Driver's Seat Reupholstery/Swap

Post by **woodngrease** » 02 Aug 2020, 09:01

After countless trips to the pick & pull yards near me trying to find a (second) replacement driver's seat as the one I put in years ago (not perfect then) now looked bad. I've had zero luck now that the remaining '90s examples showing up can now be plated with "historic" tags. Frustrated by yet another seemingly wasted trip last month something I've noticed all along finally sunk in as I stood looking at a perfectly good passenger's seat in this latest parts car which must have been garaged for most of its life, can't I just swap out the covers? Just the holes for the adjustments seem to be different, an easy fix especially since that big center arm rest covers so much of at least the insides. So I took the chance for $40., took it back and put it on a bench in my woodworking shop. I noticed back at the parts yard that the upholstery seemed to be held on entirely by hog rings, I already had a bag of those, as well as the special pliers needed to attach them from past furniture upholstery jobs. Sorry I didn't think to take pictures of the process, but was not nearly as hard as I expected. Since my old foam was torn and shot I swapped that out as well. I did of course reuse the old top frame so that the airbag was on the correct side. All in all it took around 2-3 hours to complete. Thanks to the very high quality foam Volvo uses, which seems to resist drying out and stiffening, the seat is as comfortable as new.

Post by **ZionXIX** » 02 Aug 2020, 09:13

Nice job! I really want to do something similar. Ive considered swapping with 70 series seats.

Post by **woodngrease** » 02 Aug 2020, 09:23

Thanks, knock on wood the seat on our old xc70 are hanging in there, but I would suspect that it's the same operation.

Post by **Sveedy** » 02 Aug 2020, 09:42

Ah... another fellow woodworker using his wood shop to work on his Volvo. Love it !

Post by **abscate** » 02 Aug 2020, 09:53

Nice

Links to other passenger to driver seat skin swaps in Sonic ‘s thread here

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=76527&hilit=Upholstery+swap

Post by **Clemens** » 02 Aug 2020, 12:31

and remember, someone out there makes really nice replica seat covers. can't remeber the name, thiugh.

Nice job, though, @woodngrease!

Post by **abscate** » 02 Aug 2020, 13:14

There’s a master seat cover options thread in the Forum , covering recent options

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=92556

smoggyama · Post by **smoggyama** » 02 Aug 2020, 21:22

Southern California (God's Country), Los Angeles (city of The Angeles), Historic Route 66 in Glendora to be specific in establishing "where". March 2019 is "when". Now here is the "what": I have a '96 850 Turbo wagon that I love and know with great intimacy. I am not a professional mechanic unless the vehicle is a '96 850 Turbo, on which I consider myself an expert authority. I endeavor to keep my 230,000 miles, 24 year old car like new.
For over a year, I tried to restore the front leather seats, while perusing the Pilfer a Part at least once a month for their replacements. This proved to be a futile, ongoing waste of time, otherwise known as a learning experience.
I had a gig in Glendora where I noticed an upholstery shop that I had visited years before with a decorator. I took my beloved 850 in to see if they could do automobile leather. The price quoted was half of what other auto upholstery shops had quoted. The owner (John Mejia) showed me some full skins that were a close match. I left the passenger seat with him. I wont bother to include a photo. Picture in your mind's eye the car as it was in the showroom. Imagine the firm feel and scent of new leather. My only regret is not having this done in the first place. I love my car. -Mark Franklin
SUMMARY. Good price. excellent work, Southern California, you're welcome.
JONES INTERIOR
621 E. Route 66.
Glendora, 91740

Post by **abscate** » 03 Aug 2020, 03:33

I think I have seen two decent sets of front seat leather in P80 Volvos in 8 years of looking at PnPs. That includes the parts car I bought, too, which had a good passenger 3970 graphite

Post by **woodngrease** » 03 Aug 2020, 06:20

That sums it up, it's a rare find. We have around 8 PnP's in and around Baltimore who get in a lot of quality cars, many break your heart that they're being cannibalized. Back last winter I thought I had found I great driver's seat in a mint condition sedan, bought it, and cleaned it up, only to find it was not tan, but, as the Volvo tag underneath said "Grey Oak". The lesson, best not to yank a seat on an overcast day while wearing dirty glasses. I've had it for sale on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/333463570594