The smoke has finally settled, and I have my car bug back again after the intense 8 month frame off resto on the Malibu 3.5 years ago... so decided this winter to upgrade the upholstery and do a few other things inside the car.
The upholstery was all original other than the drivers bucket seat, and was good driver quality other than being pretty dried out and the lower corners of the frame on the back seat bottom had poked through the material.
But... the foam in the bucket seats is SHOT! After riding for an hour, it was time to get out because of TB. Our backs also weren't in the best of shape from the lack of support. So, I decided to go with the TMI Sport R series upholstery and replacement foam for the back seat. Ordered it from OPGI back in December because they were the cheapest, and of course true to their style it was on backorder until just a couple of weeks ago when I sent a strongly worded email that I was going to cancel my order. Low and behold I got a shipping notice the next day!
Anyway, here are the before pics:
And ready to go to the upholsterer. I found a guy where I live that did the work for the LMC truck (also located near where I live) on the TV Show Chop, Cut, Rebuild. He does all the work out of a single stall garage with a window air conditioner and small heater, but does awesome work. He's working on them now, and hope to have them back soon, because it was 70 degrees yesterday and today, and it looks like next weekend will be too.
Here's the TMI kit and foam:
I also took the opportunity this weekend to dye the seat belts since the interior is out. Amazing what a box of RIT dye can do!
Before:
After:
I'll post up more pics of the finished seats.
Hopefully they look like this, but with black stitching instead of white:
Nope. Been there done that, and it turned out fine for a driver level Chevelle I had a few years ago, but I want it done professionally.
I found someone in my town that is well known in the area and reasonably priced. He just finished an interior on one of the Ridler competition cars, so good enough for me. He will tear them down, paint the frames, replace any broken springs, etc. It will turn out a lot better than what I can do.
Bobs_Place said
Feb 29, 2016
Looks good Stan
Looks like you got the same foam that I got when I did my interior, I think it`s good stuff, however I had to cut down the center area between the bolsters.
I had the seats all assembled, had to then completely disassemble them to reshape the foam. Felt like you would slid around on any little corner, very strange/uncomfortable!
I would think your upholstery guy would Know to cut the foam where needed, but might what to check with him anyway. I had to cut the foam on both seat and back rest.
The seat are great now.
OscarZ said
Feb 29, 2016
So I guess you decided to stay with the black vs. changing over to white. 😃 Those look nice.
SShink said
Feb 29, 2016
Bobs_Place wrote:
Looks good Stan
Looks like you got the same foam that I got when I did my interior, I think it`s good stuff, however I had to cut down the center area between the bolsters.
I had the seats all assembled, had to then completely disassemble them to reshape the foam. Felt like you would slid around on any little corner, very strange/uncomfortable!
I would think your upholstery guy would Know to cut the foam where needed, but might what to check with him anyway. I had to cut the foam on both seat and back rest.
The seat are great now.
Bob, did you order the foam from TMI?
The foam I ordered came with the TMI kit as supplied by them, so it should fit with the Sport R upholstery without cutting the foam, but the installer will deal with that.
Bobs_Place said
Feb 29, 2016
I got my foam from Summit PT# OPG-SF00020 same as Original Parts Group, the upholstery is PUI, don`t recall where I got it from got it along time ago.
When I bought the upholstery I did`t Know if I needed the foam. With a kit I wander if the covers/foam is a better match?
Chris S said
Feb 29, 2016
Those seats should be nice Stan!
Seat belts look like they turned out nice as well.
SShink said
Mar 1, 2016
Bobs_Place wrote:
I got my foam from Summit PT# OPG-SF00020 same as Original Parts Group, the upholstery is PUI, don`t recall where I got it from got it along time ago.
When I bought the upholstery I did`t Know if I needed the foam. With a kit I wander if the covers/foam is a better match?
Bob, the TMI foam is made to work with their covers, so should be a better fit since they are a set.
BLyke said
Mar 1, 2016
"I also took the opportunity this weekend to dye the seat belts since the interior is out. Amazing what a box of RIT dye can do!"
hi Stan,
so exactly how do you do the dying?
