Seat tech - made from scratch - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

**LEEVON** · 03-26-2018, 02:42 PM

My motivation for doing a seat this way was wanting to retain a mostly original look and feel in the interior, including the seat frame/floor riser set-up but with more comfort. I first tried modifying an '88 bench seat and it was comfortable but just not quite "right" for Popeye the '50.

I started with an original seat. Then I deconstructed the seat frames by removing the locating/mounting tabs (two on the bottom front, three on the bottom back and three on the top back). I cut the welds from all of these and set them aside. Then I used the back and bottom for size and shape and created new bases out of 7/16" plywood (the good stuff, woodworking grade). I then sanded and fit them to the seat frame utilizing the tabs attached with wood screws. From that point I attached the correct density of foam for the seat back and bottom, gluing it to the plywood with spray adhesive. I rough shaped the foam with an electric carving knife, then fine-shaped with 80 grit media on my grinder. The upholstery shop took it from there and did an outstanding job. I recommend this approach if you're looking for more comfort in an original seat.

**LEEVON** · 03-26-2018, 02:43 PM

pics 2

**LEEVON** · 03-26-2018, 02:44 PM

pics 3

**LEEVON** · 03-26-2018, 02:45 PM

The final result

_Ogre · 03-26-2018, 02:50 PM

i like it, i like it

MARTINSR · 03-26-2018, 04:36 PM

Nice work, looking good!

Brian

**mongocanfly** · 03-26-2018, 04:39 PM

wow....wasn't expecting that....it looks great!!

**oldman3** · 03-26-2018, 04:51 PM

Seat looks great...Jim

bigdaddyfuselier · 03-26-2018, 05:18 PM

Were did you get the foam from?

Thanks
Billy

Coach529 · 03-26-2018, 10:33 PM

Looks fabulous. More info on the foam would be great!!

Jemezcrusher · 03-27-2018, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LEEVON

The final result

What was your cost from the upholstery shop?

whitedog76 · 03-27-2018, 08:42 AM

Great, job. I was thinking of a way to firm up my seat springs, but I like your method. The diamond pattern and the bolstering are the cats meow.

MIKESAD50 · 03-27-2018, 09:45 AM

looks great and nice work.

NeoJuice · 03-27-2018, 11:01 AM

Love the seat and the way it turned out. I'll be doing the same thing to my origional bench seat in the future. Where did you get the foam?

Love the steering wheel in that picture. What is it off of? I'll check out your build thread.

Richard2112 · 03-27-2018, 11:19 AM

Outstanding work! I can do alott of things but that isn't one of them. So how did you decide on the density, and thickness of foam to use? Is the foam stitched into the final shape or is there more cutting/adding required to achieve the border shape? Nice project.

**LEEVON** · 03-28-2018, 09:19 AM

Thanks all! I will do my best to answer questions. Unfortunately I lost the invoice for the foam. I will say this, I thought it would be easy to find information but I scoured the internet and only found one reference from another forum about proper density for car/truck seat bottoms and backs. I couldn't translate any of those numbers into supplier websites, etc. So I called an upholstery supplier, told them what I was doing and they knew exactly what I needed and shipped it to me. If I ever run across that invoice with specs, I'll update this thread. I think for this reason it's not a "totally internet" project if that makes sense.

The interior guy added the bolsters at my request, and he said the way I shaped the foam was good for final fitting, he was somewhat impressed actually which I was not expecting. His charge on the seat cover and door panels was $1200 and I'm still going to have him do a headliner and carpet so maybe another $1000 to go for interior. I am also going to change out my brand new seat belt set for brown. I had originally planned for all black interior. Yes, that's a major investment in just a seat but I wanted the truck to have a higher-end look.

Steering wheel is 65 Chevelle I think...it's been awhile and I pulled it from a stack of old steering wheels I have stashed. Still needs a horn button.

NeoJuice · 03-28-2018, 10:45 AM

LEEVON,

Thank you for the reply about the steering wheel. I thought it might have been an Impala steering wheel. Looks like it matches up nicely.

I think I might start a 'show me your steering wheel thread' I need to find something for my truck but I cant decide on what i want.

03-26-2018, 02:42 PM	#1
LEEVON Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ozark, MO Posts: 4,888	Seat tech - made from scratch My motivation for doing a seat this way was wanting to retain a mostly original look and feel in the interior, including the seat frame/floor riser set-up but with more comfort. I first tried modifying an '88 bench seat and it was comfortable but just not quite "right" for Popeye the '50. I started with an original seat. Then I deconstructed the seat frames by removing the locating/mounting tabs (two on the bottom front, three on the bottom back and three on the top back). I cut the welds from all of these and set them aside. Then I used the back and bottom for size and shape and created new bases out of 7/16" plywood (the good stuff, woodworking grade). I then sanded and fit them to the seat frame utilizing the tabs attached with wood screws. From that point I attached the correct density of foam for the seat back and bottom, gluing it to the plywood with spray adhesive. I rough shaped the foam with an electric carving knife, then fine-shaped with 80 grit media on my grinder. The upholstery shop took it from there and did an outstanding job. I recommend this approach if you're looking for more comfort in an original seat. Attached Images __________________ '20 Silverado Trail Boss ~ '17 Tahoe ~ '79 K15 Sierra Grande ~ '76 Blazer 2wd ~ '71 Cheyenne swb ~ '55 Pontiac Safari ~'50 3100 bagged ~ '80 Wife ~ Late model kids

