Encouraged by the results so far I started working on templates for the seat cover. Unlike the rest of the seats, I wasn’t able to use the original front seat covers to make templates. The front and sides were OK, but the top was just too messed up to use.
No problem! All that I need to do is make a template from scratch. Dig out the construction paper, take measurements from the seat frame and foam, lay it out on the paper, cut it out, and lay the paper on the seat. Yeah, that looks pretty good!
Transfer the template from paper to vinyl, cut it out, sew it together, and fit it over the seat.
And it fits like crap. Very loose corners which just can’t be made tight no matter what I do. Both front corners and back corners don’t fit. The seams between the top and sides droop badly where they should form a consistent line all the way around.
After trying everything I could think of to make it fit the realization slowly crept in: this just wasn’t going to work. It wasn’t acceptable. I couldn’t live with it. For the first time on the interior work I had done something that was bad.
Trying to fix this mess while frustrated and tired is a prescription for making things worse.Turn everything off, lock the door, and come back another day.
I’m not happy with the replacement foam on the back seat. I need to do something better for the front seat – after all, this is where I will be sitting! OK, drag out the new foam, cut it over size, plop it on top of the seat frame, and start studying the situation.
The challenge is how to wrap it over the edge of the seat frame and have it hold its shape. The soft foam previously used on the front seat wrapped over the edge easily; it provided no guidance.
Unlike the seat covers you can’t use hog rings to secure the foam to the seat frame. There isn’t enough surface area on the seat frame to use contact cement. Welding is out – I didn’t even try. Maybe loop rope or cord through the foam and around the frame?
Just a minute – what about sewing the foam to the frame? All of my sewing has been using the machine which clearly won’t work here. But what about old school needle and thread? I have plenty of heavy thread. But what about a needle? Just a minute – they make heavy duty needles for sewing things like carpet and leather! Would that work here?
It turned out that She Who Must Be Obeyed actually had a package of heavy duty needles which she graciously allowed me to use. Let’s do this!
Trying the novel approach of thinking before acting I realized that the foam was likely to move when I started wrapping it over the front edge of the frame. OK, just start by sewing it to the back of the frame first. Trying a few different approaches I discovered that the large needle easily penetrated the foam and that it was better to do a separate loop for each connection to the frame rather than trying to sew a seam.
With the back secure I tackled the front, starting from the middle and working out. Wrap the foam over the front of the frame, select a point on the frame to loop the thread around, and knot it in place.
Not so fast! I can’t seem to hold the foam securely in place while running a needle through the foam, around the frame, back through the foam, and tightly knot it. If only there were some way to clamp it in place… Oh, wait – I have clamps!
Front Seat Foam clamped in place before stitching
Well, would you look at that! The foam is actually wrapped nicely over the front of the frame and ready to fit and secure the cover.
Front Seat Foam wrapped around edge of frame and stitched in place
The next question is whether or not the cover will work. The first check is to take the panels and drape them over the seat to see if they look like they will fit.
Test fit of seat cover panels
A really rough fit of the cover panels is encouraging – it looks like this will fit after some trimming and adjustment.
I can’t be sure until the job is done, but it looks like this is going to work!
Good thing this was saved for last – the base of the front seat was trashed! Once the aftermarket covers were removed you could see that the factory covers were completely shot – worn out, shredded, stretched, and basically horrible. The factory foam was completely missing; this is the one place where they had completely replaced the factory foam with new foam. And they didn’t use automotive foam – they used a regular foam that is quite soft. This would explain why the front seat never felt right and why it had such poor support!
Front Seat BaseFront Seat Original CoverFront Seat Foam
This is going to be a job. I need to replace the foam as well as the seat covers. I don’t know why Chrysler used carpet on the seat base as well as the door cards, but I hate it – that has to go!
The seat backs were much like the rear seats with a few differences. Since all sides are visible the covers must cover everything. Unlike many cars there is a separate flat panel on the back of the seat – this should simplify the job.Like the rear seat, the seat back is in surprisingly good shape.
