Bench Seat support fixes

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FlDart360

FlDart360

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The previous owner did a great job on the upholstery of my 1971 Swinger bench seat. If only sitting on the drivers side was as comfortable as the passenger side. Are their any members out there that have had success with fixing this condition without totally bank rolling $$$ the seat from scratch.

Thanks
 
What's the issue, specifically? Foam crushed? Seat back too far forward or back?
Was the previous owner pretty heavy?

I've had luck putting spacers under the front or rear of the seat, or both, or sometimes just under one corner. But that just changes position, not fit, and helps knees and steering wheel reach.

Also, what's the rake on the car?
 
If it's too saggy on the driver side, it probably has broken springs. Can't really fix that without removing the upholstery. A good shop could do that and put it back on after the fix.
 
jos51700 said:
What's the issue, specifically? Foam crushed? Seat back too far forward or back?
Was the previous owner pretty heavy?

I've had luck putting spacers under the front or rear of the seat, or both, or sometimes just under one corner. But that just changes position, not fit, and helps knees and steering wheel reach.

Also, what's the rake on the car?
Click to expand...

No support,... it's like sitting on a toilet seat you sink down.
 
mvh said:
If it's too saggy on the driver side, it probably has broken springs. Can't really fix that without removing the upholstery. A good shop could do that and put it back on after the fix.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking springs too, or the lack of springs.
 
FlDart360 said:
No support,... it's like sitting on a toilet seat you sink down.
Click to expand...

I would say you definitely have broken springs. I have a bench seat that was completely restored, and it is as stiff as Grandma's parlor sofa. It depresses maybe 1 inch when I sit on it. No way to fix it without stripping the upholstery. It's possibly you could buy another seat bottom and transfer your upholstery, but I don't see that saving you much in either effort or $$.
 
mvh said:
I would say you definitely have broken springs. I have a bench seat that was completely restored, and it is as stiff as Grandma's parlor sofa. It depresses maybe 1 inch when I sit on it. No way to fix it without stripping the upholstery. It's possibly you could buy another seat bottom and transfer your upholstery, but I don't see that saving you much in either effort or $$.
Click to expand...

We have a couple old school upholstery shops around town. I think I will pay them a visit.
 
Look at the Amazon add, see the little steel straps? Those are used to attach springs. It is possible to strap a new spring onto a weak or broken spring without removing upholstery.
 
RedFish said:
Look at the Amazon add, see the little steel straps? Those are used to attach springs. It is possible to strap a new spring onto a weak or broken spring without removing upholstery.
Click to expand...

That is what caught my eye too. Next weekend I should have some time to pull the seat out and check things closer.
 
I learned that upholstery isn't all that difficult, in fact it's fairly easy.
I bought hog rings and the hog pliers, inexpensive.

I recently dismantled a seat to replace the seat frame, old one was rusted out.
Cut all the hog rings off and pulled the cover off.

I went to the local fabric store and bought a roll of thick burlap, roughly 3" wide, as well and stretched it across the top of the seat frame a few times, over the existing burlap and under the foam.

Flipping the seat over makes it easy to compress to put the cover back on.

Broken springs should be removed and replaced, I know from experience, just glad the broken spring was in the seat back and shot the jagged end out the back of the seat.
 
Try zip tying the springs together. This will spread the weight among more springs so you'll have half the springs on the bench supporting your weight instead of just the ones that are under your ***.
 
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