SShink said
Mar 2, 2016
BLyke wrote:
"I also took the opportunity this weekend to dye the seat belts since the interior is out. Amazing what a box of RIT dye can do!" hi Stan, so exactly how do you do the dying?
Bruce I pretty much followed the instructions on the box of RIT dye and soaked the belts in a 5 gallon bucket with 3 gallons of water and some dish soap for an hour, then rinsed them out to dry overnight. Then I filled the bucket back up with HOT water and added the dye that had been premixed with 2 cups of hot water to the bucket. Then I put the belts into the bucket for 30 min. and stirred it up every 5 or 10 min. then rinsed them with warm water, then cold water. Then hung them up to dry and that was it.
BLyke said
Mar 3, 2016
Stan,
Assuming you soaked them with the hardware on, any rust issues after?
SShink said
Mar 3, 2016
BLyke wrote:
Stan, Assuming you soaked them with the hardware on, any rust issues after?
Nope. The retractor belt brackets already had a little surface rust on them, but that's all. Dunked them in buckles and all.
BLyke said
Mar 3, 2016
thanks Stan, mine a pretty dirty so i was planning to clean them while out of the car. Might as well do it RIT?!
SShink said
Mar 3, 2016
BLyke wrote:
thanks Stan, mine a pretty dirty so i was planning to clean them while out of the car. Might as well do it RIT?!
RIT Bruce!
SShink said
Mar 3, 2016
Picked up the passenger bucket seat and rear bottom cushion tonight, and I love it! OPGI backordered the foam for the drivers seat, and it just arrived today so I'm supposed to have the drivers seat back tomorrow after work in time for a cruise on Sat. in the mid 60 degree weather.
The upholstery for the rear upper cushion is just a little shy in width, so the upholstery guy is going to call TMI in the morning and talk to them. I'm guessing they will need to ship another one out.
The upholstery guy cleaned up and painted the frames and springs and reassembled everything, so all I have to do is bolt them back in. I have a feeling it's going to be a huge difference in ride quality!
They look great Stan! Are there cloth inserts or is that just lighting?
SShink said
Mar 4, 2016
dashboard wrote:
They look great Stan! Are there cloth inserts or is that just lighting?
Thanks Kevin! I think we're really going to like them.
The inserts are a suede like material.
Jon H said
Mar 4, 2016
Stan,
Looks like the installer did a good job. Project looks great.
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 5, 2016
Jon H wrote:
Stan, Looks like the installer did a good job. Project looks great.
Very professional, no puckers from the hog rings on the listings !!!
The paint is a very nice feature too. I need to find someone like that here, for an affordable price.
SShink said
Mar 5, 2016
Got the fronts in today and went for a cruise since it was 65 degrees and an awesome day. The upholsterer is working with TMI to figure out what to do on the back seat cover that's a little too narrow.
The seats are a LOT firmer and I sit higher, but they seemed a lot more comfortable.
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Saturday 5th of March 2016 09:58:05 PM
SShink said
Mar 6, 2016
Lost in the 60s wrote:
I get dizzy leaning over that far...
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Saturday 5th of March 2016 09:58:05 PM
Thanks Mitch for flipping it. It's the darn Android photo bug kicking in again...
Lost in the 60s said
Mar 6, 2016
Yep, every pic I see from a phone is sideways or upside down. They should include an editor to remedy that on the phone. As it is, you need to forward the pics to an editor to turn them. It's handy having cameras on phones but not so handy when you can't flip them.
The smoke has finally settled, and I have my car bug back again after the intense 8 month frame off resto on the Malibu 3.5 years ago... so decided this winter to upgrade the upholstery and do a few other things inside the car.
The upholstery was all original other than the drivers bucket seat, and was good driver quality other than being pretty dried out and the lower corners of the frame on the back seat bottom had poked through the material.
But... the foam in the bucket seats is SHOT! After riding for an hour, it was time to get out because of TB. Our backs also weren't in the best of shape from the lack of support. So, I decided to go with the TMI Sport R series upholstery and replacement foam for the back seat. Ordered it from OPGI back in December because they were the cheapest, and of course true to their style it was on backorder until just a couple of weeks ago when I sent a strongly worded email that I was going to cancel my order. Low and behold I got a shipping notice the next day!
