[T3] Hello again, update & upholstery

[Jim Adney]

On 23 Oct 2014 at 18:37, Doug Brashear wrote:

> I used to be more involved in this list, but am now a regular
> lurker...I have a '73 Fasty that was T-boned 8 years ago, found to
> have more rust than expected, and have been progressive a little bit
> each year to get it back to daily driver (or "driver" at all) status.
> I finally got the engine back in and running pretty well a few days
> ago (with new clutch, fuel hoses, fuel pump and more) and now I'm
> getting my ducks in a row to have the car painted (never thought I'd
> get to this point). 

Nice to have you back, Doug. Hope this gets you going again soon.

> Anyway, I wanted to ask you all about seat padding (wooooo, exciting).
> :-) Does anyone make "horsehair" pads for T3 seats, specifically for
> my stick '73 seats? I went with the foam padding last time and really
> don't like how far I sink in (and I'm not that heavy). After recently
> redoing my stock '75 Bus seats with new horsehair pads from WW I was
> impressed with the firmness.  Any suggestions?

If you can get coir pads that will fit your '73 that would be great. 
If they fit, please let us know so the rest of us know where to go 
for this common repair.

When I redid the seats on my '73 I found a previous repair that used 
foam padding. The seat springs had quickly eaten all the way thru 
that foam, so I knew that I needed to do something different. First, 
we have to cover the springs with something flexible that will spread 
the force out and still be tough enough to stand up to the line 
contacts with the spring. I used scraps of good quality carpet, face 
down so the spring would have to eat all the way thru before it could 
get to the backing, before it would let the carpet come apart. I 
wrapped the carpet around the edges of the spring frame and hand 
stitched it to itself to anchor it in place.

On top of the carpet I used some fiber padding that I got from a 
local upholestery shop. I also used some scraps from heavy felt 
carpet padding that I got locally. Then I added a thin layer of foam 
padding. Note that polyurethane comes in several grades, from soft to 
extra firm. You don't want to go with the softest grade, which 
happens to be the cheapest.

The hardest part was fitting the new covers over the front seat 
backs. The new covers wanted to stick to the foam rather than slide 
down over the seat back. I had to cover the foam with cloth to get 
everything to work.

Finally, save the wires that are used to anchor the covers. Don't use 
the string that the vendors supply. It's just too flimsy. I have good 
14 AWG galvanized steel wire if anyone needs some. Install it exactly 
like the factory did, with those sharp little triangular anchors, and 
it will stay in place.

-- 
*******************************
Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
*******************************