Update by Tim Suddard to the
Chevrolet Corvette Coupe project car
Jan 7, 2025
|
Chevrolet,
Restoration,
Chevrolet Corvette
Photography by Tim Suddard
While both leather and vinyl seat covers are readily available for C2 Corvettes in all the stock colors, we wanted to preserve as much of the original interior as possible.
Overall, our original seats were in very good condition. Admittedly, they were a bit filthy. More importantly, the piping on both seat backs had come clear of its vinyl covering, which was unsightly and a bit uncomfortable to sit against.
The trick was to find someone who would repair it. The first upholstery shop we went to told us the original seat vinyl was too old and brittle, and a repair would never work.
We didn’t agree, as the material seemed as pliable as when it was new. So, we decided to just get our old machine out and figure out how to make the repairs ourselves.
We next went to our local automotive fabric supply place, Coastal Fabric & Foam, to find some white vinyl that would match. We would use this vinyl to recover the original piping, as it was smaller in diameter than most commercially available piping cord.
Piping, by the way, is just cord, or in our case, plastic cord, covered with about an inch and a half of fabric that is then sewed into the surrounding material.
While searching for the fabric, we asked Tommy, Coastal’s in-house expert, what he thought of the condition of our seats.
While noting that he doesn’t repair automotive seats, he still felt that ours were in nearly perfect condition and could be repaired in less than an hour. He added that if we were to remove the seat fabric from the frame, he would repair the seats the next day.
Within an hour we had both seats taken apart and back to him. The next day, true to his word, in less than an hour, he had perfectly repaired both seat covers. The price: $20 per seat, which we gladly paid.
Corvette seat backs are like no other seats we have ever seen. Although more typical hog rings are used to clamp the edges of the seat back to the frame, inside the seats are little stainless-steel clips that are mounted on pieces of wire fished from the wire mounted on the cover through the foam and clipped to the springs on the seat back. While the wire running through the seat backs is common, generally hog rings, and not fiddly little clips, are used to assemble the seats.
First, we confirmed that we still had every clip. Then we straightened them back out.
Initially, we tried fishing the clips through with pliers and the pick tools that we have. Finally, in frustration, we went out and picked up some crochet hooks. These $2 tools made the job easy, and we were able to find the original holes for the clips, allowing us to pull the clips back through and onto the seat springs, as was done originally.
With the inside clips all in place, we could spread the fabric back around the edges of the seat back frame and hog ring the edges back into place.
After reassembling the seat backs, we then did a thorough cleaning. The idea was to clean and minimize, but not eliminate, the discoloration that naturally occurs with 60 years of use. Again, we wanted to match and not overpower our original interior’s patina.
When cleaning, we always start light with the cleaners and, as needed, get stronger. It’s also always best to start on a side or back area that is not front and center and easily seen. This move will save you should things go wrong.
As the seats were white and badly stained, we ended up using Black Magic Bleche-Wite that had been diluted a bit with water. The bleach in this product (designed for cleaning the white walls on tires) did the trick. We used a damp rag and a fine brush to clean the crevices.
Next, we would use some MPT vinyl and leather dressing to preserve and heal the potential damage done with the harsh cleaner. This product includes mink oil and does a nice job of returning the shine and suppleness to the seats.
Next, we would have to deal with our seat backs. They were brittle and cracked.
Initially, we thought we might be able to repair them. As they have a patterned finish, any epoxy work would look unsightly. Could these pieces possibly be available new? And more importantly, how shiny and out of place would new pieces look on our old seats.
A quick search on Corvette Central’s website showed us they were indeed available (part #132101-20). And at about $100 per pair, we decided the old ones were definitely not worth messing with. If anything, we could add some paint and patina to the new covers to make them match the old seats.
As it turns out, once our seats were cleaned, the backs matched perfectly. Apparently, the pure white we thought we were seeking was a fantasy, as the original seats are kind of an off white.
We carefully removed the chrome top trim from the seat backs and the little aeration buttons. While both cleaned up perfectly, new hardware (and every other part for these seats) is available from Corvette Central.
After all the oddball stuff we have built lately, it is refreshing to again work on a relatively common, popular car with great parts availability.
[What if the factory could tell you how to restore its cars?]
Once we had our seat backs configured with the original chrome trim and buttons, we began to assemble our seats. We first cleaned all the hardware, including the chromed hockey stick-shaped bars that hold the tops to the seat bottoms.
Once assembled, we cleaned up the seat-mounting hardware and reinstalled our seats into our 1965 Corvette coupe. Voila! We achieved a very satisfying step forward in this car’s restoration. The total cost was about $150 and the whole job took less than a day.
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