Best seat foam for 1972?

[Gary S.]

I am planning on pulling my 72 LT1 out of hibernation in the next 2-4 days, depending on weather and my schedule but I thought I would ask about seat foam.

Is Al Knoch still considered one of the best providers of foam (only)? My interior is in excellent condition but the seats are a bit flat (they look pretty good for being almost 45 1/2 years old) and there is an abundance of yellow "dust" every time the seats are sat in or even cleaned. So I thought I would redo the seat cushions using the original vinyl covers. What is the opinion of Al K?

Also, from memory, the seats are held in by four screws/bolts and one of the inboard screws has a stripped capture nut. I am not even sure that is the correct phrase but it is welded to a metal piece on the floor. I will actually have to look at the AIM to see the nomenclature but it is in storage with the car. Is there a way to replace this captured nut or do I continue to run a longer bolt and nut down through the floor to secure the seat?

Thanks in advance.

Gary

[Harmon C.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

To begin with the yellow dust comes from the padding in the seat covers so replacing the foam won't help. Also it is very hard to reuse old seat covers. You could weld a new nut on the plate then rivet it back on or buy a new plate.

[Joe L.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

I am planning on pulling my 72 LT1 out of hibernation in the next 2-4 days, depending on weather and my schedule but I thought I would ask about seat foam.

Is Al Knoch still considered one of the best providers of foam (only)? My interior is in excellent condition but the seats are a bit flat (they look pretty good for being almost 45 1/2 years old) and there is an abundance of yellow "dust" every time the seats are sat in or even cleaned. So I thought I would redo the seat cushions using the original vinyl covers. What is the opinion of Al K?

Also, from memory, the seats are held in by four screws/bolts and one of the inboard screws has a stripped capture nut. I am not even sure that is the correct phrase but it is welded to a metal piece on the floor. I will actually have to look at the AIM to see the nomenclature but it is in storage with the car. Is there a way to replace this captured nut or do I continue to run a longer bolt and nut down through the floor to secure the seat?

Thanks in advance.

Gary

Gary------

Lyle is absolutely correct. The yellow dust is caused by the rotting of the padding sewn in underneath the Comfort Weave seat inserts. It's very difficult to replace this padding. Plus, there will almost always be some deterioration of the Comfort Weave, anyway.

If you do need or want to replace the seat foam, Al Knoch is a good source.

The easiest thing to do regarding the stripped weld-nut is to simply restore the threads in the nut with a thread insert. I prefer a Thread-Sert for this kind of repair but a Heli Coil should work fine, too.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Agree with Lyle.

I know those who have had the original covers redone with new padding to get rid of the dust, and then reinstalled.
No matter who you get it from, original foam works and fits far better than reproduction foam. It's a bear to fit covers over new foam, and the new foam will take a lot of custom cutting and shaping to work.

Cheaper to vacuum the car regularly like the rest of us do.

[Michael J.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

I have always used Al Knoch and never had an issue or a problem with fit. I just did my '66 with his leather covers and his foam to bring the car back to trim tag compliance after almost 40 years of vinyl.

[Russ S.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Looks great Mike, but a judge will say Overstuffed. Been there.

[Gary S.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Lyle,
Until you mentioned it, I had forgotten that a lot of the dust is attributed to the vinyl padding instead of the seat foam. Oth, the seats are very flat and don't support like I expect them too, even for very old cushions.

Patrick,
Trust me, I vacuum the dust up routinely and it is relatively painless but back to my response to Lyle.

I am still going to do this as well as a couple of minor issues in the steering column and one major issue as I trace the cause of oil losses. Once I get the car out of storage, I am going to do a complete investigation on my oil use. The archives have been helpful here. I will probably post about this in a week or two.

Joe,
Good idea about revitalizing the threads with an insert - welding is out due to zero experience and no welding equipment.

[Michael J.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Guess I better get lots of seat time before judging then........

[Patrick B.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

I used Al Knock seat foams years ago, but they made the seats too high for head clearance and I put the originals back in. I also thought the dust was from the seat foams until I removed the covers and saw the real source of the dust. Maybe the Al Knock foams are better now, but the originals are really durable unlike the foam sewn into the covers.

[Joe L.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Lyle,
Until you mentioned it, I had forgotten that a lot of the dust is attributed to the vinyl padding instead of the seat foam. Oth, the seats are very flat and don't support like I expect them too, even for very old cushions.

Patrick,
Trust me, I vacuum the dust up routinely and it is relatively painless but back to my response to Lyle.

