Technical How many are running Original Seat Frames?

I second the THANKS, this is one of the best threads in a few years.

 

Heck yeah... Its got three stars, It must be good!

 

Have the OEM seat frames in my 35 phaeton and using the OEM seat frames in my 46 sedanette. Springs are good and when covered they are fine to sit on. The 35 front seat is not adjustable, what so see is what you get as it ties into 'B' pillar and wraps around. Springs are available if you look around, easy to replace a broken one. Used leather in the 35 and broadcloth in the 46 as per original. When done as per OEM they will last another 60yrs, way after I'm gone.

 

I know that seat!

 

Im in the middle of building an original shapped style seat out of new materials for a 33 Plymouth. Think its going to work out well. Using the zig zags and the base flips up.

 

Well its going much slower than originally planed. I've been ultra busy with the Hamb Fathers day seat offer on the OHamb O'dex. But I did spent a good amount of time Saturday removing the old outer upholstery. Had to mask and glove up to keep from breathing the mouse and rat shit that was inside... Man o Man what a mess! Anyway Ive decided to keep the original frame work and build a newer style spring frame that will be the same size and shape as the original springs it will be much stronger with zig zag springs but will still be look like nothing was improved. Hope to do more on it next weekend.

This is the same seat as the first seat pics in this thread...

 

I'm finding this thread very interesting, and did not realize that anybody was seriously committed to rebuilding original seats. My '40 came with bare springs for the seat and split backs and a frame for the seat springs, but many pieces are missing (including tracks) to make a complete seat assembly even before upholstery. My car is channeled 2 1/2", so it may be impractical to try to re-use the stock bench seat, but I am interested in exploring the possibility.

 

I tried to change but it was so heavy I couldn't move it.

 

Great thread!! I am planning on using the stock seats in my 29 Coupe when I get to that part. Lucky for me I have a couple of other sets of springs I can use for any repairs that I may have to make. I do like the zig zag springs and may consider adding them to firm up the original seat. When I did a Seat for my stepson's OT '68 chev truck I was able to get another seat and take it apart for replacement springs. Its also nice to have a place to keep the extra parts. (I guess that's why my garage is so full of junk.) You never know when you might need a repair piece.

 

I'll be using the original seat frame in my '36.

 

One nice thing about coils over zig-zag is the difference in the front edge of the seat. The area along the front under your thighs. Coils allow a flexible "spring edge" that moves up and down under the pressure of your legs.
Zig-zags don't because they are attached to an inflexible rail at the front.
When possible, coils are worth saving.

 

Got the seats out of my 36 Chevy Standard Coach. Looks like I am Good to Go when the time comes to upholster. The car only has 12,900 miles. I will have to make brackets to move the front seats back. I am 6'6" tall and that is rough as this car has a 109" wheelbase. This Thread is Great !!!
Jeff

 

Great thread. I have the stock seat in my coupe, with original upholstery hiding under the Mexican blanket. I had the stock seat, in the truck, until a few weeks ago. It's in desperate need of rebuilding, as the base plywood is coming apart, so I've temporarily swapped it with a late model van seat.

One tip that you can do, with coil springs, is stuff them with foam, to help firm up the ride. It helped, some, on my truck, but with the plywood being in such bad shape, only a total rebuild will help it. I cut strips of carpet foam (what I had available), about the width of the spring height, rolled it up tightly, and screwed it into the springs.

 

Back in the day, they would stuff the outside perimeter springs with cotton wadding to aid in handling the extra pressure that was always applied there when getting in and out of the vehicle. I was always amazed at the way manufactureres would use small gauge wire and twine under the top covers to hold the inner burlap cover in place for the long haul. Some of these seats lasted an incredible amount of time before finally deteriorating beyond comfortable use. Foam rubber was used a lot after the war and that stuff lasted better than the poly foam. Sadly, it's harder to find some of the original materials that were used for trimming. Good quality cotton pad has been replaced by synthetic but it works OK. Polyfoam has replaced the foam rubber. Goodyear's plant that made heavy foam rubber burned way back in the middle of the last century so the only foam rubber made now if from foreign sources and it's just not the same as the Goodyear stuff was.

 

This is an original 1947 Plymouth seat frame.

