Vinyl seat condition and looking for opinions

[Coelacanth]

Here are the original vinyl seats in my '70 Charger, currently almost done in body & paint. I've had them out of the gutted interior for almost 2 decades and pulled them out of my storage shed to take a closer look at the condition, as they will need to be, at the least, recovered and possibly reupholstered. I was actually surprised they were still in not too shabby condition. The rear bench has the vinyl cracking but all the foam is intact. The passenger bucket is missing some vinyl but again, the foam is intact. The driver seat is worse, as expected, missing vinyl but only a few small pieces of foam, from the looks of it.

I'm not an upholstery guy but I'm thinking these seats could be salvaged and maybe the driver's seat only needs a few strips of foam glued in before recovering. What are your opinions on having them re-done, recovered (wait months and months for Legendary or go with a local upholsterer) or replaced with something modern? This isn't a Daddy Warbucks build, cost is an important consideration, but I don't want to go with crap either. I've had ridiculous estimates for over $4000 CAD showing these pics to a local auto upholstery shop, and another for almost $2000. What kind of estimates have you seen?

Lastly, my broadcast sheet is really tucked in under the bench seat springs and stuck onto them, I tried carefully prying it up only to have it tear up a bit. It's fragile and parchment thin. Can this be more safely removed if the seat is disassembled?

 

[rklewis1005]

I'll be interested in replies as well. Were yours originally white or brown? I'm just starting my build, but planning for cost and lead times. I was thinking of cleaning up and possibly recoloring (back to brown) to save some $, but I'm not sure the threading will survive much longer. I'm thinking I might be better to have them reupholstered with the stuff from Legendary (I have time to wait on the 8-9 month lead time). I wasn't lucky enough to find a build sheet

 

[Coelacanth]

I'll be interested in replies as well. Were yours originally white or brown? I'm just starting my build, but planning for cost and lead times. I was thinking of cleaning up and possibly recoloring (back to brown) to save some $, but I'm not sure the threading will survive much longer. I'm thinking I might be better to have them reupholstered with the stuff from Legendary (I have time to wait on the 8-9 month lead time). I wasn't lucky enough to find a build sheet

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I saw your thread about your seats too. Sadly, my seats were SUPPOSED to be white, a time long ago. I'm completely re-doing my interior in black, though. I know restoring seats can be pricey, but $2 grand just to have seat covers done seems otherworldly.

 

[rklewis1005]

I saw your thread about your seats too. Sadly, my seats were SUPPOSED to be white, at one time long ago. I'm completely re-doing my interior in black, though. I know restoring seats can be pricey, but $2 grand just to have seat covers done seems otherworldly.

I guess I should be happy that I *could* recolor them darker back to brown vs trying to get them back to white. I'll have to reach out to an upholstery shop nearby and see what estimates they give me.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

My neighbor across the street from me is an upholstery guy he did the interior for the road runner and a couple other cars. One of them is owned by a member here. Its 67 Coronet.

 

[Don Frelier]

I just did my Charger seats.
It's not that hard but even just foam and material from Legendary will be ~ $1,500
I can't see recovering over the 50 Year old foam, likely as soon as you start using them they will start disintegrating.

 

[rklewis1005]

I just did my Charger seats.
It's not that hard but even just foam and material from Legendary will be ~ $1,500
I can't see recovering over the 50 Year old foam, likely as soon as you start using them they will start disintegrating.
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You removed the old coverings, foam then replaced foam and coverings? How hard was it to install the new coverings with hog rings & pliers.

 

[Don Frelier]

You removed the old coverings, foam then replaced foam and coverings? How hard was it to install the new coverings with hog rings & pliers.

Yes I did everything in the front but re-used the rear foam (they don't make it and mine have essentially never been sat in).
It takes a bit to kind of get the hang of it but I didn't have much trouble.
The rears take some fiddling on a 66 since they have the hinge arm and lever, carpeted back and stainless trim surround.
Fronts were fairly easy but you do need to remove the frame as well.
It probably took me about 15 hours to do everything.

 

[WileERobby]

Replace the seat covers and the foam with NEW parts. Do it yourself, it's not that difficult. Tip: easier to do when covers bathe in warm sunlight.

 

[DeltaV]

Here are the original vinyl seats in my '70 Charger, currently almost done in body & paint. I've had them out of the gutted interior for almost 2 decades and pulled them out of my storage shed to take a closer look at the condition, as they will need to be, at the least, recovered and possibly reupholstered. I was actually surprised they were still in not too shabby condition. The rear bench has the vinyl cracking but all the foam is intact. The passenger bucket is missing some vinyl but again, the foam is intact. The driver seat is worse, as expected, missing vinyl but only a few small pieces of foam, from the looks of it.

I'm not an upholstery guy but I'm thinking these seats could be salvaged and maybe the driver's seat only needs a few strips of foam glued in before recovering. What are your opinions on having them re-done, recovered (wait months and months for Legendary or go with a local upholsterer) or replaced with something modern? This isn't a Daddy Warbucks build, cost is an important consideration, but I don't want to go with crap either. I've had ridiculous estimates for over $4000 CAD showing these pics to a local auto upholstery shop, and another for almost $2000. What kind of estimates have you seen?

Lastly, my broadcast sheet is really tucked in under the bench seat springs and stuck onto them, I tried carefully prying it up only to have it tear up a bit. It's fragile and parchment thin. Can this be more safely removed if the seat is disassembled?

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Removal of this Broadcast Sheet is going to be a challenge. Patience grasshopper.

Also, I would take pictures of the BS before any further attempts to remove it.

Me? I would carefully disassemble the seat for removal of the Broadcast Sheet.

 

[Billccm]

FYI my "mom and pop" upholstery shop makes new foam with a hot knife and for a few dollars more will add a thin layer of memory foam. A bit cheaper than ordering repo molded foam.