WEEKLY TECH TIP: Recovering Your '68-'82 Corvette Seats

[jolinari]

While it may not be apparent when you're enjoying driving your Corvette, the seat you're sitting in will wear out with time. Just like ball joints and tires, seats see a lot of wear and tear over the years and are one of the few parts that age even when the car is not in use. Especially on hot, sunny days (or frosty cold nights, for that matter), seat surfaces are exposed to a lot of direct sunlight, which causes them to fade and crack. Seating surfaces often need to be replaced, especially the leather-clad seats in C3 ('68-'82) Corvettes.

Our '69 Corvette convertible's seats were well worn like the rest of the car. A call to Mid America Motorworks resulted in a new set of leather seat covers. Mid America offers a complete line of interior parts for any year Corvette. With a factory on its property creating these slip-on covers, it doesn't take much to install a set at home.

The procedure involves only a few tools and some patience working the cover into place. You'll spend more time repairing (or replacing) the original seat frame, especially if you've carried any heavier occupants in the recent past.

We utilized the services of The Last Detail to install the covers. The results were a terrific pair of new seat covers that clearly complement the looks and seating comfort of the new interior.


STEP 1


Step one was to remove the seats from the car, then remove the covers and foam cushions. With the soft parts removed, it was easy to see our seatbacks were also worn. We repaired the broken springs and repainted the back with rust inhibiting black paint





These clips help hold the seat covering in place. You'll need a large number of clips, so make sure you're well stocked before you begin.



The clips attach the covering to the seat frame. Before you move to this stage, make sure the cover has been stretched and pulled into position. If the seat foam is in poor shape, replace it.



Wrestling with the seat cover material can be a two-person job. The key is to pull it tight and work the material into position. Depending on the year of your car, there may be center seating-frame connections, so follow the directions supplied with the seats.





The final touch is installing the seatback. The cover should fit into the frame and cover the edges of the seat cover.



The final look of the cover in place is considerably better than the original. Mid America Motorworks offers high-quality covers that fit right the first time.





VOILA BROUGHT TO YOU BY CORVETTE FEVER!