1980 Spider front seat upholstery installation

[greenspider]

I'm finally installing front seat upholstery on my 1980 Spider. Purchased from Bayless way back when. I've slipped the covers over the seat frame and foam, but how does the upholstery attach on the bottom of the upper seat back? How does the plastic "double channel" piece attach? Any photos or instructions would be appreciated. I should've taken photos before I ripped the old covers off - lesson learned. Thanks, Tony

[seabeelt]

The should be upholstery hooks that you can purchase that hook into the seat fabric and then hook onto one of the wires.

[geospider]

There is quite a bit to this. Will try to make it short.
In my 79; there were corroded metal rings built into the cusihion. I replaced with listing rods: made my own from metal hangers. Follow the contour of the covers. there should be sleeves on the inside of the covers. I put rods through those and the used Hog Rings to secure. you need to put the covers on a bit at a time, hog ringing as you go. this is on both back and seat. the plastic part goes into the channel on the seat pan; i folded mine over once to make tighter.

Look at some you tube vids and you will get an idea of how this works. also, go into an upholstery shop in your area and ask some questions. f you do some research first and know a bit about what they do, they will talk to you.

Geo

[wetminkey]

geospider nailed it! JUST as posted, and I would always recommend warming the upholstery (in the sun, if possible) before installation - it will handle, and lay down smooth, easier. You'll need a good pair of hog ring appliers and a small supply of hog rings,...easily available for cheap.
Have fun!
Todd.

[greenspider]

[img]<a%20href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/commerc ... raphy"></a>[/img]

How does the long plastic piece at the bottom attach? Does anyone have a photo of the bottom of their seatback, 1979+?Thanks for any help. Hope the image posts.

[geospider]

no image. not sure what you were trying to post.

the plastic part goes into a channel at the bottom of the seat pan. Fold it over 1-2 xs's to make it tighter. It should be a bit difficult to push in. Keeps everything tight.

I will look back at old pics and see what I have.

[wetminkey]

Yo! greenspider! Click the "BBCode" on imgur.com and you can paste pics directly to your posts here,...

[DieselSpider]

How does the long plastic piece at the bottom attach? Does anyone have a photo of the bottom of their seatback, 1979+?Thanks for any help. Hope the image posts.

You can use the reply with quotes button to the top right of this post to see how I formatted this so your image displayed. Hopefully others more familiar with the front seats will be able to provide the answer now. My car has Garage Pro Racing Seats put in by a previous owner so I have never seen the originals.

[greenspider]

I found this photo on the site. Thanks mullioni. I don't think the vinyl on the back of my covers are long enough as they don't touch together at the bottom. I have hog rings, wire rods, rubber banding and a steamer. I'll also try the plastic bag trick on the foam. Also, may as well have braces welded to the frame while they're stripped. Thanks for all the advice.