Seat restoration

[astrohog]

Took the seats out of my (12/70) 71 240Z this weekend. the webbing underneath the seats was stretched/warped (I searched the forums and this looks normal).

I am going to order the molded foam and covers from Classic Datsun.

I am 6' 6" tall and with my sagging seats, I have plenty of headroom. (cn wear a ball cap no problem!)

My question is twofold

1. With the parts I get from Classic Datsun (foam and covers) will I need to make some kind of provision to replace the webbing?

1a. Can I adapt my seat frames to accept the later model springs? Do I

Need to order "original webbing"? Or would a local upholstery shop be

able to adapt whatever they normally use for a better result? (the

original web material looks like it doesn't last very long!)

2. I am sure I will be removing the two plastic spacers from under the seat to help with headroom issues, but do you all think that will be enough? Any of you 6' 4" or taller?

I really value all of the advice I get here on the forums, and I hope that as I go through my car piece by piece, that I will be able to be a resource to those who follow me.....

Thanks again!

Regards,

Astrohog

[hls30.com]

1)Replacing the webbing is a good idea, and is not difficult-several threads cover it well.

1a) Modifying to accept later springs is too easy, use the butt end of a later seat-it bolts right up.

If you need a set of bootom ends, I have several.

2) personal preference-you are probably just going to have to try it yourself to know how it will fit you.-personally I like having the front higher than the back, but I am 6'0".

BTW when your replace the foam you will lose headroom and when you replace the straps/modify to have springs-you will lose more...you may have some tweaking to do...

Will

[nwcubsman]

Hi Jeff,

Arne replaced the webbing on one of his seats just recently. If I remember correctly, he bought fabric at a fabric store and installed it. He may see this soon, or you can search or PM him directly. The foam will need support.

Good luck

[Arne]

Yup. I bought generic 2" wide elastic nylon webbing from a local upholstery supply house. I was all of $1.70 per yard. I bought 6 yards, 5 would have been enough for two seats. Worked very well.

[astrohog]

Arne, YOU DA MAN!!! I hope to get to meet you one of these days as we are stuck in the Northwest together!!! I always take the time to read your posts on any topic as you are very clear and I know and trust what you say to be true and accurate!

And thank-You too, NWcubsman! ditto and thanks for the quick replies!!!

Regards,

Astro

[Zs-ondabrain]

I too bought the 2" rubberized webbing from an apholstery shop just up the road from me, But I paid over $1.00 per foot. I slowly undid the OEM "star-buttons" and re-used them after taking a wire wheel to them. The old rubber had volcanized and became very rigded.

And HOLY crap batman! the difference was nite and day. My 36 year old seats (at that time) FELT LIKE NEW.

I ended up selling them to a guy who absolutely fell in love with them after sitting in them for about 5 minute. He gave me $300 for the set, rips and all. very few rips, but still had rips. AND he gave me the Honda Accord seats that sit in it now. And after traveling 2400 miles, round trip to the MSA's last year, It was well worth the upgrade to the Honda seats. Especially since they fully recline and slide and lean forward. 70' seats only move 5 degrees if the knob even turns any more.

Dave.

P.S. Astrohog, I live right down the road in Marysville, stop by sometime. P.M. me for info.

[Ramses]

Astro hog,

I am 6'5". My torso is long and my legs are normal. The only thing I had to do after I finished my seats was pull the seat forward slightly and recline it a bit more. It took a whopping 2 minutes to get accustomed to it. I would imagine that after a long road trip the configuration would get uncomfortable, but I am not concerned about that as of yet. Good luck

[cbudvet]

When I redid my seats I popped for the webbing and such from the catalogs. It worked fine. It really does make an improvement. Instead of using the clips they sell (which to me look like staples), I used pop rivets and small washers to keep a clean look. They worked great. Good luck. It sounds like you have a lot of work ahead. Carl

[Arne]

I used pop rivets and washers as well. I hate hog rings, which is what the kits all seem to come with.

[BD240Z]

2. I am sure I will be removing the two plastic spacers from under the seat to help with headroom issues, but do you all think that will be enough? Any of you 6' 4" or taller?

Astrohog

Jeff,

I'm reworking my seats at this time also. I got my replacement foam and seat-covers from CDM and I'm impressed with the quality and workmanship. I wasn't sure how I was going to secure the new webbing but after seeing how others have used the rivets and flat washers, that's the ticket!

I'm 6'4" and concerned about fitting in the car comfortably after I replace the foam and webbing. I'll remove the spacers from the bottom of the seat frame but I'm also thinking about making a revision to the hinges.

The amount of recline is limited by the size of the oval in the hinge, (see picture), I'm thinking about opening up the oval about a .100". My concern is that the seat-back will hit on the luggage riser just behind the seat. I'm going to do the trial and error thing on the passenger seat to see if it works.

Bruce

[astrohog]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Arne - pictures are worth a thousand words!! I cannot tell, however how the piece of wire is attached? I have two pieces of that wire that "fell" out of my seat as I removed it and had no idea how they attached, or where they were supposed to go! Mine seemed to be joined in the middle with a small ring so they could form an " X " shape? Also, when I am attaching the webbing, should it be as taut as I can get it, or should there be a little "give/sag" to it?

Bruce - that looks like a really good idea, let me/us know how it works!

Also, being that I have not removed my old covers/foam yet, I do not have any idea what the seat "framework" looks like. On the parts that I can see on mine (hinges and mounts) I have some surface corrosion that I would like to remove before recovering. Will I be able to safely bead blast the works and rattle can the frames, or is there some danger/sensitive parts to be aware of if I attempt it?

Again, thanks for the invaluable info...keep it coming!!

Regards,

Astrohog

[Arne]

The two wire stretchers per seat cushion are supposed to be attached to the seat cover through thread-loops on the underside of the cover through a slice in the seat foam. On my car, the webbing then ran between the two wires. The idea is for these wires to pull the cover down into the foam to contour the front-most pleat.

You want the webbing pretty tight. The exact dimensions will vary depending on the exact web material used. On mine, the one from side to side ended up at 13.25" - I tried 13.0" and I couldn't stretch it far enough to reconnect it. The three longer ones ended up at 13.75" long.

The difference was drastic. I will still end up replacing the foam and covers at some future point (plan to get it from CDM), but for now the improvement was great enough that my wife is now willing to drive the car. Before the seats sagged so low that even with all the spacers installed she couldn't see over the dash. (She's not all that short at 5' 6".)