The job should be familiar by now: take apart the seat cover, use it to make templates, cut out and sew the new cover, and fit it into place. Easier said than done, but by now fairly routine. The only really tricky part is that the back of the seat turns in near the top – this makes the corner seams rather tricky to sew. Good thing I tackled the rear seat first! This would have been a major headache a few months ago.
The cover for the seat back fit surprisingly well. Time to pat myself on the back and move on to the next part – the back panel. This panel is much like the door cards: 1/4″ foam padding, double stitching on a six inch grid, fold around the back and staple in place. The panels fit nicely – the whole seat back looks good!
The arm rest was the same process as the rear arm rest: strip off the factory cover, make templates, cut and sew the vinyl, and unroll the new cover over the foam, turning it from inside out to outside out. By some miracle this cover also fit well.
The end result was two seat backs and an arm rest ready to install.
Seatback and Arm RestBack of front seat showing cover panel
With the rear seat done it was time to turn to the front seat with high hopes and expectations of replicating the successful work on the rear seat. Yeah, that is a bit of forsehadowing…
The front seat had to come out. Unlike the back seat, the seat bottom and seat back are all part of one assembly and come out as a unit. Or do they?
I had removed the front seat once before and did not look forward to doing it again. It is a 6-way power adjustable seat, weighs well over 100 lbs, and barely fits through the door. The last time it was out was before the car was painted; I’m now rather paranoid about scratches.
Since the seat backs have to come off anyway I decided to try removing them in place. Well, what do you know! Take off the side cover, remove one bolt, and you can wiggle the seat back off of its retainers. With both seat backs off it just takes undoing two bolts to remove the arm rest. Eyeballing the situation it looks like just the seat base will be quite a bit easier.
As mentioned, the front seat is heavy. Even with pieces removed. When I try to apply brute force I just do not have the brute I did in my younger days. No problem – drag the engine hoist out of its place of honor and hook it to one end of the front seat.
Since no lifting was required on that end She Who Must Be Obeyed agreed to guide the engine hoist and keep that end of the seat from hitting anything. I was able to lift the other end of the seat and guide it out, moving it about six inches at a time. After a few minutes the seat was safely on the garage floor with no damage, no drama, and no injuries.
Now with unwarranted confidence let’s dive into the actual work!
Tackling upholstery has been a learning experience in many ways. My usual approach when tackling a new skill is to get some books on the subject, see if any classes are available, start with practice pieces, and then tackle a simple first project. In recent years I’ve added on-line courses for things like Fusion 360.
This time I added YouTube to the mix. I’ve used YouTube with great success as a resource for things like changing the battery in a 2013 CMax – the first challenge is finding the battery!
There are many YouTube videos on upholstery. Seeing how a task is done is a very powerful learning tool. To the point that I’ve ended up using YouTube as my primary resource for learning upholstery!
YouTube creators show many different approaches from high end work to rather crude quick and dirty techniques. The creators themselves range from engaging to annoying. With a bias toward annoying…
Sampling the different channels and approaches I came across Cechaflo. This channel has several hundred videos posted and offers upholstery courses. While many of the projects are advanced, he makes them clear and approachable. They have an excellent set of introductory videos for someone just getting started.
I’m not sure where he is located, but it apparently isn’t in the US. Cechaflo uses a novel approach to his videos – there is no narration and no background music. The videos themselves have excellent production quality and are clear and easy to understand.
Cechaflo takes you through the entire process of accomplishing a task, going step by step in a very clear way. Instead of narration, where appropriate he uses written notes to convey information.
Further, Cechaflo is a craftsman. All of his work is high quality and he doesn’t cut corners. There are many ways to accomplish any given task – and Cechaflo often shows several different ways to do something. The difference is that all of the ways he shows lead to high quality results. With Cechaflo you aren’t learning bad habits or quick and dirty approaches.
After going through these videos I have a good idea of what to do and how to do it. The only thing lacking is the actual skill to execute. And how to apply the concepts from the video to my project which isn’t exactly the same. And perhaps a solid understanding of how to actually do what was shown on the video…
Which brings us back to all of the practice pieces I have been doing. Having a solid idea of what the end result should be, what steps need to be taken, and how to accomplish those steps is a great starting point. With that as a starting point, execute the basic steps over and over until you get acceptable results. Then move on to the next step.
