A part from the mechanical side of a car, the driver seat can be considered one of the most important things in your car. If you can't sit behind the wheel, you can't drive. With that said, your seat is usually the first one to wear out due to everyday usage, and it usually needs to be redone or restored after only a few years. The seat that we're going to show you today has had about 20 years of service- it almost looks like the owner lived in the car!
When restoring a car's interior, the seat and the foundation are very important because the foam support is usually the same whether it's stock or custom. The foam will dictate the design that can be created and serves as a foundation for what needs to be created. If you want something plush, add more padding to it. If you want something redone to look sporty, the factory padding left over will sometimes be all you'll need for your seat to look like what you want.
We visited Top Stitch, an upholstery shop in Montebello, California, where they showed us a seat that they took from rags to riches using Cars Inc replacement seat foam. Cars Inc offers foam replacement for several Chevrolet models and years, including the Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, and, in our case, the Bel Air. This bench foam, or padding, is made of high-grade foam that's molded to the original contours of the two-door bench seat. This grade of foam meets or exceeds OEM specifications, since it fits and is really easy to install. This will cut your seat restoration time down, as well as the cost.
Top Stitch's portfolio includes craftsmanship work done on Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and the local lowriders in the neighborhood. So when it came time to take on a classic seat restoration, we knew it would be a breeze for them. Follow along as Bony, of Top Stitch, shows us how they restore and bring back to life this classic cruising seat using Cars Inc replacement foam.
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This Bel Air seat has lived through better days.
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First on the agenda was to peal off the old interior from the vintage seat.
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We used the Cars Inc seat replacement foam, which will definitely cut the restoration time
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To keep the seat springs from cutting through to the foam, a piece of thick material was u
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Bony inspected the painted seat before starting to disassemble it.
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The seat had to be disassembled completely to allow us to work on it thoroughly.
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Using C clamps allows the liner to be attached to the seat springs.
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The liner needs to be stretched on to allow the glue to stick correctly.
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The glue needs to dry before continuing.
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The backrest received some glue to keep it in place.
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The seat needed to be measured so the designing could be started.
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After taking the measurements, they were transferred onto the material.
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Gluing on the foam as well as the liner will keep the foam in place and will ensure a good
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The seat backrest will also need a liner to protect it from the springs.
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As you can see, the seat backrest went through the same process that the base went through
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This drawing on the foam will serve as a template of the material and the design that will
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The center designs were cut out individually.
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Once the centers were cut, they were placed on the seat to help visualize the next measure
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Padding will be added to all the material panels.
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Once the panels have padding, they're sewn together.
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Bony added the bead to the top part of the seat.
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The top of the seat base was coming together and needed to be measured one last time befor
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Lastly, we need to add the side skirts.
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The seat cover was stretched and pulled into place while being held in its location with t
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The base is now complete and the same steps need to be followed on the backrest.
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The seat went from rags to riches in a few hours worth of work with the help of the stitch
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Cars Inc
www.carsinc.com
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Top Stitch Custom Upholstery
623 West Olympic Boulevard
Montebello
CA
90640
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