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I can't tell if my seats are leather, Pleather, naugahide(sp) or what. I know what they're not: Cloth. What materials did Volvo use back then?
thanks
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1988 240 GL Sedan 4Cyl.
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Thanks for all the responses. I have buttons, so that means i have leather. I was confused because it's so tough. Also, it seems like a top layer is peeling (like someone mentioned). Unfortunatley, I have the dreaded "seat rot" and it really needs to be replaced or rebuilt. I'm thinking replacement because it appears as though someone very heave used the driver seat to get out of the rear seat, and the top of the driver seat feels broken, like a broken support bar. the headrest flops around like a chicken with no neck.
thanks again for the responses
danny
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1988 240 GL Sedan 4Cyl.
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When I got my first 86, I had to replace the seat frame. I pulled the seat upholstery off of a passenger seat, used the best foam out of all the pieces I had, made sure the wire bottom frame was intact.
I had to reverse the controls, the lumbar support and the back angle adjustment knob, to turn this passenger seat into a driver's seat. Then I secured the driver's seat upholstery over the "new" seat frame.
On mine, the top bar that holds the head rest was broken clean off at both top corners. Most unpleasant.
Beware sharp edges on all the metal seat frame parts if you work on it yourself.
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 ::: 90 745GL ::: 90 745T ::: 84 242DL ::: 90 745T Parts ::: Used to have : 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 91 244, 88 244GL, 88 744GLE, 82 245T, 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 245DL, 89 244DL!
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A GL sedan should have leather, period.
The wagons came with vinyl; a GL wagon or SE, and *some* Classics have leather.
The leather seats are all vinyl-backed. The seating surfaces are leather, sewed to a vinyl back and side.
As noted, the seats should have buttons if they're leather, but time sometimes causes those to disappear. The leather is a good deal stiffer than the vinyl, unless it's been treated regularly with Lexol or a similar leather conditioner/cleaner.
Hope this helps!
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 ::: 90 745GL ::: 90 745T ::: 84 242DL ::: 90 745T Parts ::: Used to have : 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 91 244, 88 244GL, 88 744GLE, 82 245T, 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 245DL, 89 244DL!
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Rob,
As a point of clarification, are you talking about the pre-81 as always having leather in the GL?
My brother's '80 GLE has the leather interior, but my 92 doesn't, and the Swedishbricks list of changes indicates in 81 the GLT switched to "velour or leather interior" and in 82 Canadian GL wagons got the velour interior standard.
Since my 92 is an LA car, and it has all, or nearly all options available, I'm figured the PO opted for velour rather than leather because of the sun/heat issues. But now I'm wondering if it's a replacement...
Best,
Lanval
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92 240GL - Virgos, IPD 25/25 sways, 150,000 mi strong
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You are right, and I neglected to mention it. There was an upgraded cloth option for the GL, GLE, GLT cars.
I forgot about it even though my old 240 Turbo wagon HAD these seats. They are different from the other seats of the era. The base model DL had cloth that was very plain. The GL/GLT cloth was sort of a corduroy or pleated velour pattern.
Maybe my picture will explain it better than I can.
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 ::: 90 745GL ::: 90 745T ::: 84 242DL ::: 90 745T Parts ::: Used to have : 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 91 244, 88 244GL, 88 744GLE, 82 245T, 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 245DL, 89 244DL!
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...you know, like, "Guess what I'm sitting on right now. I'll give you a hint, it starts with a 'B' and you can keep your tools in it...ok guess."
Anyway, that's the same cloth my '82 GL had, Rob - it's good stuff. 24 years of butts in and out of the seat and three teenagers learning to drive in it and the upholstery was only wearing thin in one small place.
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Sean Corron
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Yeah, the cloth that Rob is showing in that pic is universally the best wearing seat fabric of the seats I see in the JY. It's nearly always in one piece - so much so, that until today, I assumed it was a low-end replacement material that Volvo or someone else sold... the vinyl is nearly always split, and leather is a rare bird.
