Category Archives: Restoration

In addition to the seat covers the door cards need to be replaced. Someone had started to do this job on the rear doors – the factory cardboard door cards had been replaced with hardboard, but had not been covered. … Continue reading →

Well this is a milestone! The bottom of the rear seat has been completed and installed in the car. And it isn’t half bad! The starting point was rough: worn, torn, pleats filled with crumbling foam (and foam powder), and … Continue reading →

With the seat backs done next up was the arm rest. You know the drill by now: take the old cover off, take the old cover apart, use the pieces of the old cover to make templates, cut out new … Continue reading →

The test cover was just that – a test. The actual vinyl is different – heavier and harder to stretch. And the test cover could have been a fluke. One way to find out – stop stalling and make a … Continue reading →

Time to bring all of the pieces together, make a complete seat cover out of junk vinyl, and see if it actually fits. No, I’m not concerned at all. Nope, nope, nope… Step one: cut out all of the pieces: … Continue reading →

The old style seat covers in the Imperial wrap around the back of the seat frame and are secured to the frame with hog rings. The factory sewed cloth extension onto the sides of the seat for this attachment, which … Continue reading →

Having achieved an almost acceptable test panel with the junk vinyl, I decided to make one last test panel. This last test panel would use the actual vinyl I will be using for the seats. I also needed to change … Continue reading →

With the main seat insert largely under control it was time to deal with the next challenge – corners! “But”, I hear you say, “haven’t you already handled corners in multiple places?” Yes – flat corners. These are three dimensional … Continue reading →

The Imperial had been re-upholstered at some point. While the upholstery fit fairly well it was made with non-Imperial quality materials. To be frank, it was ugly! Not to mention worn, dirty, and tearing in several places. There are springs … Continue reading →

I have never done anything with a sewing machine. I have to learn everything from scratch. Using a technique known as a cannonball dive into the deep end of the pool.To summarize the early results, I suck at sewing. Exactly … Continue reading →