SOR's FJ25 seat covers

[foxfab]

The box came in last night, but I was too tired to open it. I'll post up pics once I get them unpacked. They only come in grey, which isnt the stock color, but still fine with me.

[Land Cruiser Junky]

Post up some pics of them installed please. Are those the same ones that are on Marv's tan 25?

[foxfab]

From what I've seen all 25's had tan upholstery, not a very nice color at that. But this is a nice shade of grey. Sorry about the pic, my digi cam sucks.



I also got the rear bench seat upholstery for when I find a frame

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Originally Posted by foxfab

From what I've seen all 25's had tan upholstery, not a very nice color at that. But this is a nice shade of grey. I also got the rear bench seat upholstery for when I find a frame

The original was a cruddy red color (fades to tan), doubt I'll use it when the time comes.

You've got the bender and tube.....time to make a rear seat frame.

[foxfab]

Originally Posted by Cruiser_Nerd

You've got the bender and tube.....time to make a rear seat frame.

got dimensions?

[Land Cruiser Junky]

Originally Posted by foxfab

got dimensions?

I can give you detailed pics and all dimensions by next week if you're serious.

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Mike....I was going to tell you to get in touch with Gene if you really want to build one......

[foxfab]

heck ya. I have 1" tube and the bender die waiting

=Land Cruiser Junky]I can give you detailed pics and all dimensions by next week if you're serious.[/quote]

[Land Cruiser Junky]

[quote=foxfab]heck ya. I have 1" tube and the bender die waiting

I'll be going over to Marv's next Thursday. I'll bring the digicam and get the dimensions then.

[foxfab]

thanks

[quote=Land Cruiser Junky]

Originally Posted by foxfab

heck ya. I have 1" tube and the bender die waiting

I'll be going over to Marv's next Thursday. I'll bring the digicam and get the dimensions then.

[LandCruiserSteve]

Contrary to SOR's recommendation that I seek professional help (a real upholsterer), I decided to tackle the FJ25 seat covers myself anyway. Here's how it went:

I bought 1 inch, 2 inch and 3 inch thick sections of seat foam from an auto upholstery shop for a total of $30.


(The drivers seat procedure is identical to the passenger seat.)


1. Stripped off the old covers. Yikes, it's scary inside of there!!

2. For the bottom part of the seat, I used the old cushion as a template to cut both a 1 inch and 3 inch pad.

3. After cleaning up the spring box and even though the edges were pretty smooth, I ran a strip of duct tape around the perimeter of both levels just to be sure.

[LandCruiserSteve]

4. Inserted the 3 inch foam into the new bottom seat cover. (Center it until it's perfectly situated.)

5. Centered the spring box on top of the 3 inch foam.

6. Placed the 1 inch pad over the spring box. (It acts as a buffer between the springs and the bottom fabric.

[LandCruiserSteve]

7. Start tuckin' and firmly (but carefully) start lining up the Velcro strips. It's going to seem like you're trying to put double size sheets on a king size bed, but with some compression on the springs and foam, it will come together nicely.

8. Flip it right side up, and here's how it looks.

9. The back cushion is a piece of cake. Just use the original cushion as a template to cut the 2 inch foam to size, stuff it on in there and seal it up.


(The supplied upholstery wires are for slipping into channels of the attachment flaps for reinforcement. Trim and round the wire ends as necessary.)

[LandCruiserSteve]

10. Re-attach your new cushions to the driver's seat frame, making sure the channel wire is up against the edge of the flaps before you insert your screws.

11. Do the same with the passenger seat cushions.

12. And, you're done!!

Total time for a first-time auto upholsterer to do both seats: 1 hour 25 minutes (including picture taking, a cold piece of leftover pizza and three cups of Starsbucks).

[cruiserman]

Very nice

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Looks great Steve! My upholstery doesn't look quite so good, but it will pass for now. That horsehair and burlap is scary stuff though.

[Land Cruiser Junky]

Wow Steve, those look great. Nice job. Good to get rid of the horse hair & burlap while making your seats look great. I just took that stuff out of the LV and replaced it with foam too.

[LandCruiserSteve]

Originally Posted by Land Cruiser Junky

Wow Steve, those look great. Nice job.

Thanks guys! Not only am I rid of the horsehair and burlap, but these seats are actually comfortable now. (The local upholsterers quoted between $485 and $725 to make and install new seat covers. Then again, it's a small captive audience town.)