together, will compare prices Dante vs. Mopardave  vs. Legendary itself (shipping to Germany). Just for the records here, I've found an installation kit for the rear seats in Legendary's PDF, as somebody was wondering if there is one.

I will do it definitely by myself, but asked a friend who did a lot of upholstery to help me, to get everything fitted well.

CU

walkAbout

[72cudamaan]

The time has come to do my rear seat. Just getting all together, will compare prices Dante vs. Mopardave  vs. Legendary itself (shipping to Germany). Just for the records here, I've found an installation kit for the rear seats in Legendary's PDF, as somebody was wondering if there is one.

I will do it definitely by myself, but asked a friend who did a lot of upholstery to help me, to get everything fitted well.

CU

walkAbout

The kit is nice that it has everything in one box, but if you have an upholstery store or good fabric store
you could probably get everything for both seats for about 60-80 bucks. And save on the shipping as well.
I found everything local to do mine. Just saying.