DIY recovering standard seats

[robmog]

i'm getting close to being done.
i decided to tackle seat recovering as mine were way beyond driver status.
the original leather was ripped to shreds.
disassembly is easy: separate the two sections at the hinge screws.
for the backrest remove the staples from the bottom seam and the headrest ferrules and it just slips off.
for the seat bottom, flip over, kneel on it to compress and pull the tucked lower material out of the flange. SAVE the cardboard stiffener.

First the bottom: remove the spring unit by bending up the metal tabs.
now the fun starts.
clean up the seat pan, mine was rusty a wire brush and rust prep cleaned it up nicely, followed by a coat of POR15

[robmog]

replace the burlap if smelly or rotten.

here's the hard part; replacing the "tuck" cord see picture 2. you can see it is doubled in the center. i used nylon sash cord. it runs from the center to the metal ears in the pan and then to the bolster edge in a loop. it is essential to tie this tight and actually compress the seat springs about an 1/2".

in the last picture you can see where i glued reinforcing fabric to the inside seat bottom so the hog rings have something sturdy to attach to.

[robmog]

staple those saved cardboard strips to the inside edge of the seat skirt.

hog ring the fabric liner to the spring frame.

pull the fabric over the seat and tuck the cardboard supported edge into the pan gutter.

the "tush" crease is visible in the last picture.

[robmog]

now the backs.

my horsehair cushions were very worn, basically falling apart with internal "delaminations"
i cut the areas open with a scissor, stuffed in some new horsehair sculpted to fit and liberally coated (soaked) it with rubber cement. when dry in several days, good as new.

[robmog]

the frame itself is solid. i removed the burlap, repaired any tears on the wife's sewing machine, and replaced the drawstring with new sash cord.
my rubber parts were fine, you could use large O-rings as a replacement.
make sure the wooden bottom piece is well secured/nailed.

when applying the cover slit the sides about 5", 1" from the back edge.
you'll need help stretching it in place when stapling the bottom.

[robmog]

final assembly is reverse of disassembly, haha.
finished project and a new addition.
i must be crazy!

[John Fusco]

final assembly is reverse of disassembly, haha.
finished project and a new addition.
i must be crazy!

Crazy like a fuchs !

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. I'm going to give this one a try.

[classic]

Bob,

As always your workmanship is outstanding.

[robmog]

here's my sad attempt at illustrating the stringing of the seat cord,
black is the seat pan. green is the seat pad. red, the cord.
total cost for job, $300 for the covers.
thanks for the kind words guys.