I just wanted to post an update about the X1/9 seat upholstery I bought from Vick's late last summer. I never get things done fast, but I get to it eventually. I did a test fit on a seat last summer, but set the project aside until I got the car painted this June.
Here are some pictures of the upholstery installed on the seats in my 85. The interior was grey/black previously, so I used fabric paint to black out the door cards to go with the new seats. I think the seats look great and go really well with the new Arancio paint job.
The product Vicks offers is actual replacement upholstery, not seat covers. You need to remove the original upholstery before you can install the new. The foam on my seats was in OK condition for being 30+ years old, so I didn't try to add any volume to it.
The biggest problem I had on install was breaking the original cotton pulls used to tighten the upholstery to the seat shape. I used the old rods and pulls I removed from the original seats. If you tackle this project, using the old rods is fine, but get new cotton straps to make the pulls. I put new pulls in the pass seat to replace the broken ones and was more careful when I pulled on them. I haven't redone the broken pulls on the driver's side yet and you can barely tell it is a little looser at shoulder height than the pass side.
I think this set of upholstery is really nice, especially for the price. As long as you are looking for black seats, which I was, these are an excellent choice. The material is thick and feels sturdy. The rod pockets are sown into proper locations on the inside of each piece. The only thing I can complain about is there is a small area in one panel were the grain seems discolored (traces of white), but you have to look at it just right, in the right light. So it wasn't a big enough concern for me to bother with. Overall I am very pleased. (<- that's me right there)
Here are some pictures of the upholstery installed on the seats in my 85. The interior was grey/black previously, so I used fabric paint to black out the door cards to go with the new seats. I think the seats look great and go really well with the new Arancio paint job.
The product Vicks offers is actual replacement upholstery, not seat covers. You need to remove the original upholstery before you can install the new. The foam on my seats was in OK condition for being 30+ years old, so I didn't try to add any volume to it.
The biggest problem I had on install was breaking the original cotton pulls used to tighten the upholstery to the seat shape. I used the old rods and pulls I removed from the original seats. If you tackle this project, using the old rods is fine, but get new cotton straps to make the pulls. I put new pulls in the pass seat to replace the broken ones and was more careful when I pulled on them. I haven't redone the broken pulls on the driver's side yet and you can barely tell it is a little looser at shoulder height than the pass side.
I think this set of upholstery is really nice, especially for the price. As long as you are looking for black seats, which I was, these are an excellent choice. The material is thick and feels sturdy. The rod pockets are sown into proper locations on the inside of each piece. The only thing I can complain about is there is a small area in one panel were the grain seems discolored (traces of white), but you have to look at it just right, in the right light. So it wasn't a big enough concern for me to bother with. Overall I am very pleased. (<- that's me right there)
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