|
The driver's front seat in my new 1992 was in the worst shape possible. Cloth was fine, the grid was all but gone, springs hanging loose/missing, and the foam bottom was beyond repair.
Go to Erling's website, http://home.no.net/ebrox/, and on the left side you will see Tony Hoffman's very good seat rebuilding instructions.
Check the condition of the grid on the underside. I was able the rebuild the donor's grid. Pull out the seat by unplugging the seat heater connection if supplied and remove the four 13mm bolts that hold the seat to the rail, NOT the rail to the car. Remove the seat through the back door with the seat reclined. This is a 10 min first time job, 5 min thereafter.
Find a Pick-n-Pull and get the passenger's seat on the theory that it is used less, there are fewer tears to repair and only good looking petite ladies had sat in it. Vinyl covered if possible (less oxidation, less tears), and the newer the better. Since you need new cloth too, you may have to settle for cloth seats instead. I had to use cloth cover foam in my car. 1986 and later seats and frames are all the same. The foam for any year will match.
For my foam repair, I used rubber a 3M gasket adhesive to glue the foam rips and canvas with 3M 77 contact cement on the entire bottom with a piece of carpet between the foam and grid.
Observations and notes:
Hog rings are not spring steel. I used small vice grips and side cutters to bend them open. Use cable ties as a replacement.
Easy job, but it just takes time and patience. Do the seat back at the same time as the bottom and get it over with. The passenger seat can be moved to the driver’s side temporarily if needed.
When installing the seat, make sure the seat belt near the center is pivoted all the way back.
There is no final word on foam to foam glue. Someone suggested polyurethane glue (Gorilla Glue) but I think it dries too hard. 3M-77 used with a cloth backing works great.
Do a search for "seat repair", RWD option, and you will find a lot of information.
Good luck, Tom
|
