Roadster Seat Upholstery Questions

[dpson]

1931 Deluxe Roadster, new LB springs & Cartouche upholstery kit.

What is the best way and what tool is used to crimp the metal channel to hold the seat cover material?

Is a cord or something else placed within the seat cover material in the channel. The channel seems plenty wide for just the material?

I've watched the LB seat upholstery videos, which are a big help for most of the installation, but they are doing a seat that doesn't use the metal channel and thus the questions.

Any other tips?

It's not a show car, but I want it to look nice.

Thanks.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Classtique Upholstery has a long board that spans the seat cushion and is clamped down tight. I'm guessing it compresses the seat spring slightly so when the material is crimped in place and the clamp removed, the upholstery won't have any loose spots or sags. You'll need a cord stitched in the edge of the cover, then pinch the metal over the cord. I haven't done one yet, so I don't know if a hammer or a pliers would work better for the job.

[dpson]

Thanks Tom,

I posted the questions before I looked at the material, yes there is a cord stitched into the seat material, so that's solved. Now; how to best crimp it into the metal channel without scratching and bending it all up?

[Mitch//pa]

Is that where your supposed to use hog rings and a hog ring pliers??

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

Is that where your supposed to use hog rings and a hog ring pliers??

No. None of the Model-As ever used hog rings originally to attach the covers to the spring.

To the original poster's question, you need to use a seat spring press. If you don't have one available, you can use plastic tie wraps to compress the springs. Then cut when the cover is crimped on. Again, you will need a special tool to crimp the seat spring retainer and do it with efficiency however a pair of pliers could be modified to be used. One other piece of advice, the seat spring needs to fit the seat riser snugly. Test fit it prior to installing the cover. Nothing looks worse than a seat cushion that has a half inch (--or more) of space between the riser lip and the crimped area. When you open the door, that will be the first thing you see is that ugly crimped band.

[wrndln]

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Brent,
Can you post a picture of the tool you use to crimp the covering into the metal channel? Does it do a good smooth job? I have seen some rough looking crimping jobs - they look pretty bad. I was wondering how to crimp the channel shut around the piping (bead) and make it look nice. I don't think LB makes covers with the piping that crimps into the channel. Their upholstery requires you to use hog rings and attach the cover to the coil inside the springs, at least that is what I got from them with my 29 phaeton upholstery kit. I wasn't real happy about the way they have you install the covers. I was thinking of taking my cushion covers to a local upholstery shop and have them sow in a bead around where the metal channel is on the springs.
Rusty Nelson

[dpson]

No seat spring press, but tie wraps sound like a plan.

At this point I'm going to use pliers, wrapped in electrical tape, for the corners and a 3-1/2" hand seamer for the straight sections (front, back and sides).

Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it comes out.

[Tom Wesenberg]

It would be interesting to see how the factory did the job.

[ericr]

I don't understand this thread, is there now an upholstery supplier that provides a duplicate of the original channel that holds the upholstery in place vs. hog rings?

[wrndln]

ericr,
Classtique in Minnesota makes the open car seat covers that have the piping or bead that is crimped into the metal channel at the bottom of the springs. Sadly, I wasn't told by LB when I ordered an upholstery kit for my 29 phaeton they didn't do it that way, but used hog rings, which is not correct. I am quite disappointed in LB, as I had heard they were the most authentic of the upholstery suppliers. I wish I had ordered my kit from Classtique instead of LB. I wont ever order another upholstery kit from LB and I have two more car that will need kits.

OK, I found two pictures of some seat cushions that show the way they should be done. The first picture is of a 28/29 CCPU seat cushion (original). The second pictures is a cushion Marco upholstered for Dave Lopes Henry award winning 28 phaeton. As you can see in both pictures - no hog rings used and the metal channel on the bottom to holds the cover in place.
Rusty Nelson

[Tom Wesenberg]

Notice how the bead is a couple inches lower than the top edge of the seat, and this will require some folds to make the turn around the corners. Classtique makes the seat covers correctly, but LB puts the bead at the top edge and has NO folds.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

We are knee-deep in moving my business so I don't know about getting pix at the moment but originally, the factory used a overhead lever press to collapse the spring.

FWIW, I don't know of any kit supplier that manufactures the seat cover correctly. The difference is in the details, and when you study an original cover (-or Marco's cover) you will notice a difference in the darts and the band.

[russcochiolo]

If you compress the springs too far the fabric will rip along the seam at the piping and leave you with a gap.
I'm a relative newbie here. If'n this post works I'll try posting a photo or 2. Russ

[wrndln]

If the seat cover was sown correctly, the seam wont rip.
Rusty Nelson

[dpson]

I installed the seat cover today. The only tools used were scissors, hog ring pliers and pair of Channel Lock pliers with electrical tape over the jaws. I used zip ties to hold the springs down as best I could but they didn't work all that well. As I pressed down on the springs my wife pushed the piping into the channel and I closed the channel using the channel locks. It was frustrating, time consuming and a general PIA job. Next time I'll order the seats with the covers installed, it's worth the extra cost as far as I'm concerned. The biggest disappointment were the front corners. They came out with several ripples that I can't seem to get out. I tried stuffing in more padding, but it was difficult to get it in between the cover and the padding due to the tension on the cover. I may try partially disassemble and adding more padding, or maybe I just go ahead and use it as is. Any thoughts, idea or suggestions on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated. Photos are attached.

[Mikeinnj]

Looks great. Nice job !

[oldmotorsguy]

Seat spring compressor: I use 2x4 boards that are approx 1 foot longer than the seat spring length. Two on the top, two underneath the work table (a piece of plywood on top of some saw horses), seat spring in between. With four sliding 12" wood clamps, compress these 2x4s and accordingly the spring down to 4" high if you want. Works great, gives lots of slack....too much slack that the job is TOO easy. Nobody wants that.