On my '59 Dodge pickup I'm using a solid back folding bench seat (no head or arm rests) from a 1988-'99 Chevy pickup. These seats are used on a lot of projects because they don't look too modern, and the width is a bit narrower than on most modern trucks. Anyway, the foam and upholstery are pretty tired as you'd expect, and I've found that they built similar looking seats a couple of different ways. To quote foam supplier OER: "There were two types of foam originally manufactured for 1988-99 pickups with a bench seat.(One) type Without exposed sag springs. The seat cushion in this style seat was originally molded around the support springs. To install this foam, the cushion must be cut away from the springs and the replacement cushion installed on top of the now exposed springs." And the other type: With Exposed Support Springs: The seat cushion rests on top of the support springs visible underneath the seat. The cushion is removed and the replacement is placed on top of the springs. My question concerns the foam. I have the molded-on style like Type 1 above, but I have a line on a great deal on some foam that is pre-formed for the Type 2 exposed spring seats. Is anybody familiar enough with these to tell me if I can adapt the type 2 foam to the type 1 springs?
It might be possible , but a LOT of work> Find a different seat that came with the vinyl. That will be the right frame .
Where are you getting your Foam. It should work. Will the seat fit without lengthening it, as you said it was shorter in width. If you have to weld on the seat, it will put off toxic gasses as the foam covers the frame. Also, with no pattern from the original seat, it will cost more to recover it. As 56 said, the vinyl seats ,the covers are not moulded to the foam as the cloth ones are. Leather was not an option back then on bench seats.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12548992-M...Tahoe-C1500-/162357301815?hash=item25cd3fd237 This is the foam I’m looking at. As you can see, they say it can fit a whole bunch of trucks that don’t all have the same seat in real life, so they don’t really know what fits what. I read a post from someone who has used it on an 88-99 seat with the exposed springs, but l have the version with molded-in springs. For the price they’re asking it is probably worth a little gamble, if it might be usable or adaptable to my seat. FWIW my seat is stock. I only had to alter the riser to make it fit. This is the upholstery I was thinking about: http://www.acmeautoheadlining.com/19chstcabpif9.html
Are you able to buy from them(ACME). I thought they were only wholesale. Didn`t see a price, I`m not computer savy. That`s where I order my headliners from. Looks like you can`t go wrong with the foam.
I’d be getting the upholstery from Rockauto.com, not direct. They don’t seem to make a distinction between the seats with molded-in springs vs exposed springs.
It shouldn`t make a difference in the foam style. If anything, you might have to add an inch of foam on top the springs. They might be mounted lower than the other style. The price seem reasonable for the covers. Check where the little springs attatch to the frame. They like to e-long-gate the hole, thus lowering the spring mechanism on the drivers side. On highly used seats, the pass side also. I usually have to weld the frame to get the spring tighter.
That foam is a great price if you decide to go that way. I would still try to find a frame from a vinyl seat. Stanlow said it , they are different.
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