Seat cover help

[yellow wagon]

Thanks for the pic Phil. I think you are correct. The assembly manual shows something like this also. The thing I don't get is where the belt would come through the top of the seat cover on the seat base, if you just slit that with a razor or something it would surely tear quickly.

 

[blkblk63ss]

Got my seat cover's and all interior from Car's, very satisfied . The only issue i had putting on front door panel's with the preassembled door panel's is the nails do not line up with door retainer's. Called my upholstery guy and he say's what else is new!!!!! So i had to do that a little different .Don't mean to hijack your thread Jason, just to inform other's what to look out for.

 

[63 dream'n]

Find em in the scrap yard and paint them fawn.....?????

 

[bobs409]

I bet other GM's had those as well so check the Buicks, Olds , Cadillacs & Pontiacs too.

 

[bobs409]

Find em in the scrap yard and paint them fawn.....?????

Unless you find fawn colored ones, then omit that step.

 

[Phil Reed]

Jason....if you notice the belts....I think the slit on the back side was glued to the seat frame while this "protector" was installed on the front side on the seat. You would see it when you pushed the seat back forward to get in the back seat.

 

[62impala409]

Jason, I was wrong about my seat belt slots. Cars did in fact sew the reinforcement around the belt hole on top. There is a passage in the seat frame for the belt. I had to cut a slit in the bottom of the seat for the belt. The cut can't be seen on the bottom though.

 

[oldskydog]

The best info for seat belt installation is the factory Accessories Installation Manual.

 

[yellow wagon]

Here are a couple pics of the issues:
Unfinished piping along driver's side top edge on front seat. Should be longer and tucked in and sewn under the vinyl:

Seam sewn crooked, pattern wraps around to backside of setback:

Stitching pulling in corner, will probably pull away in corner/tear after some use:

After looking at Leo's picture he posted about the slits, I had to go relook at my covers and sure enough there are sewn-in slits. However, they aren't in line with the mounting point on the trans tunnel, they are almost in the middle of the seat area. I tried to take a pic from above so you can see where the slit is in relation to the seating area. Seems to me if you used this slit, it come out right where your butt would be?? Hard to tell in Leo's picture but his looks over farther towards the black plastic bumper. You can see in my photo that if I mount the belt and run it up and over the seat bottom how that compares to where the slit is located on the cover. How do you find the pass through in the seat frame once a cover is installed? I felt around and felt nothing.

 

[1961BelAir427]

That piping in the first picture would irritate me the most. From the last picture the slit for the seat belt looks about right to me as I'd think they would come up at an angle towards the passenger, but could be the angle of the picture?

 

[Phalen409]

Everyone has directed me to CARS for the interior for my Ivy '63. I find it ironic that I was speaking to them yesterday and we discussed in a rough draft sort of way what I needed for an original SS interior and the quality I should expect. I hope someone at CARS sees this post as they may have well lost me as a customer. It's not the fact (only) that the workmanship is poor, it's that they won't address it and make it right. I have been in sales for 25+ years and have learned that directly addressing a problem and direct communication will solve over 95% of any sales/service issue.

Thanks for this post,
Dennis

 

[yellow wagon]

From the last picture the slit for the seat belt looks about right to me as I'd think they would come up at an angle towards the passenger, but could be the angle of the picture?

Its hard to get a good picture that shows its true location on the cover. But the seatbelt is straight in line with the mounting location on the trans tunnel. So yea to come through the slit in the seat cover, it would have to angle quite a bit. Doesn't seem right to me but maybe it is?

 

[blkblk63ss]

I could be wrong but is the stitching suppose to show like that in the first picture?????? I have seen some of my upholstery guy's work and you don't see stitching like that .

 

[Austin Bubbletop]

Interior will be my last big purchase for my 61. I've mainly looked at CARS and Ciadella. This ain't good for CARS, which I had heard good things about. I can barely afford to do things once. That piping would bother me.

