I bought some factory seats for my Jeep to replace the uncomfortable aftermarket seats that were In my Jeep when I bought it. I was able to find a nice set of original factory seats, but the drivers seat needed some restoration.
There was the usual foam deterioration on the outside of the seat and bolster, (Sorry, forgot to take before pictures!) but when I took the cushion off I found the frame itself was bent.
I used a pry-bar to get the frame more or less flat and added a tack weld on the right front corner to repair a split in the metal. I knew that even though I was able to straighten the frame, it would probably bend again so I added some reinforcement.
I used an existing hole in the bottom of the frame and drilled a new hole in the top frame bar so they lined up. Then I used a piece of 1/2” electrical tubing and a carriage bolt to stiffen the frame. The frame has some structural ridges molded into it, so I carved a groove in the end of my tubing with a grinder to match that ridge and then bolted it together using a lock washer.
I noticed that the spring frame was loose, but didn’t have any springs laying around, so I just changed the locations of the existing springs to tighten up the whole spring frame. For the front 2 springs, I drilled new holes and relocated the springs. For the other 4 springs, I moved the springs to different parts of the wire grid. In the pictures, you can see that the springs had worn notches into the grid, so moving them was appropriate. This stiffened the spring frame considerably, only time will tell of my plan works.
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After that, I just had to repair the foam and the split seat cover seam. The foam repair I did with spray contact cement and new foam. I was able to get thick foam from an upholstery/fabric shop for free. Once I repaired the split foam, I added another layer of felt (that I just happen to have) across the entire area of the spot so it would have extra support. I am lucky enough to have a neighbor who did the sewing for me. While not perfect, I think it came out great!
There was the usual foam deterioration on the outside of the seat and bolster, (Sorry, forgot to take before pictures!) but when I took the cushion off I found the frame itself was bent.
I used a pry-bar to get the frame more or less flat and added a tack weld on the right front corner to repair a split in the metal. I knew that even though I was able to straighten the frame, it would probably bend again so I added some reinforcement.
I used an existing hole in the bottom of the frame and drilled a new hole in the top frame bar so they lined up. Then I used a piece of 1/2” electrical tubing and a carriage bolt to stiffen the frame. The frame has some structural ridges molded into it, so I carved a groove in the end of my tubing with a grinder to match that ridge and then bolted it together using a lock washer.
I noticed that the spring frame was loose, but didn’t have any springs laying around, so I just changed the locations of the existing springs to tighten up the whole spring frame. For the front 2 springs, I drilled new holes and relocated the springs. For the other 4 springs, I moved the springs to different parts of the wire grid. In the pictures, you can see that the springs had worn notches into the grid, so moving them was appropriate. This stiffened the spring frame considerably, only time will tell of my plan works.
.
After that, I just had to repair the foam and the split seat cover seam. The foam repair I did with spray contact cement and new foam. I was able to get thick foam from an upholstery/fabric shop for free. Once I repaired the split foam, I added another layer of felt (that I just happen to have) across the entire area of the spot so it would have extra support. I am lucky enough to have a neighbor who did the sewing for me. While not perfect, I think it came out great!
