| Re: How to remove Side Bolster from Sport Seat... |
Subject: Re: How to remove Side Bolster from Sport Seat... by flyboy on 2011/9/30 12:27:02 ...Seat Covers 1984-1993 STANDARD SEATS The standard seat cushions and backs are clipped into the fiberglass shell. They are the easiest to work with. The seat covers are held on the foam with hog rings. The outer perimeter hog rings must be removed, then the seat cover material pulled back to expose the inner hog rings. After removing all of the hog rings the seat cover can be removed. Place the new seat cover next to the old seat cover and note the position of the wire reinforcements in the original seat cover. I prefer to use a seat cover installation kit that comes with new hog rings and wire reinforcements. Install the reinforcements in the new seat cover then install on foam. The most common question is: Can I use the old seat foam? New foam will make for a better fitting cover and the seat cover will last longer. Most of foam I see is really bad by this time. Most of the Corvette interior suppliers have seat covers mounted on foam and the price is reasonable. Simply remove your seat cushions and backs and install the new pieces. 1984-1993 SPORT SEATS These seats have a removable seat cushion but the seat back is integral with the seat shell. These seats require removal to install the seat back cushion covers. Also, the lumbar portions of the seat controls are in the seat cushion. The sport seat has a metal reinforcement in the seat cushion foam that must be installed in the new foam. The seat cover cushion replacement is similar to the standard seat cushion. The cover must be installed properly and then the switch cutouts must be carefully done. The seat back consists of three pieces: the two outside bolsters and the inner cushion. The outside bolsters and inner cushion are held in with hog rings that run up and down the inner part of bolster. The outside part of the bolster is held with staples. It is stapled to the seat shell. All hog rings must be removed. Then the outer bolsters are removed by prying the outside edge off the seat shell. The inner cushion is clipped at the top to a retainer; this can be removed by pushing the seat cushion in on each side while pulling outward. The bottom of the cushion has hog rings that must be removed. They are accessed from the rear of the seat. Once all the hog rings are removed the cushion can be removed. There are three clear hoses connected to the lumbar support bladder that must be removed with the cushion. You will find that most seats do not have these hoses connected anymore because the bladders have turned to dust. Quite a few of the sport seats have been converted to standard seats because the sport seats are not reliable. You can do this by deleting the lumbar control switches from the seat cushion and leaving everything else intact. 1994-1996 These seats require removal to install the seat back cushions. The seat cushions come out like the early cars. Covers are changed like standard seats. Tips: * New foam and an installation kit should always be used. * Check seat cover material for defects before installing. * If installing new bladders, beware of any sharp objects or areas that may damage the bladder. * If the seat cushion supports are rusty or rotted on a 1984-1989 seat they can be replaced with an elastic strap and hook assembly. These straps were used on 1990 and up cars. The elastic material can be found at an upholstery shop. The hooks can be fabricated from 1/8 wire stock. * If you plan on restoring your sport seats to original specification, cut an X in the material where the seat switches go into the seat cushion. Do not remove any material from the X, this will prevent the material from pulling out on the sides. Tuck the material in carefully and then install the bezel. Use care when tightening the bezel; it can be cracked easily. Category: C4 (84-96), Interior, Tech Tips Tags: C4, console, dash, Interior, seats Short link: http://corvette.cc/Q Subscribe to CC Tech If what they say here is true, then the bottom bolster is integral with the rest of the cover, the back bolsters can be separated. Midamerica motorworks has a video on their website that is helpful. Replacing the worn bolster piece would take a fair amount of skill, I think. |