I once happened across a leather interior that was in OK condition, and passed it up. Sorry I did so now. Just have to wait for my brother's PRV to die.
Incidentally, I have a cloth seat that's held up pretty well - it's a blue/black/grey tweed, and it's worn and stained, but hasn't split or cut. One of the reasons I liked this car.
Best,
Lanval
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92 240GL - Virgos, IPD 25/25 sways, 150,000 mi strong
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Along those lines, if anyone has a black or grey 240 sedan interior they want to sell, I'm looking for one, complete.
I need to do some serious cleanup of my 92's tan interior and I would really rather have black or grey.
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 ::: 90 745GL ::: 90 745T ::: 84 242DL ::: 90 745T Parts ::: Used to have : 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 91 244, 88 244GL, 88 744GLE, 82 245T, 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 245DL, 89 244DL!
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Haven't got a grey or black ... but I do have a complete Beige interior in excellent condition in an 88 white 244 that is due for parting out starting on the 18th of April first come first serve ... I think Jessie is the closest .....
Brett
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Brett Sutherland & the 1.5 million mile 122 CANADIAN --- WINDSOR, Nova Scotia the birthplace of HOCKEY www.ecvintagevolvo.com
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I was looking for black or grey to replace the tan interior in my 93. The later 240 fabric apolstery all seems to wear very quickly. Its almost impossible to find a good drivers seat. I ended up using the cloth velour seats from an 84 turbo like pictured above. After 23 years it barely shows any wear, even though it came from a well used car.
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You, me, and half the 240 owners across the States, Rob. I'm always on the lookout for a good deal. Last year I found a '92 240 in the yard, untouched, grey cloth interior in perfect shape and even the carpet hadn't been packed full of mud. Didn't have the money at the time, but I'm guessing the guys that run the place would have cut me a pretty good deal since very little of the interior is worth anything to them as scrap. Guess it's about time to go back and check for another...
I actually like the tan, but it gets dingy looking fast and the plastic disintegrates.
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Sean Corron
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Equium,
You can usually tell by looking at the back or the seams if you're dealing with leather or synthetic; synthetic will have a clear cloth backing, usually, leather won't.
The buttons are the easy way to tell. I've never seen buttons on synthetic, and I don't see them often.
Another hint is the way it wears; spider web of cracks that are holding together = leather; synthetic tends to split in lines, usually, in this case, front to back/top to bottom of the seat or back, respectively.
How's the armrest treating you?
Best,
Lanval
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92 240GL - Virgos, IPD 25/25 sways, 150,000 mi strong
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From what I've read and seen, leather Volvo seats have buttons sewn in and vinyl seats don't. Leather isn't that common but it's out there.
Vinyl is very common and is sometimes mistaken for leather.
I wouldn't feel bad about having vinyl; it seems to be pretty well made. It does tend to crack and lose the top layer in the heavy wear areas after maybe 150K miles of sitting.
Cloth is a velour, and most of the cloth material covering a seat has a sheet of vinyl or other solid synthetic backing. Part of the cloth seat upholstery is a knit material.
For 240 seats, I find the real problems are disintegration of the foam (pretty much guaranteed/expected after 150-180 K miles or so), broken lumbar supports/adjusters, and sometimes lose nuts/bolts or even broken welds in the seats. Most of these problems can be fixed with some time and effort.
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Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, quad horns. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.
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Cloth is a velour
Not so. Velour is *a* cloth, certainly, but there are other types of cloth as well.
Lots of early 80s DL sedans and coupes had a tweed-like cloth. This stuff is tough as nails and usually wears like iron.
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A lot depends on country, year, bodystyle and trim level.
There were both leather and vinyl, in addition to cloth and velour.
How about you fill us in on the details of your car?
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I have all leather in my 82 gl, you can usually tell if it is cheap material by the way it looks.
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