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Question about seat upholstery...

7K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  larryinalabama 
#1 ·
Hey guys, the front seats in my 89 Brougham are beat. They're leather, and the d'elegance style. There's rips along the seams, and other places, overall they've been very well "used". I've been looking into fixing them, reluctant to have them reupholstered for fear of high prices and a job that won't be anywhere near as good as factory.

Recently I found a car in Missouri with perfect seats, right style and color, and in GREAT shape. I'd love to have them shipped to Massachusetts where I live, but that seems like it will cost around 300 dollars. Quite a bit, certainly.

Anyway, the guy selling me the seats brought up the possibility of just sending me the covers, but I have to ask, is that possible? With the buttons on the d'elegance seats, and the high quality of the stitch work, it seems like taking them off and putting them back on a new seat would be a lot of work, plus he would probably have to pay someone on his end to take the covers off.

Anyway, let me just ask, is that possible? To transplant the upholstery from one seat to the next with relatively little difficulty?
 
#2 ·
It can be done. I've swapped seat covers on many cars over the years - some easier than others. If you're looking for cheap shipping, that's the way to go. Be careful, though, sometimes seat frames and associated metal parts are razor sharp. Not sure about the buttons - that's a good question. Buttons might be hog-clipped to the cushion. That said, covers and cushions are much cheaper to ship than the whole seat.

You might could look into Greyhound if you decide to ship the whole seat, they're often overlooked as a shipping carrier but they do ship large items and are generally much more reasonable than other more well known shippers.
 
#4 ·
Here's a picture of my seats. I think the name of the color is "Maple Red"



It seems a little iffy, because of the extra padding and the buttons, especially the seat backs, the way it's stitched together. That part that rises an inch above the rest with the buttons on it is totally extra, the standard seats don't raise that high. Those buttons seem to be stitched down through the cushioning. It seems to me i'd probably have to pay someone to do it. At that point, i'd rather just pay the expensive shipping and get the whole seats so I can swap them out myself.
 
#5 ·
I had my white D'Elegance seats (including tracks) shipped from Miami to Ottawa for 160 bucks. Used forwardair terminals (you have to drop off/pick up at the airport - this is why it is cheap). Put one front seat upside down on the other one with a milk crate as a spacer, then covered everything with cardboard, packing tape and twine. The back seat went leather in (face to face), then the packing. Arrived perfect.

You can swap the skins, though...
 
#8 ·
I had my white D'Elegance seats (including tracks) shipped from Miami to Ottawa for 160 bucks. Used forwardair terminals (you have to drop off/pick up at the airport - this is why it is cheap). Put one front seat upside down on the other one with a milk crate as a spacer, then covered everything with cardboard, packing tape and twine. The back seat went leather in (face to face), then the packing. Arrived perfect.

You can swap the skins, though...

How much would it cost me to have your cloth ones shipped here to MA? :sneaky:
 
#7 ·
Oh, glad to hear that!! Get those seats and get them in. I've got a 95 RWD FWB and the side of the seats crap out near the controls. I've repaired mine, I'm no tailor, and it looks alright. Got the donor vinyl from a mid 90s Olds. Just cut the seats up for the scrap material, sized it, and stitched them in.

All the better when you can bolt on. Right on dude!!
 
#9 ·
I know this is probably too late to be of help, but I just took the front seats of my 86 Brougham D'Elegance out ( easy, 4back, 2 front 13m nuts on the floor, but the seat needs to move during the process) and I took it apart a bit to add some stuffing to the side bolster.. the buttons are NOT attached to the frame, you could have the skins, and padding shipped, and install it over you old frame with a few hog pins, plus the built in clips already attached to the seat fabric. While I had it apart, I tightened up my flopping center armrest, straightened out the back that tilted just a bit too much south, and was able to shampoo the seat and carpet underneath.. This is the beauty of the assembly line building process, you can "un-build" everything on these cars too, and re-build better and stronger, often with matching used pieces from salvage yards.. before I took out the seats, I did a sea foam treatment on the engine, ( just poured it thru the carb while running, til it stalled,) and did my seats and interior while it sat for about 3 hours, put it all back together, started the car to let it smoke and now I have a tight seat, very comfortable and the engine is smooth as silk.. I love multitasking!! did the whole project before noon.
 
G
#15 ·
Do you know if you can use the leather seat cover on the passenger's side to replace the cover on the driver's side? I know you would have a slight modification on the seat belt but not sure if there are any other issues with doing this. Thanks!
 
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