Seat rebuild question

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Jim Lusk

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Finally getting around to doing my son's seats for his '67 Dart. I need some supplies, but not sure if these wires were necessary (they don't come in the Legendary installation kit). They are spaced about an inch apart in the burlap of both the seat bottom and back. They break if you try to open up and end to remove them from the old burlap.

I watched the Legendary video on installing covers for a '69 Charger, but I don't know if those had these wires or not.

Second pic the new cover. I figure this is going to take me a couple of weeks, at least...
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Jim Lusk said:
They break if you try to open up and end to remove them from the old burlap
Click to expand...
My guess is that are a form of spring steel. (Piano wire might substitute) I also guess that the are there to firm up the seat a bit and make the whole thing work as a system.

Kind of like the cord clamped from spring to spring. Push on one spring and the one next to it moves a little also.

How is the seat cover compared to the oem, right stiched in the right places etc? Are the midalions oem or repo?
 
The medallions are originals. I managed to break one of the three I have tried to take apart. I still have at least one more, possibly three more. The convertible only needs three so I'm good.

Covers are Legendary, but are now OLD. Bought nearly 20 years ago so I'm not sure that they'll fit as vinyl does shrink. They are still very pliable, though. Quality looks good. New foam looks good. Next up is my Barracuda and then the GTS. Hopefully, I'll be good at it by the third car. Gonna attempt the top on all three, as well.
 
Hit me up when your ready for the top I have some things I learned when my top was replaced.
 
I know they're vinyl, but soak them with some Macguire's(SP?) leather treatment it works good on vinyl, too.
 
Jim Lusk said:
The medallions are originals. I managed to break one of the three I have tried to take apart. I still have at least one more, possibly three more. The convertible only needs three so I'm good.

Covers are Legendary, but are now OLD. Bought nearly 20 years ago so I'm not sure that they'll fit as vinyl does shrink. They are still very pliable, though. Quality looks good. New foam looks good. Next up is my Barracuda and then the GTS. Hopefully, I'll be good at it by the third car. Gonna attempt the top on all three, as well.
Click to expand...

Years ago, I worked for a company who upholstered vinyl pontoon seats. We would place the seat covers in an enclosed cabinet with red heat lamps for a few minutes prior to installation. laying these in the sun or warming them up with a hair dryer would help them stretch a bit easier when you go to install.
 
Jim Lusk said:
Finally getting around to doing my son's seats for his '67 Dart. I need some supplies, but not sure if these wires were necessary (they don't come in the Legendary installation kit). They are spaced about an inch apart in the burlap of both the seat bottom and back. They break if you try to open up and end to remove them from the old burlap.

I watched the Legendary video on installing covers for a '69 Charger, but I don't know if those had these wires or not.

Second pic the new cover. I figure this is going to take me a couple of weeks, at least...
View attachment 1715725973 View attachment 1715725974
Click to expand...


Hey Jim,

From what I was told , those wires prevent the foam and seat material from being driven between those large s-springs when you sit on the seat. I 'm assuming they are engineered to distribute weight across the seat surface.
 
AAndrews said:
Hey Jim,

From what I was told , those wires prevent the foam and seat material from being driven between those large s-springs when you sit on the seat. I 'm assuming they are engineered to distribute weight across the seat surface.
Click to expand...

But, who has them? Classic shows a complete burlap set with wires for '67-69 Camaro/Firebird ( a little pricey, as well), but not for Mopars.
 
Jim Lusk said:
The medallions are originals. I managed to break one of the three I have tried to take apart. I still have at least one more, possibly three more. The convertible only needs three so I'm good.

Covers are Legendary, but are now OLD. Bought nearly 20 years ago so I'm not sure that they'll fit as vinyl does shrink. They are still very pliable, though. Quality looks good. New foam looks good. Next up is my Barracuda and then the GTS. Hopefully, I'll be good at it by the third car. Gonna attempt the top on all three, as well.
Click to expand...
Dont be afraid to let them sit out in the sun and also use a heat gun to get them stretched in. As long as the arent "brittle" they should be ok.
 
Dartswinger70 said:
Dont be afraid to let them sit out in the sun and also use a heat gun to get them stretched in. As long as the arent "brittle" they should be ok.
Click to expand...

Definitely not brittle. I'm juggling about four things right now so it's going to be slow going. I added up what I need to order from Legendary for the other two cars...more than I paid for either of them at the original purchase and damn near the total of the two...
 
Jim Lusk said:
Definitely not brittle. I'm juggling about four things right now so it's going to be slow going. I added up what I need to order from Legendary for the other two cars...more than I paid for either of them at the original purchase and damn near the total of the two...
Click to expand...

Please continue to post you progress, as this is something I want to try to tackle with Vixen in the future.
 
Jim Lusk said:
Definitely not brittle. I'm juggling about four things right now so it's going to be slow going. I added up what I need to order from Legendary for the other two cars...more than I paid for either of them at the original purchase and damn near the total of the two...
Click to expand...

Interior gets expensive doesn’t it? I agree with Rusty, please post your progress or anything thing you learn on the way. I’m getting ready to order from Legendary. I need to recover the seats in my ‘67 Dart project as well.
 
You don't need those wires, legendary installation kit has everything you'll need, go to their website and check out the installation videos they are very helpful.
 
When you get ready to work with the seat covers, place them in your dryer on high heat for about 25-30 minutes. That will make them much more pliable than laying them in the sun when it comes time to stretch them over the seat frame. I put my Legendary covers in the dryer when I was installing them and that process worked great. The dryer will not damage the seat covers. Just do them one at a time.
 
Jim Lusk said:
But, who has them? Classic shows a complete burlap set with wires for '67-69 Camaro/Firebird ( a little pricey, as well), but not for Mopars.
Click to expand...
just order piano wire the same diameter and cut to length. it's what we do when rebuilding 60's Lincoln seats and I've done
my 70 challenger the same way
 
66Dvert said:
just order piano wire the same diameter and cut to length. it's what we do when rebuilding 60's Lincoln seats and I've done
my 70 challenger the same way
Click to expand...

Might do that this week. How easy is it to get it straightened after cutting it off the roll?
 
An upholstery shop advised me to basically do my own version of what that little bar is doing by taking bailing wire and zip tying it across the springs to distribute the weight better since the springs are basically always worn out on these seats.

After a few months the wire worked its way up through the foam and poked a small hole in the upholstery so I removed it and just wound up zip tying the springs together to basically do the same thing that the bar in your picture does. Worked out great and the seat is much more comfortable.
 
Like this. it's what I do when recovering Lincoln seats for my boss since he HATES rolling the ends
and lets the grunt(me)do the boring work
upload_2021-5-3_14-23-8.png
 
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