First thing I did was retie the coil springs but I pulled them 2" more than stock. ( I will be using 2" of foam to pad the seat and the seat cover has a 1/2" sew foam. ) Then I covered it with Burlap using hog rings and stretching the burlap rather tight. Next I covered the burlap with 40oz ( about 3/4" ) automotive grade jute carpet padding. Then I applied 1" thick firm high density foam using glue and wrapping the front and side edges about 4". Next a 1" thick medium firm high density sheet of foam was applied wrapping the edges about 4". I use an electric knife to taper the foam around the edges then use my grinder and 80 grit to give it the final shape.
If you need to ad more resilience to the seat, ( I weigh 320lbs ) you can use stake wire http://www.wsusol.com/p-729-spring-stake-wire-w-paper-1-yd-16-ga.aspx. Cut lengths of stake wire long enough to go across the seat ( long ways ). Place them about 4" apart. This will help distribute the weight and work on coil as well as no sag. http://www.wsusol.com/p-732-spring-120-ft-roll-no-sag-spring9-ga.aspx

 

beauiful seat you have there Jim... I noticed it on the "show us your finished seats" thread. Love color selection, deep v white on grey with that red piping knocks it out of the park in my opinion. Thanks for the post.

 

this seat used zig zag front support springs.

 

Good point and that is a nice set-up. Earlier seats that switched over to zig zags were made that way to retain a spring edge.
My reference was regarding some of the new hot rod seats which use thicker foam to attain a soft front edge.

Nice to see all these posts.

 

i cut that '60's ford seat down to fit my '33 chevy. it is very comfortable.

 

Thanks... The owner picked out the colors and I have to say he was spot on!

 

I've got an original seat in my AV8, Well actually it took two seats to make one, one found locally and the other was shipped from Nevada. I was a little worried about head clearance with my 4 1/2 inch chop, but it's not bad (except for the big bumps when my head hits roof, I'm learning to duck!) I was able to save the original stuffing but the covers were shot, they were replaced with red leather from an old couch from a frat house at U.Maine, I bet it has stories to tell! But I like the sound of the spings squeaking and the smell of the leather (I hope that's leather I smell...)

 

Xs 2... We tend to build the seat frame with the zig zag no sag springs rather low profile. By doing that the seat base is built up with High Density foam to a thickness that the front frame work is not felt at all under the but or legs. New materials arent a bad thing at all, and often more comfortable... Its just not original equipment.

 

On my 39 coupe, we replaced the stock seat that folded up from the bottom for a 37 tudor split back seat. These seat backs folded forward normally.
Had an older interior guy bolster the bottom to keep it from squishing down on the sides and remain solid. You won't slide off this seat like you did before.

 

'40 Tudor seat in my '40 pickup. Way more comfortable than the original and once I modify the top seatback tubes to eliminate the "kickback" to the rear, they will lay back at the angle they originally did without hitting the back of the cab.

 

All original seats in my 35 Chevy phaeton and in my 46 Oldsmobile. No issues.

 

I know this thread was last active in 2014... I have a 1941 Willys pickup and I would like to rebuild the stock seat. The pics in this thread have been very useful and I note that the construction method used by Willys is not quite the same as the other manufacturer's shown. The seat bottom uses a tubular metal frame that hold about 14 formed wire springs. The wire is first formed into a pair of torsion springs to support the front perimeter wire edge, then is formed as a zig-zag from front to back, when it reaches the back wire edge it switches to a torsion spring that attaches to the tubular frame. The seat back appears to be made up of paired zig-zag springs formed into Y at the top edge and bent into a V at the lower edge.

Question: 1)If I can get one of the bottom springs out intact will a spring company make these for me without costing an arm or a leg or should a make my own jig to make them myself - the wire is ~0.17" diameter
2)I have no patterns or example to look at for how the coverings were attached(all gone when I got this truck). Is there a standard method? The back and bottom frames are rigidly connected, the whole seat flips forward about the bottom front edge.
Thanks for any help

 

Don't apologize for resurrecting a useful thread. Over time it will become a repository for seat building information and serve lots of people. I'm thrilled to see this thread, since I also have a seat-building project in my plans.

I noted an earlier poster mentioned adding foam inside his seat springs to firm up a seat that was too mushy. I have a similar problem, and I'm wondering what the proper solution is when you sink too deeply into a seat and wish it were firmer.

Here's the backside of the seat I'm dealing with, a '55 Studebaker Coupe seat:

 

The seats in my '60 VW use horsehair for the padding; over time the springs in the seat tend to erase the horsehair. When I redid my seats, I cut a piece of carpet to go between the horsehair and the springs.
Something else I've noticed in every old car I've ever driven or sat in is how those seats help with good posture...some of the new cars and trucks I've had to drive recently really hurt my upper back and neck, as they tend to force me to sit in a hunched-over position. Some of the OEM's seat designers must've flunked Ergonomics 101.

 

You will most likely have to make a spring or find a parts seat.

 

People are all different sizes and shapes, and what one finds to be comfortable another is miserable in. I've had that same feeling of having my upper back and shoulders pushed forward. My wife finds that same seat to be comfortable. She's quite a bit shorter than I am, though, so it hits her differently.



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