Upholstery Thread (1 Viewer)

[Jason Reed]

You should have 2 hooks that are welded into the seat frame. Those hooks latch into (2) othe hook Componetns that are bolted to the front of the toolbox. I hope that helps. It's a real simple design on the early seats.

Jason-

 

[Vae Victus]

You should have 2 hooks that are welded into the seat frame. Those hooks latch into (2) othe hook Componetns that are bolted to the front of the toolbox. I hope that helps. It's a real simple design on the early seats.

Jason-

I'm looking to source the latches, but what about the rear of the seat? Surely it bolts down to something?

 

[Jason Reed]

Yes- on the back of the seat should be (2) round pins, that will side through the holes on these brackets here and these brackets mount to the floor. I've included a pic of mine when I tore my cruiser down and a set that's currently on Ebay, that would work for you.

 

[Cleg]

Do you leave the polyethylene inside or slide it out when done?

The polyethylene stays in between the cover and the foam.
Without the plastic film it can be a fight to get the covers to slip into place without dragging the materials underneath out of position.

It helps to shape the padding as much as possible like the seats and not rely on the covers to flatten out any lumps.
Also helps to do the installation on a hot day.

 

[stock]

SOR. Nice quality.

 

[71FFJ40]

Latches to secure the seat frame to the tool box can be found here McMaster-Carr


I'm not so sure safety was top priority when the the mounts for these seats were designed.You may want to add your own measure of security when reconfiguring the brackets,hinges and latches

 

[71FFJ40]

Not to hijack, but if you are already there: if you can take pics of the early driver's side mechanisms that attach the seat frame to the vehicle/tool box lid, I would appreciate that. Just got seats yesterday for my 1970 and am uneducated on what I still need. SOR.com isn't much help as the line art is too low res to really see what's missing.

1970 fj40 driver seat tool box latches.

 

[Vae Victus]

Yes- on the back of the seat should be (2) round pins, that will side through the holes on these brackets here and these brackets mount to the floor. I've included a pic of mine when I tore my cruiser down and a set that's currently on Ebay, that would work for you.

Thanks - duh. Didn't look there. Four sets available.

 

[Vae Victus]

Latches to secure the seat frame to the tool box can be found here McMaster-Carr


I'm not so sure safety was top priority when the the mounts for these seats were designed.You may want to add your own measure of security when reconfiguring the brackets,hinges and latches

Thanks again. You guys are always amazing. Great community!

 

[Jason Reed]

I do agree with @stock. If I was doing the OEM black or Orange, I would have went with the SOR ones also. They have good foam and the covers fit great from what I've read.

-Jason

 

[Pumpkin Troopy]

I threw out the factory seats and went with something a bit more comfortable.. I used a marine UV Resistant Vinyl, Fabed up some metal door skins with built in cup holders..

Ford EcoLine Seats integrated seat belts & Arm Rests .. Custom Door skins .. I really like my Diamond design..

 

[Tex40]

Crappy pic from back right after I finished recovering. Cruiser Corps covers (they ran them on sale a while back) - original foam with some additional upholstery foam added to lowers - wouldn't have the ripples if it was new foam (or if I was a professional) but they are great quality. camera seems to accentuate the ripples - I don't notice them in person.

 

[Rigger]

Bumping this; has anyone done their own upholstery and can share their experiences?

Any pics taken during the process? Do’s and dont’s? Advice?

 

[Michael B]

Hey Rigger,
I have a 78' 45 but I wanted 79' and later seats. I found a set of 79' seats that were RHD and converted them LHD configuration and customized the seat mount to fit my truck. I had a local shop recover the seats and add extra foam. I paid $450.00 for the upholstery work.

 

[Living in the Past]

I have a set of seats that are in bad shape. The innards appear to be springs and some material that looks like straw.

That probably the original horse hair. Have a number of old cruiser seats with it.

Hey Rigger,
I have a 78' 45 but I wanted 79' and later seats. I found a set of 79' seats that were RHD and converted them LHD configuration and customized the seat mount to fit my truck. I had a local shop recover the seats and add extra foam. I paid $450.00 for the upholstery work.



View attachment 1557182 View attachment 1557183 View attachment 1557184 View attachment 1557185 View attachment 1557186

Would curious how you mounted the seats in your 78? Have LHD seats from a late model I would like to install in my 65 FJ45LP-B.

 

[ginmtb]

Bumping this; has anyone done their own upholstery and can share their experiences?

Any pics taken during the process? Do’s and dont’s? Advice?

I found this after I did my seats. Good guide.

http://www.sor.com/sorPDF_inst/310-73d.pdf

If you search my thread I wrote some instructions too but that PDF should do the trick! Not as difficult as it first appears.

 

[Michael B]

@Living in the Past check out my build page about page 11. If you have any questions not answered there feel free to contact me.

 

[pb4ugo]

Bumping this; has anyone done their own upholstery and can share their experiences?

Any pics taken during the process? Do’s and dont’s? Advice?

I don't know if this helps or not, but I'm 2 seats cushions into doing the upholstery in our boat. I will eventually, try my hand into doing something for my 40 too. I've done quite a bit of research into machines, types of stitching, material,patterning and such. There are a lot of good instructional videos out there on the web on the basics of upholstery sewing. To start, search for videos by Sailrite, a guy named Cechaflo, who is really good, and there's a short article in the Jalopy Journal on tuck and roll along with the one from Cechaflo too. I also found good info from searching threads in the restoration section on Iboats.

The 1st thing to consider is the sewing machine. Most home machines can't handle sewing multiple layers of vinyl. They are usually made for lighter material. Most have plastic gears or the belts slip or the motor may not be able to have consistent material feed or stitching heavier material. Most home machines cannot handle the proper size thread or the larger needles required to do the job properly. There is an old Singer machine 15-91, which you can probably get by with, but the thread size will be on the small side. It has a direct drive motor and can be found for $50 to $125. The machine you want, should have a walking foot and have reverse. It will need to be able to handle a minimum thread size of V69 or V92 and #18 or larger needles. Not all industrial machine can do this. Threads should be UV resistant and polyester. I picked up an old Consew 26-188 for $300 and then I upgraded the motor to a servo motor so I could control the speed better. You'll find there are a couple of manufactures who make the same or similar machine, and a lot of parts are interchangeable. I did a lot of practice making cornhole bags and some other small projects along with repetitively stitching straight and curve french seams because this is the type of seams we wanted on the boat cushions. As Cleg mentioned you put plastic between the foam and vinyl, it does 2 things, helps slip the cover on and protects the foam from moisture, because you are poking holes in the vinyl. I've been using dry cleaner bags, and tacking it down with contact cement. Vinyl can be picked up on ebay, Jo Ann or Hancock fabrics or really anywhere. I found foam locally. If your old foam is ruff you may want to get some thin foam, so the imperfections of the old foam doesn't effect how the vinyl lays down. Once you get used to the machine and how it works, it is not difficult to sew. To start a seam You go forward a couple of stitches, then reverse over those stitches, then go forward, this creates a knot, I then sometimes repeat it again. At the end of the seam you do the same thing. Hope this helps.

 

[lc69hunter]

SOR for quality upholstery and the padding underneath. Worked for me.

I did my seats on the 40 with the SOR package also. Very good quality. I used Cruiser Outfitters for the Pig.

 

[brian]

Bumping this; has anyone done their own upholstery and can share their experiences?

Any pics taken during the process? Do’s and dont’s? Advice?

custom or using store bought covers?