Mid year seats....was it really done this way?

[Michael G.]

Recently I did some seat maintenance on my ’66. I noticed when my seats were redone, specifically the seat bottoms, the upholsterer used nylon strings attached to backside of the upholstery, threaded through the buns to “pull the seat covers down” for shape and attachment to the seat springs. It struck me as odd as I would have thought this would have been done with hog rings.

Seats look good but nonetheless is this “par for the course”?.....was this the way it was done at the factory?

[Michael D.]

Re: Mid year seats....was it really done this way?

Michael
The seats were done with metal clips that look like a paper clip. Many upholsters will use tufting twine or some even use wire ties because the clips can be a pain to work with. Most vendors sell an "installation kit" that includes the right clips and listing wires but they are an extra that have to be ordered when ordering seat covers.

[Russ S.]

Re: Mid year seats....was it really done this way?

No, It wasn't done with strings. Factory used wire clips of different lengths. The length used depended on where in the seat they were being used as the foam is different thickness in different areas. Upholstery shops more often than not do use the strings.

[Jim D.]

Re: Mid year seats....was it really done this way?

No, It wasn't done with strings. Factory used wire clips of different lengths. The length used depended on where in the seat they were being used as the foam is different thickness in different areas. Upholstery shops more often than not do use the strings.

Unfortunately, nobody makes replacement seat foam of the correct thickness/stiffness so the only way to get the seat to look/perform as the originals is to use an adjustable method of attachment and using nylon zip ties allows you to make them fit correctly. Trying to fit current foam with the original steel clips will result in a seat that is in no way close to the originals.