Anyone with Stock Upholstery in their 55? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
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Location
Wyoming
Getting my seats redone. I'd like to replicate the stock stitching pattern. Would anyone be willing to measure out the spacing of stitch lines left to right? Mine were reupholstered by the PO some time ago and there is no stitching at all so I can't measure this on my own.
 
Pretty sure this is factory original in my 77. Let me know if you want some measurements.

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My 79 has all vinyl seats, no cloth inserts. I had the front recovered in about 1988, but the rear is original. I went down to where it is and got two pictures, then my beat up iphone 4 died at 70 %.... I will get them up tomorrow.
 
My 79 has all vinyl seats, no cloth inserts. I had the front recovered in about 1988, but the rear is original. I went down to where it is and got two pictures, then my beat up iphone 4 died at 70 %.... I will get them up tomorrow.

I'd be curious what yours look like. Mine is also a 1979.
 
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Back in the 90s I would call SOR for parts and the'd say" you sure it's a 79, they only imported 4000 of those. I remember buying a driver side mirror out of stock from a toyota dealer in Seattle and a 16" split rim from the toyota dealer in Victoria BC..,. When I first met my beloved, she was seven years old.... Like buying a 2013 toyota highlander today. I drove around the island like I was a rich guy. But really, it was an outdated rig after only seven years.
 
@island45 thanks for the pics. Looks like your seats are in pretty good shape considering the age.

Yeah the 79s aren't super common huh? I bought mine from it's original owners who were from CA. They told me they flew up to Seattle and purchased from a dealer there. They took a road trip on the way home which lead them through McCall, Idaho. A few years later they built a second home in McCall and kept the 55 there until I purchased it 3 years ago. Unfortunately they had it repainted non-stock and re-upholstered. But the cool thing is it has factory AC and power steering. From what I understand, there are only about 250 that had those options. They assured me the odometer hasn't flipped so the 75k are original miles. Not sure if that is actually true, but it's very complete and runs great. I'm stoked, i've wanted a 55 since i bought my first cruiser (fj40) when i turned 16. They are just so hard to find in decent shape these days.

I just finished painting all the parts to take it back to stock colors. I'd like to replicate the stock stiching on the seats, although they won't necessarily look stock as I'm going with cloth instead of Vinyl. Can't wait to get it back on the road!
 
Mine has PS and it still works like new. Also the 3.73 gears. Did all 79s have the taller ratio? The island is all hills and the fastest straightaway has a speed limit of 40. I also have always run tall skinnies, either 7.50x16s or later the 9.50 85r 15s. I still run them on my 92 f350 and my 94 T-100. Anyhow the tall tires and 3.73s make a sluggish start from the bottom of a hill, towing a trailer. Now I am off topic about upholstery......My rear seat back is almost like new. no rips and the white paint is good too. Do you still need good measurements on seats? Width between the pleats or do you need length of actual stitches? Pleats being about 1 1/4" or so, or length of stitch with the needle like 1/8" ??>
 
I'd like to replicate the stock stiching on the seats, although they won't necessarily look stock as I'm going with cloth instead of Vinyl.

Sounds like what I did. Take a look through my thread, happy to send measurements if they will help!
 
Sounds like what I did. Take a look through my thread, happy to send measurements if they will help!
Your seats look great! Is that suede type material on the sides and center? regular vinyl on bottom and around back?

Northern CO? Sounds like you're not too far from here.
 
The island is all hills and the fastest straightaway has a speed limit of 40.

sounds like the perfect place to drive a vintage cruiser. Thanks for the measurements. Fabric is supposed to arrive this weekend so hoping to get the seats into the upholstery shop next week.
 
Your seats look great! Is that suede type material on the sides and center? regular vinyl on bottom and around back?

Northern CO? Sounds like you're not too far from here.

Not really suede, but it feels kind of like some headliners feel. Not sure if that makes sense?

Where in Wyo are you? It would be cool to meet up sometime!
 
Not really suede, but it feels kind of like some headliners feel. Not sure if that makes sense?

Where in Wyo are you? It would be cool to meet up sometime!

Cool, i was thinking of something other than vinyl on the seating surface but haven't decided yet.

I'm in the Star Valley area if you know where that is. A valley to the south of Jackson Hole.
 
Cool, i was thinking of something other than vinyl on the seating surface but haven't decided yet.

I'm in the Star Valley area if you know where that is. A valley to the south of Jackson Hole.

I like it. I really like the match of the patterned cloth to the original vinyl.

Oh man, you are in some beautiful country!
Any chance we could do Pig Party '21 up there?!?
 

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