Anyway, here are the before pics:
And ready to go to the upholsterer. I found a guy where I live that did the work for the LMC truck (also located near where I live) on the TV Show Chop, Cut, Rebuild. He does all the work out of a single stall garage with a window air conditioner and small heater, but does awesome work. He's working on them now, and hope to have them back soon, because it was 70 degrees yesterday and today, and it looks like next weekend will be too.
Here's the TMI kit and foam:
I also took the opportunity this weekend to dye the seat belts since the interior is out. Amazing what a box of RIT dye can do!
Before:
After:
I'll post up more pics of the finished seats.
Hopefully they look like this, but with black stitching instead of white:
Nope. Been there done that, and it turned out fine for a driver level Chevelle I had a few years ago, but I want it done professionally.
I found someone in my town that is well known in the area and reasonably priced. He just finished an interior on one of the Ridler competition cars, so good enough for me. He will tear them down, paint the frames, replace any broken springs, etc. It will turn out a lot better than what I can do.
Looks good Stan
Looks like you got the same foam that I got when I did my interior, I think it`s good stuff, however I had to cut down the center area between the bolsters.
I had the seats all assembled, had to then completely disassemble them to reshape the foam. Felt like you would slid around on any little corner, very strange/uncomfortable!
I would think your upholstery guy would Know to cut the foam where needed, but might what to check with him anyway. I had to cut the foam on both seat and back rest.
The seat are great now.
Bob, did you order the foam from TMI?
The foam I ordered came with the TMI kit as supplied by them, so it should fit with the Sport R upholstery without cutting the foam, but the installer will deal with that.
I got my foam from Summit PT# OPG-SF00020 same as Original Parts Group, the upholstery is PUI, don`t recall where I got it from got it along time ago.
When I bought the upholstery I did`t Know if I needed the foam. With a kit I wander if the covers/foam is a better match?
Those seats should be nice Stan!
Seat belts look like they turned out nice as well.
Bob, the TMI foam is made to work with their covers, so should be a better fit since they are a set.
hi Stan,
so exactly how do you do the dying?
Bruce I pretty much followed the instructions on the box of RIT dye and soaked the belts in a 5 gallon bucket with 3 gallons of water and some dish soap for an hour, then rinsed them out to dry overnight. Then I filled the bucket back up with HOT water and added the dye that had been premixed with 2 cups of hot water to the bucket. Then I put the belts into the bucket for 30 min. and stirred it up every 5 or 10 min. then rinsed them with warm water, then cold water. Then hung them up to dry and that was it.
Assuming you soaked them with the hardware on, any rust issues after?
Nope. The retractor belt brackets already had a little surface rust on them, but that's all. Dunked them in buckles and all.
RIT Bruce!
Picked up the passenger bucket seat and rear bottom cushion tonight, and I love it! OPGI backordered the foam for the drivers seat, and it just arrived today so I'm supposed to have the drivers seat back tomorrow after work in time for a cruise on Sat. in the mid 60 degree weather.
The upholstery for the rear upper cushion is just a little shy in width, so the upholstery guy is going to call TMI in the morning and talk to them. I'm guessing they will need to ship another one out.
The upholstery guy cleaned up and painted the frames and springs and reassembled everything, so all I have to do is bolt them back in. I have a feeling it's going to be a huge difference in ride quality!
Thanks Kevin! I think we're really going to like them.
The inserts are a suede like material.
Looks like the installer did a good job. Project looks great.
Very professional, no puckers from the hog rings on the listings !!!
The paint is a very nice feature too. I need to find someone like that here, for an affordable price.
Got the fronts in today and went for a cruise since it was 65 degrees and an awesome day. The upholsterer is working with TMI to figure out what to do on the back seat cover that's a little too narrow.
The seats are a LOT firmer and I sit higher, but they seemed a lot more comfortable.
I get dizzy leaning over that far...
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Saturday 5th of March 2016 09:58:05 PM
Thanks Mitch for flipping it. It's the darn Android photo bug kicking in again...
Yep, every pic I see from a phone is sideways or upside down. They should include an editor to remedy that on the phone. As it is, you need to forward the pics to an editor to turn them. It's handy having cameras on phones but not so handy when you can't flip them.