Having a good understanding of what you are trying to do is a great place to start developing new skills. There is still frustration and making garbage in the early stages. But understanding the process and seeing what the final results should look like makes learning much easier.
I don’t think YouTube will replace books for all new skills I need to learn, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well it works for learning mechanical skills like upholstery.
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. The arm rests and door handles were in the trunk.
Rear Door card as it came with the car
The front door cards still had the covers on them, so I had a reference to work from.
Front Door Card. I really hate that lower carpet, so it is going to go!
The door card itself is fairly straightforward – just use it as a pattern and trace it onto the vinyl. For a more luxurious appearance the vinyl will be backed with some of the 1/4″ sewfoam. I decided to sew through the vinyl and foam for a richer appearance, similar to the factory. The factory door cards had a double stitch, so I tried that on a test piece. I liked the way that looked and decided to use it.
The arm rests were a bit of a project. I started off trying to make a template from scratch, but quickly became frustrated. Fortunately I was able to salvage the cover from one of the rear arm rests, separate it into its three component pieces, and use these to create a template.
From there it was the usual routine of sewing the pieces together, fitting the new cover to the arm rest, and stapling it to the back. The end result wasn’t perfect, but I deemed it acceptable. Certainly better than what was there before!
The arm rests were done in the tan vinyl, same color as the seat inserts, to provide a bit of contrast.
New rear door card
With this the back seat project it done. I’m rather happy with the way this turned out!
Rear Seat
Now to move on to the front seats, using the lessons learned so far.
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 just generally shot.
Factory seat cover (which was under the aftermarket seat cover)
Unfortunately I got focused on making and finishing the seat and forgot to take progress pictures as I went along. At least this spares you the long drawn out description of the process.
Surprisingly I didn’t have my usual gallery of mistakes, errors, and screwups to document. It actually went fairly smoothly. Maybe I’m learning?
Well, the big exception to no problems was the foam. The original foam was in horrible shape:
Seat bottom original foam
Yeah, that can’t be reused. Or even repaired and saved. Has to be replaced. Fortunately I had already purchased a sheet of 1″ thick upholstery foam for just this purpose.
The initial plan was to cut the new foam about 4″ larger on the front and wrap it down the front to avoid feeling the front of the seat frame. So I did that.
After sewing up the seat cover I did a test fit over the naked seat frame and it seemed to fit. Encouraging! Or a setup for calamity… In either case I forged ahead.
The first step in installation is to put a layer of burlap on top of the springs to avoid the springs digging into the foam and destroying it. Since I bought extra burlap I installed a double thick layer, securing in place with hog rings.
Now to lay the foam on top of the frame and test fit the seat cover. Hmm, not gonna work. Upholstery foam is quite dense – has to be to support my chunky butt. The “1 inch” foam is closer to 1-3/8 thick and doesn’t wrap over the front of the frame at all well. The seat cover doesn’t hold it in place and doesn’t fit at all. OK, time to take a step back and regroup.
If a 4″ overlap is too much, cut it down to 2″ and test fit the seat cover. Nope, still doesn’t work. This foam is just too dense, too thick, and too stiff to wrap over the edge.
Take another step back. Give up on wrapping it over the edge. Cut the front edge about 1″ oversize and bevel it at 45 degrees. The theory here is that this will allow the foam to squish over the edge a bit, preventing you from feeling the seat frame while sitting down, yet allowing the seat cover to fit..
NOW try test fitting the seat cover. Hmm, it seems close. It looks like the cover will be pulled into place making everything neat and tight when it is installed.
Duct taping my courage in place I flipped the seat over and grabbed the hog rings. After checking the left to right alignment of the seat cover I started in the center of the front. A few hog rings attached the front of the cover to the seat frame. I then went around the worktable to the back of the seat and stretched the center of the seat cover into place. To my amazement I was able to stretch the seat cover into position and hog ring it to the frame!
