Seat Covers?

[baba]

I remember when I was a kid that seat covers were commonly used to protect upholstery in cars or to cover up worn out upholstery. You could find them for just about any make or model car. My 29 coupe needs seat covers. I do not want to have to buy a whole interior including head liner just to get seat covers. None of the suppliers seem to be willing to sell just the seat covers. Any ideas out there?

[ronn]

this topic has come up more then a few times. JC Whitney was the go to place.

If someone would start a cottage industry for this and sell them reasonably, all would be happy.

200-250. a set would be nice.

[rotorwrench]

JC Whitney and Warshawsky's pretty much hit the skids after Roy Warshawsky died back in 1997. The company was bought out, reformed, and and sold again since then. The US Autoparts is now under the CarParts.com brand.

Roy collected old cars so he always had model A, motorcycle, & VW stuff available since he knew it had sales appeal. Seat covers are available all over the flea-pay adds but they are for more modern cars. The days of stuff like this for the early antique & classic cars are now just in our memories.

I'm afraid that for anything like this to be profitable in this day and age, the labor and materials would have to be farmed out to offshore sources likely in Asia or the Pacific rim. Just the materials are expensive now and the time to sew the stuff up doesn't come cheap either.

[katy]

Then there was this fellow who bought a new car, then he bought and installed a set of expensive, high quality seat covers to protect the seats, next he bought and installed a set of cheap seat covers to protect the expensive seat covers.
Get the picture?

[ronn]

well I believe there is a mkt for inexpensive seat covers. offer them in dark brown only and start out only with coupes, roadster sand pickups.

can add sedans later.......

thick vinyl can be had for about 20. a seat..... yes it prob would have to be offshore, since 20. an hour is pretty typical now in the US for labor.

[burner31]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

[QUOTE=ronn;2120869]well I believe there is a mkt for inexpensive seat covers. offer them in dark brown only and start out only with coupes, roadster sand pickups.

can add sedans later.......


How about start with sedans and I'll buy a set for the front and back right now, today even, can always add coupes, roadsters and pickups later.

[J Franklin]

Don't be lazy, buy some fabric, a staple gun, a hog ring set, and go to it!

[ronn]

How about start with sedans and I'll buy a set for the front and back right now, today even, can always add coupes, roadsters and pickups later.

Nay, the sedan guys need to spend 2x as much and prob wont buy....... lol
__________________

[Ayers1]

Did you check with Macs? I just bought seat covers only through their Cartouche department. Maybe because I was a return customer but they did do it.

[fundytides]

A few years ago, I bought "universal" seat covers from "Marden's", a discount store chain in Maine. Think I paid less than $20 for a set that fit the front seat of my 1951 Standard Vanguard Saloon (sedan). They were even a nice shade of maroon which blended well with the red "leather" upholstery in the car. No accommodation for the center fold down arm rest, but you can't ask for everything. Another time I picked up a set of new mid 50's seat covers, in the box, and resold them at our annual swap meet. Keep looking, you never know what you will find. Another potential source might be to buy usable upholstery from someone that's doing an upgrade on their similar model car.

[JoeCB]

Back in the day, new cars in our family got custom fit seat covers right after rolling out of the dealership. When grandpa gave me his 1956 Ford Fairlane 292 , three on the tree, in 1963 off came the seat covers to reveal the most beautiful blue brocade upholstery that had never seen the light of day.
Joe B

[30Murray]

Look for one that fits a dodge caravan center bench. That seat is a perfect fit in a coupe.

[Keith True]

I bought a couple of sets of the JC Whitney seat covers at a swap meet.They were just marked,Model A sedan,bench seats.One was red plaid,and the other green plaid.They were nylon and looked like lawn chairs.I sold both sets on this site,maybe 10-15? years ago.One guy had a lot of questions,I just had to explain to him they were JC Whitney fit all-fit nothing right.He took the chance and bought them.I later heard from him,he said they worked out,they were ugly and garish,and were the prettiest part of his car.

[ronn]

Did you check with Macs? I just bought seat covers only through their Cartouche department. Maybe because I was a return customer but they did do it.


and the price was? drum roll please...........

[nkaminar]

One of my better investments was an industrial sewing machine. I first bought an industrial Singer and then a new machine from Sailrite. I have made lots of things from sails for my boat to canvas covers to seat covers. I use it to patch my work jeans. I made seat covers for the rear seat in my Fordor where the dogs ride. Lots of different material is available at a reasonable cost from Sailrite.

[ronn]

NK,
I have one sitting in the corner of my garage that will do leather.

been there 25 years....... and Im afraid of it! dont know where to start.

[baba]

Here is what I have done so far. When I bought the coupe last summer I took the seats out and stripped them done to the wood and springs. The upholstery was shot and the padding was a giant mouse nest. Recently put in new burlap and padding and covered all with a new seat cover made from an old sheet just to keep padding covered and clean. Yesterday wife bought some upholstery material and will attempt serviceable seat covers. Curiously, the entire inside of the cap had been redone, door panels, headliner, rumble seats, etc. All done but the seat and seat back. Never intended to be a show car, just want to drive it and have a bit of fun.I
have tried on several occasions to buy just the seat covers from various dealers but they all want to sell the entire interior.

[rotorwrench]

I purchased a used Consew 206 due to my interest in Mercury cars and other off beat models that no one makes kits for. A good walking foot machine will last forever no more than I use it. I takes a lot of sewing machine oil but it pays me back in other savings. I put a digital motor on it so as to slow it down. It would fly too well with a clutch motor on it.

[Ayers1]

Originally Posted by ronn

Did you check with Macs? I just bought seat covers only through their Cartouche department. Maybe because I was a return customer but they did do it.


and the price was? drum roll please...........

375 for a pair of covers for the front seats on my Tudor. I wasn't going to complain, they look much better than bare springs!

[ronn]

that sounds very fair..........any photos?