Vinyl Seat issue/vinyl head liner

[bhermes]

My vinyl seats are beginning to seperate at the threaded areas. About 3 places about 3-4 inches long. I have thought about trying to sew the seams back together but not really sure if this is even possible.

Also, I have a few small rips in the head liner and thought they might also be able to be repaired with some sort of vinyl repair kit. Not looking for perfection here but somethng that will not be very noticeable.

Any expereince or advice would be appreciated.

[d240zx2]

You can find replacement vinyl easily. MSA and black dragon are just two places to start.

[Montezuma]

Also Classic Datsun has nice vinyl replacements.

[bhermes]

Checked all these places and found head liner about $47. Not bad and probably worth replacing instead of trying to repair what I ahve. My current head liner looks new but appears to have a couple holes for some reason. In regards to the seats in vinyl I found a replacement cover for $245. Again my current seats look brand new accept for the issues with the seams. Not sure I can justify the money for new seat covers.

Anyone ever repair their seats by sewing seams? I know we are car people and I hate to even use the word sew in this forum.

[Arne]

In my experience, the original vinyl is generally too old and brittle to re-sew successfully. YMMV, however.

[bhermes]

I am thinking at this point at trying a heat / pressure activated tape of some sort. Not sure if the vinyl will melt or if there is stuff like this available for vinyl. If I am going to replace completely anyway it would not hurt to try something.

I am not sure that the vinyl I have is original. Appears to be very new or never sat on much. Based on my knowledge of the car I am guessing that it was installed and then the car sat for 15 years. It has been on and off the road for the past year.

[rcb280z]

Have you considered an upholstery shop to repair them?

[bhermes]

No. But I should have. I will see what they have to say.

[rcb280z]

Let us know.