Well, that seemed to work. Holding my breath I flipped the seat over and checked my handiwork. To my surprise it looked great! The cover was tight enough to stretch into place cleanly, but not so tight that it would tear out. The few wrinkles easily wiped out – and looked like they would be pulled out when I finished the installation.
Flip the seat back over and continue installing hog rings. Keep working from the center out, alternating front and back to keep a balanced tension on the seat cover. Coming to the ends of the seat I worked the wrinkles out of the cover, stretched the cover into position, and installed the last of the hog rings.
Now for the penultimate moment of truth (penultimate is the fancy word for next to last): flip the seat over and work it for adjustment, alignment of seams and edges, and smooth out any wrinkles.
Umm, it worked… The seat actually looks good! the seams look good, it fits properly, there aren’t any wrinkles, and nothing jumps out as an issue.
Rear seatRear seat
Now for the ultimate moment of truth: installing the seat bottom in the car. Will it fit? Is the new seat foam so thick that it won’t go under the seat back or between the sides of the car. How will it look? Will it collapse as soon as I sit on it?
To my surprise – nay, to my amazement! – it slid into place, looks great, and sits comfortably,
Rear seat
The biggest surprise, and one of my greatest concerns, was that the inserts on the seat back and seat bottom actually lined up! I had been sweating this and wondering if the inserts were actually a good idea.
The inserts line up!
While the rear seat isn’t perfect it is rather good for a first attempt – better than I was really expecting when I started this project. It is certainly much better than what was there before!
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 pieces, sew them together, and re-install.
Like the rest of the seat, the after market cover was installed over the factory cover, allowing me to use the original factory cover to make the templates.
Arm rest foam core and new cover.
The biggest surprise was that the arm rest was nothing but a chunk of plywood and a big block of foam. For some reason I had assumed that it was a plywood box with foam padding on the sides.
In this picture you see the new cover, which is made inside out and then turned outside out when installed. You can also see that the foam block is covered with cheese cloth – this makes it much easier to install the tight fitting cover over the grabby foam.
With the new cover installed the arm rest doesn’t look half bad. Maybe I’m actually making progress!
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 real seat cover! Drag out the production vinyl, arrange the templates, find the marking tools and scissors, grab a cup of coffee, and start making things real. Or making real mistakes; time will tell…
The first step was to make the pleated insert. Sharp eyes will notice something wrong with the inserts – they have square corners. I really wanted the rounded corners, but ultimately decided that my skill level just isn’t there. Yet.
Even using the square corners I still cheated. Recall that the panel shrinks when sewing padded pleats. I compensated for this but the insert was still a tiny bit off in size. Since the insert isn’t full width it requires additional panels on each side. I cut these panels over size, sewed them to the insert, and then used the template to cut the entire panel to the exact finish size.
Once the center panel with pleats was done all that was left was to cut out and sew the rest of the seat back. Which may have been a slightly larger job than this sentence suggests…
In any case it was finally done. It took a bit of time and brute force to fit the finished cover over the seat back and line up the corners, edges and seams. I had to take the cover off, move it a tiny bit, and fit it again. Several times. But things finally looked halfway decent. Take a deep breath, flip it over, and start securing the cover to the frame with hog rings.
This is really the critical stage. This is when you stretch, pull, and tweak the cover so that everything lines up and there are no wrinkles. Hopefully. I tackle this job by working on opposite edges (top and bottom together then left and right sides together) going from the inside out and repeatedly checking for fit.
With the last hog ring installed it was time to flip it over and (hopefully) admire my work.
The verdict? Not too bad! Not perfect, but good. I know where every little issue and flaw is, but no one else will notice. I’m happy with it for a first attempt.
I got focused and didn’t get pictures of the build process, so here is the final result:
Introducing the Imperial Deathstar, a black 1963 Chrysler Imperial. This is one of the largest production sedans ever built, and arguably the best luxury car of its day.
Join me what will probably be a never-ending saga of grease, aching muscles, and an empty wallet as I work to restore this over 50 year old survivor to a reliable cruiser.
