any new seat vinyl installation tips

[280z money pit]

I have new vinyl for my seats and no idea how to install it. Any tips would be great.

Thanks,

Mike

[steve91tt]

I have new vinyl for my seats and no idea how to install it. Any tips would be great.

Thanks,

Mike

It's a fairly easy and gratifying process.

1. Remove the seats from the car by removing the 4 bolts holding them to the floor.

2. Separate the backs from the bottoms by removing the screws and bolts. I think there are 4 per side of each seat. The seats are spring loaded so lean the seat back forward before you start undoing the screws so that the spring does not cause the seat back to snap forward as you undo the screws.

3. On the seat back bend the little metal tabs up that poke through the old vinyl and hold it in place. This will allow you to lift the vinyl off of the tabs and start to peal it from the frame.

4. The front of the seat back vinyl is held to the frame with a listing wire and hog rings about 3/4's of the way to the top of the seat. When you peal the vinyl back far enough to expose the wire simply cut the hog rings and remove the wire from its fabric sleeve. You will most likely have to put the wire in the fabric sleeve on the new covers unless they come with wire already installed.

5. The seat back vinyl and foam should now easily come off of the frame.

6. The seat bottoms are similar to the back. Simply bend up the tabs on the bottom near the track and remove the vinyl. There is a listing wire in the seat bottom as well. Remove it the same as you did for the seat backs and place it in the new cover.

7. To reinstall the seat covers simply reverse the procedure. Hog ring pliers are nice for installing the new listing wire but not necessary. I generally use tie wraps to pull the listing wires near enough to the frame to get the hog rings attached. This part of the job is a little fiddly but not that bad if you take your time.

8. Pull and stretch the vinyl until it fits nice and snug like a new seat. Sometimes it helps to get the vinyl hot to help it stretch a little. A hair dryer can help here or simply put the covers in the hot sun for a few minutes.

9. Depending on your covers you will likely have to cut holes in the vinyl for the screws that hold the seats together. This can be a little nerve racking but take your time and use a sharp blade and all should go well.

10. You can now put the back and bottom together and install in the car.

All in all not such a bad job. If you have any questions let me know.

Edited May 13, 2010 by steve91tt

[280z money pit]

Excellent! That is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much.

[steve91tt]

Glad to help. Post some photos when you get them done.

[ZCCOR#109]

One more detail.

The large screws that hold the back and bottom to the hinges are not going to loosen easily.

You will need a special tool for loosening them.

The tool has a screw driver philips head bit and you strike the rear of the tool with a hammer. The inside of the tool his a cam that transfers the hammer blow into a twist of the philips head. Anyway that is what I needed to get mine loose.

The other detail is have strong forearms to tug and pull.

good luck

[steve91tt]

One more detail.

The large screws that hold the back and bottom to the hinges are not going to loosen easily.

You will need a special tool for loosening k

I did not have this issue when I did mine. The screws came out with little effort. I guess, as always, your milage may vary.

[Davey G]

Just did my passenger seat this weekend, with the driver's seat to follow this evening (and carpet the rest of the week). A lot of work, but it came out great! Buy the new foam!!! Make sure you get all the wires out of the seat hems; you'll need them. Take time to line everything up like the edge seams with the edge of the foam.