I am still going to do this as well as a couple of minor issues in the steering column and one major issue as I trace the cause of oil losses. Once I get the car out of storage, I am going to do a complete investigation on my oil use. The archives have been helpful here. I will probably post about this in a week or two.

Joe,
Good idea about revitalizing the threads with an insert - welding is out due to zero experience and no welding equipment.

Gary------

I've never really done any seat upholstery work on my cars. However, many years ago I took a seat upholstery class at Bloomington. The instructor was a fellow whose name I've forgotten but it was quickly apparent to me that he really knew his stuff as far as upholstery goes. He re-upholstered seats during the class. He did not replace the seat foam. However, he added strips of new foam at certain places over the existing foam. The seats came out PERFECT.

By the way, the Comfortweave insert material used on L1969-76 Corvettes was actually a woven vinyl material and not just an impressed pattern. That's why the "dust" comes up through it. As far as I know, all of the reproduction seat covers use a simulated Comfortweave which is not actually a woven vinyl but just an impressed pattern. It appears very much like the original material, though. Plus, the "dust" problem is forever solved.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Gary------

By the way, the Comfortweave insert material used on L1969-76 Corvettes was actually a woven vinyl material and not just an impressed pattern. That's why the "dust" comes up through it. As far as I know, all of the reproduction seat covers use a simulated Comfortweave which is not actually a woven vinyl but just an impressed pattern. It appears very much like the original material, though. Plus, the "dust" problem is forever solved.

Unfortunately the reproduction vinyl covers don't breathe at all, unlike the woven material of the originals. Given the option, I'd do whatever it took to repair originals and reuse them. The repros get REALLY sticky on a hot day.

FYI, it's the seatbacks that are the most difficult to install and get correct.
I also agree with Joe that adding a bit of foam or other material may work out much better than replacing all of the seat foam.

[Terry M.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

Gary------

I've never really done any seat upholstery work on my cars. However, many years ago I took a seat upholstery class at Bloomington. The instructor was a fellow whose name I've forgotten but it was quickly apparent to me that he really knew his stuff as far as upholstery goes. He re-upholstered seats during the class. He did not replace the seat foam. However, he added strips of new foam at certain places over the existing foam. The seats came out PERFECT.

By the way, the Comfortweave insert material used on L1969-76 Corvettes was actually a woven vinyl material and not just an impressed pattern. That's why the "dust" comes up through it. As far as I know, all of the reproduction seat covers use a simulated Comfortweave which is not actually a woven vinyl but just an impressed pattern. It appears very much like the original material, though. Plus, the "dust" problem is forever solved.

I don't think the embossed reproduction "Comfort Weave" looks at all like the real deal material. And I don't think restoration is a religion either.

[Joe L.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

I don't think the embossed reproduction "Comfort Weave" looks at all like the real deal material. And I don't think restoration is a religion either.

Terry------


Well, to me it appears very close to the original. In fact, for years, until I looked very closely, I did not even realize that it was not authentic Comfortweave material. No matter, though, as that's all that's available.

As far as restoration and religion goes, I think you need to more fully understand the definition of religion. The term "religion" has several different connotations. Below I quote the 4th connotation from the New College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary"

"4. Any objective attempted to or pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. A collector might make a religion of his hobby"


The above connotation is exactly what I was referring to. And, while some folks may doubt it, I repeat something I've said many times before: for me, Corvettes or restoration is not a religion. They are of great interest to me but are NOT a religion.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

I can pick out the repro stuff from several feet away, but having installed it in my own car I know what to look for.
Ironically, the repro material that came out of my 71 looks a lot better than what I put in.

Also, I believe that there is a correct material out there, and I know who has it. It is not a Corvette restoration house, however.

[Gary S.]

Re: Best seat foam for 1972?

The discussion of whether or not the repro Comfort Weave looks good enough for judging is really a moot point, at least on this thread. My seats are in excellent condition and will be reused. There isn't a burn, tear, scuff, abrasion or even a weak seam.

Oth, Patrick are you going to reveal your source for "correct" material?

Joe L,
I should add that I added some extra foam when I was reconditioning my 1966. It was truly a hodgepodge of parts and the seats were really tired. That was fairly easy since all I was doing was adding some semi-stiff foam, not even 3/4" thick, just to "fluff up" the vinyl. In addition, my old Mercedes 240D had REALLY easy seats to do. Doing these Mercedes seats was an eye opener into amazing engineering and how it facilitated those replacement of the padding.