http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/tenmark262/DSCN7270-1.jpg

If you've got a 93-96 FWB you've probably seen or have had the sides of your front seats tear.

Shy of finding a cherry junk yard find, has anyone repaired or had theirs repaired?

The seats on the FWB I bought on eBay looked "mint" but after a week the cheap vinyl repairs that were done to it cracked off. So mine are all torn up. And just plain old look bad.

I pulled a set of same color bottoms today, front and rear, and hope to swap out the inner sides, the ones that aren't damaged, for the outer sides. Just sew them right in. Also thinking of reinforcing it somehow so it doesn't happen again. I'm not a tailor by any means but figure I can pull it off. Any tips, tricks, cheats, or experiences to share.

Also running the FWB wood steering wheel count down clock. Sent off my wheel about a month ago to have it done up and am anxiously waiting for it to return (3-7 weeks was the build time not counting shipping). Tic toc...

When you say side, do you mean around where the heated seat switch sticks out? It does seem like the material could get easily pinched against that hard plastic. Mine are fine there, but other parts of the driver's seat are not...I could really use new covers for both the bottom and back.

Yea, on the side near the controls. Just about every other Fleetwood has a rip or a tear there.

Yeah that is a really unimpressive design. These cars were right in the middle of GM's terrible interior period, and it shows. I will make an extra effort to avoid sitting on the edge. It's uncomfortable anyway.
My driver's side B pillar felt is totally ripped and worn out though.

True, true. I was thinking about covering the B pillar with leftover leather/vinyl from the seats. Dunno, though. Not enough to do it in one square shot.

Looked at Roadmaster B pillars, which are all plastic with a grain pattern molded in, but it's not a direct bolt on fit without swapping out some of the other fascia.

Caprice's are the same. They may not be as "nice" but they can take a lot more abuse.

Yea. Maybe not as nice when new but definitely more durable and better looking when the FWBs are worn through.

Here's my seat:

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/tenmark262/DSCN7590.jpg

Oh wow. I better be careful.

Here's my driver's seat.

http://kevinallenmoore.com/photo/d/60042-2/DSCF0646.jpg

http://kevinallenmoore.com/photo/d/60046-2/DSCF0647.jpg

The other seats are pretty good actually.

Managed to get the seat sewn back together (despite this weeks sunroof vandalism and A/C issues) with the material I got earlier in the week. Not perfect (I'm not a tailor) but passable. At least better than being ripped.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/tenmark262/DSCN7614.jpg

Nice job! Looks good to me.

Funny point to note is that the metal surrounding the rear drivers side seat support was broken. I though, oh. Some fat ph#@!1er used to own my car. But after looking at two other FWB seat frameworks (was going to swap mine out) I found the same spot broken. Looks like the supports are welded to the seat base and after years of metal fatigue it breaks around the support. Ended up using some self tapping screws and screwed a plate shoring it the whole thing up nice. Strange though.

All finished. Got the replacement vinyl from the bottom rear seat from another FW. Pulled the cover, cut the new panel to match, and sewed it in. While I was at it, I fiberglassed the inside of the seat mounted fascia to shore up the controls, which were loose.

Like I said, I'm not a tailor, but it's definitely passable. And was a cheap fix.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/tenmark262/DSCN7622.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/tenmark262/DSCN7623.jpg

Hmm, not too bad. How much work was it to pull the seat cover off?

Seat cover came off lickety split but sewing it took hours.

Looks very good. My '95s driver seat had the usual small side split ('93 is perfect, still, and not a wear mark in site) that I "fixed" with a leather seat repair kit, as well as some wear on the bolster of the backrest. Worked well, but being vinyl, with daily use, the spot has cracked a bit and shows through again.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/10/web/2242000-2242999/2242633_42_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/10/web/2242000-2242999/2242633_43_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/10/web/2242000-2242999/2242633_45_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/10/web/2242000-2242999/2242633_47_full.jpg

Has still held up very well for 2 years of use, heat, etc. but the plan was always to get--at least that side panel--simply replaced if going any further. Just like tenmark did, again--good work:thumbsup:

Hey, that repair doesn't look so bad. But yea, the seller admitted to using the one of those vinyl repair kits just before putting it up for sale. Job lasted three months.

I hopefully should get a few years out of my work. If you've got the time, and the inclination to sew (or learning it) it can be done cheaply. Just takes some time.

These seats have awful with designed-in problems. And soon enough, my new work will rip too. The side vinyl rips. The side seat controls break. And the base of the seat fatigues breaking at the left rear support. All that said, I'll take cosmetic issues over mechanical issues. I'd rather have a car that falls apart around the engine than a beautiful car that I can't drive - any day of the week, all day long!

I'd rather have a car that falls apart around the engine than a beautiful car that I can't drive - any day of the week, all day long!

Hah! Then you're right on with a classic GM...with my father's favorite tag line about them. The car may disintegrate part by part daily, but the drivetrain will keep going forever;)

My skill is largely limited to cosmetics (well, not limited, but that's all I care to do), so everything always LOOKS fantastic and those visuals get fixed first.

For the seats, like said, so many of these cars split or rip there just by nature. The side "pod" where it is creates a problem itself, but then the seat and structure there doesn't help much. Still, our '93 is flawless despite 15 years and 112k miles of use (heck, the seats in every position are hardly even wrinkled), and my '95 just had the small split and some other wear.