 

[yellow wagon]

Yea the piping looks really bad. Its right on the top of the seat back also so its in plain view for all to see. I'm in the same boat that I can't even afford to do this interior in the first place so for it to be ill fitting bums me out for sure. I can tell you I was really excited to finally have a factory style interior for the car and its been a let down.

 

[1961BelAir427]

Interior will be my last big purchase for my 61. I've mainly looked at CARS and Ciadella. This ain't good for CARS, which I had heard good things about. I can barely afford to do things once. That piping would bother me.

You sure said it !! I was fortunate enough to get some used repro covers from a member here who was changing over to custom interior. I don't remember whether they are Cars or Ciadella, but they are nice. Wish he had changed his door & side panels too! Those are going to be around a grand. As plain as the '61 Bel Air side panels are I have thought about just getting some correct plain red vinyl and some pleated and getting Shannon to sew some up for me. Won't have the 3 stripes, but should look decent for a driver / race car. I think we could do those for a couple hundred dollars.

 

[63 dream'n]

[QUOTE="yellow wagon, post: 259719, member: 1711impYea the piping looks really bad. Its right on the top of the seat back also so its in plain view for all to see. I'm in the same boat that I can't even afford to do this interior in the first place so for it to be ill fitting bums me out for sure. I can tell you I was really excited to finally have a factory style interior for the car and its been a let down.[/QUOTE]

It really sucks,to be so exciteded to make a big improvement and to be so let down........I'd ride CARS INC. like a horse.that piping issue is serious enough that the installation should take a back seat to the customer satisfaction,the cover should without a doubt,be replaced or give you a refund.

 

[pvs409]

I have installed over the last 10 years -- 6 sets of original Interiors 2 door hardtops and convertibles in 3-62's and 2-63's including assembled door panels. 5 of the 6 are/were Cars Inc. Interiors.
Door panels and the nails on them are not easy to install and get them to fit. I got all 5 of the Cars to fit some with extra effort - I did have all original metal top rails on the assembled door panels on the 5 interiors.
You must get the metal top rails to fit all the way down onto the doors (screws in the wisker strips do not allow the top rails to fit good)- With new material they are always tight. I have trimed door material and installed the door panels without the plastic sleeves in the doors. Sometimes you have to slightly bend the nails to fit in the slots, sometimes new plastic pieces that the nails go into have to
be drilled to allow the nails to fit better.
The 63 Impala SS Hardtop I finished for a friends wife (he died) I had a terrible time getting door panels nails to fit but with some the items I listed above I got them to fit rather than sending them back to Cars. My deceased friend had bought the interior from Cars Inc but never got it installed - I did not have his original order but Cars would have fixed them for me.

I spoke with my long term contact at Cars Inc. He said "they will replace the redo the metal nail edges on the door panels and they will have the box picked up all at their cost" and/or "they
will send a new set of metal edge bands -I am not sure who covers the cost to install the bands -ask them"

I also asked him about fixing seat covers that have already been installed and "he said they would fix them"

On other 63 Impala Hardtop "that I fixed for a another friend this year" I had to have new Cars Inc metal edge bands with nails installed on a PUI interior(that was ordered and installed by a shop and did the panels and seats did not fit) door panels because they "did not have the right nails" nor did the door panels fit the 63 doors. I had to mark the slots for my local interior guy to install the Cars metal edge band with nails. The repro top rails on these door panels did not fit - I had to grind the door itself to make them fit. The back seat window panel above the arm rests with metal repro rails were not much better for fit.
The 63 PUI SS bucket seats and back seats where very poor quality for fitting and seams (plus came without the correct buttons) compared to my Car interiors and my one original 62 SS convertible that had the original bucket seat material on(I had my seats out to compare the fit)

Paul Stensland

 

[yellow wagon]

I have spoken with Cars this afternoon and they want to make it right. I'll keep you all posted on the outcome. Thanks all!

 

[1961BelAir427]

That is great news! Looking forward to a positive outcome from all your trouble. A certain builder in my state should be so good and do the right thing when their product is defective.