Upholstery tear-down, foam bun repair, and application of new upholstery (including some innovation) is covered. Upholstery source links are re-posted in a post near the end of the thread, including upholstery vinyl by the yard to match,...
Upholstery Tear-down:
The Fiat Spider is upholstered in the same manner as most cars and is a simple study. The design reduces the number of hogs rings necessary for installation,...
The Fiat seatframe is removed from the car in one piece by simply moving the seat toward the rear, to it's track limit, and removing two 4mm Allen bolts that attach the track to the floor bracket. Then move the seat as far forward as the track allows, and fold the upper seat forward. Remove the two rear track bolts. Get a good position and grip, and lift the entire seat out the door.
My seat hinges have snap on covers and the hinges remove with a phillips and a 13mm for the hinge bolts.
Seat Bottom:
This is usually the number one item necessary in most vehicles because it wears out faster than the rest of the upholstery.
A stiff vinyl strip runs around the bottom of the upholstery vinyl and slips into a track at the bottom of the seatframe. It is easy to 'roll' this strip out of the track,...push the cushion of the seat down to ease the tension, and start at the rear:
On either side of the rear of the frame, just under the hinge mounts, you'll find a pair of 'hidden' hog rings that will need to be cut:
they attach the upholstery to bottom of the foam bun at the rear.
Next you 'roll' the stiff vinyl strip out of the track (push down on the cushion to ease the tension) around the circumference of the seat bottom and turn the upholstery inside-out:
Now you are ready to find the hog rings that attach the three upholstery wires to the foam bun wires.
There is a wire that runs down each side of the upholstery and one that runs across, nearer the front. Easy to see the arrangement, at this point.
Strong fingers to expose the hog rings! Search along the attached edge of the upholstery and you'll find them. Cut four on each side and two on the cross-wire. Here's a pic of the upholstery removed and inside-out with the wires in place (sorry, my forward one had busted loose!):
Save the wires, if possible! And use the old upholstery to guide hog ring placement during re-upholstery.
I need to repair/replace this bun, so I used a putty knife to scrape the bun away from the frame. It is contact cemented along the sides, and along an area to the front and rear. Mine scraped away cleanly, without damaging the bun. Here's a pic of the cemented spots:
Re-assembly is the exact reverse of this, with application of contact cement and hog rings as per the factory. Turn new upholstery inside-out, install wires, hog ring wires to bun wires (there are "depressions" in the bottom of the foam to push up on the bun wires, to align them with the upholstery wires during assembly).
WARM the upholstery (best done in the sun), and roll it over the edge of the foam bottom, while slipping the stiff vinyl strip into the track (pushing down on the foam to ease the tension). Hog rings at the rear and the rear vinyl strip. Reassemble and reinstall seat.
Had to address upper seat frame repair on the driver's side, so I did not get pics of it's disassembly, but I'll get pics when I do the passenger's seat. It is upholstered in exactly the same way, but finished a little bit differently,...
More very soon.
I sure hope this helps some folks tackle re-upholstery!
