These are NOT your mother's K-Mart seat covers. You attach them with hog rings. You stretch them like crazy. You powder the corners so the foam won't tear. You align and realign. It's a lot of work but they look original.

awesome! You wouldn't happen to have before during and after pics do you? This is something I'm really considering trying myself instead of paying someone to do it. Do you recommend for a newbie?

Well. You asked for it! You can see that the door panel and brake console had not yet been replaced. They have now!!     

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|UPDATED|5/24/2014 7:10:56 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Ya the nomenclature would have you believed exactly what you said. The product is all new upholstery. You remove the hog wires, clips etc....break em all the way down to bare frames. I purchased new foam since my seats allow your butt to ride on the frame. I figure I'll be stting a couple inches higher when I have finished. I have yet to attack the seats. Will pull em out over the weekend and start the refurb next week.
Dave

Best of luck to you. This was my first step in the restoration. I'm very proud of how it's worked out. More expensive and harder work than I expected. But there is a lot of pride in it too.

Wow! The seats look beautiful!! Certainly something to be proud of! Did you need and special tools to break them down completly? Please tell me, where did you get the covers and what color did you go with? They look, from the pics anyway, very similar to my 425 Drk Red Vinyl, which I'm having a tough time finding.

I got mine at Willcox. Part #421330. They are just red. The only red available for a 72. Willcox had a 20% off sale. Al Knoch makes the best though. I would use them next time. Willcox covers come from Corvette America and they're fine. Special tools. Hog ring pliers. Seat cover clip installation tool. Nothing else that's special. Hair drier or heat gun. Socket set. Wire brush and rust inhibiting paint for the frame. You will likely find rust. Por-15 or similar to repaint the frame. Spray on glue to finish the foam install. And baby powder to slide covers over the foam.

Hint: the seat cover clips (those attach the covers to the frame through the foam) suck. I don't see how they can hold up over time. My originals used chains of hog rings. Ultimately I duplicated those chains with new hog rings. You can use the clips as a guide for length. Once you get into the job you'll see why the seat cover clips are so bad. They're thin and stiff. Prone to breaking or coming loose. Hog ring chains are flexible and tough. You can also buy chain, cut to size, and attach hog rings at each end to attach to seat and frame.

I used the cheap hog ring pliers. They're bad but they work...barely. If i do it again I'll buy better pliers. The main thing is to take your time and be patient. It's sure to cause you to use a very colorful vocabulary. The first seat takes forever. Take pictures as you disassemble. I didn't and it added a few hours to the job. Be meticulous. If you do, people will ask you where you got the covers done. Trust me on this one!

IMPORTANT: watch the Corvette America instructional videos over and over again. They're online. Toss the written instructions. I hold a Ph.D. and I am completely unable to decipher the written instructions. I have no idea how you could do it right by reading those things.

|UPDATED|5/24/2014 12:11:53 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Welcome to the club I almost have a twin to yours but I have a 76 L82 with white seats and white door panels and everything else is red Enjoy it !!! I'm sure your going to love it !!

I really appreciate the tips and instruction! I will search and price covers while deciding if this is a good project for me. I will also look for the how to vids on corvette America. That should give me a good idea if this is something I can handle. Thanks again!

Thank you for the welcome! Your Vette is beautiful! I would enjoy seeing pics of your red/white interior. I was thinking of the same scheme!