03-26-2018, 02:43 PM	#2
LEEVON Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ozark, MO Posts: 4,888	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch pics 2 Attached Images __________________ '20 Silverado Trail Boss ~ '17 Tahoe ~ '79 K15 Sierra Grande ~ '76 Blazer 2wd ~ '71 Cheyenne swb ~ '55 Pontiac Safari ~'50 3100 bagged ~ '80 Wife ~ Late model kids

03-26-2018, 02:44 PM	#3
LEEVON Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ozark, MO Posts: 4,888	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch pics 3 Attached Images __________________ '20 Silverado Trail Boss ~ '17 Tahoe ~ '79 K15 Sierra Grande ~ '76 Blazer 2wd ~ '71 Cheyenne swb ~ '55 Pontiac Safari ~'50 3100 bagged ~ '80 Wife ~ Late model kids

03-26-2018, 02:45 PM	#4
LEEVON Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ozark, MO Posts: 4,888	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch The final result Attached Images __________________ '20 Silverado Trail Boss ~ '17 Tahoe ~ '79 K15 Sierra Grande ~ '76 Blazer 2wd ~ '71 Cheyenne swb ~ '55 Pontiac Safari ~'50 3100 bagged ~ '80 Wife ~ Late model kids

03-26-2018, 02:50 PM	#5
_Ogre Registered User Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Motown Posts: 7,680	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch i like it, i like it __________________ cool, an ogre smiley Ogre's 58 Truk build how to put your truck year and build thread into your signature shop air compressor timer

03-26-2018, 04:36 PM	#6
MARTINSR Registered User Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 6,003	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Nice work, looking good! Brian __________________ 1948 Chevy pickup Chopped, Sectioned, 1953 Corvette 235 powered. Once was even 401 Buick mid engined with the carburetor right between the seats! Bought with paper route money in 1973 when I was 15. "Fan of most anything that moves human beings"

03-26-2018, 04:39 PM	#7
mongocanfly Post Whore Join Date: May 2015 Location: Alabama Posts: 14,670	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch wow....wasn't expecting that....it looks great!! __________________ Mongo...aka Greg RIP Dad RIP Jesse 1981 C30 LQ9 NV4500..http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=753598 Mongos AD- LS3 TR6060...http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...34#post8522334 Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4...http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...63#post8082563 2023 Chevy Z71..daily driver

03-26-2018, 04:51 PM	#8
oldman3 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: West Plains, Missouri Posts: 7,559	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Seat looks great...Jim __________________ my build thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=459839 Jimbo's long bed step build:http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...t=464626<br />

03-26-2018, 05:18 PM	#9
bigdaddyfuselier Registered User Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Lake Charles, Louisiana Posts: 7	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Were did you get the foam from? Thanks Billy

03-26-2018, 10:33 PM	#10
Coach529 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Post Falls, Idaho Posts: 1,757	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Looks fabulous. More info on the foam would be great!! __________________ 1949 Chevy 3600 "Adventures of Henry" http://smu.gs/QOlhWY

03-27-2018, 08:42 AM	#12
whitedog76 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Peoria, IL Posts: 1,450	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Great, job. I was thinking of a way to firm up my seat springs, but I like your method. The diamond pattern and the bolstering are the cats meow.

03-27-2018, 09:45 AM	#13
MIKESAD50 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Posts: 605	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch looks great and nice work. __________________ 1950 3100 5 window

03-27-2018, 11:01 AM	#14
NeoJuice Registered User Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Beaumont, Alberta Posts: 468	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Love the seat and the way it turned out. I'll be doing the same thing to my origional bench seat in the future. Where did you get the foam? Love the steering wheel in that picture. What is it off of? I'll check out your build thread.

03-27-2018, 11:19 AM	#15
Richard2112 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: South East Ohio Posts: 644	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Outstanding work! I can do alott of things but that isn't one of them. So how did you decide on the density, and thickness of foam to use? Is the foam stitched into the final shape or is there more cutting/adding required to achieve the border shape? Nice project.

03-28-2018, 09:19 AM	#16
LEEVON Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ozark, MO Posts: 4,888	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch Thanks all! I will do my best to answer questions. Unfortunately I lost the invoice for the foam. I will say this, I thought it would be easy to find information but I scoured the internet and only found one reference from another forum about proper density for car/truck seat bottoms and backs. I couldn't translate any of those numbers into supplier websites, etc. So I called an upholstery supplier, told them what I was doing and they knew exactly what I needed and shipped it to me. If I ever run across that invoice with specs, I'll update this thread. I think for this reason it's not a "totally internet" project if that makes sense. The interior guy added the bolsters at my request, and he said the way I shaped the foam was good for final fitting, he was somewhat impressed actually which I was not expecting. His charge on the seat cover and door panels was $1200 and I'm still going to have him do a headliner and carpet so maybe another $1000 to go for interior. I am also going to change out my brand new seat belt set for brown. I had originally planned for all black interior. Yes, that's a major investment in just a seat but I wanted the truck to have a higher-end look. Steering wheel is 65 Chevelle I think...it's been awhile and I pulled it from a stack of old steering wheels I have stashed. Still needs a horn button. __________________ '20 Silverado Trail Boss ~ '17 Tahoe ~ '79 K15 Sierra Grande ~ '76 Blazer 2wd ~ '71 Cheyenne swb ~ '55 Pontiac Safari ~'50 3100 bagged ~ '80 Wife ~ Late model kids



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03-28-2018, 10:45 AM	#17
NeoJuice Registered User Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Beaumont, Alberta Posts: 468	Re: Seat tech - made from scratch LEEVON, Thank you for the reply about the steering wheel. I thought it might have been an Impala steering wheel. Looks like it matches up nicely. I think I might start a 'show me your steering wheel thread' I need to find something for my truck but I cant decide on what i want.

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