The best deals on used trucks are found on rigs that are mechanically sound but a little rough in the visual department. Usually, a right-priced truck will have a seat that is somewhat dilapidated, if not completely worn out. Don’t worry, you can fix this in short order. The seat in your truck may look old, ugly, and not worth a darn, but all it needs is a little tender loving care. Most likely the basic seat frame is in fine shape, it’s just the seat cover, and possibly the foam, that is worn out. To fix things, all you need to do is reupholster the seat. Sure, you could take it to a shop, but if you want to keep your budget in balance, you can tackle the task yourself. We decided to do just that with the bench seat from a ’72 Chevy 4x4 pickup. This seat was in dire need of a new cover and foam.
We contacted Brothers Truck Parts, a company that specializes in early Chevy parts, and had them fill us in on our seat restoration options. Brothers informed us that we had a few choices: vinyl “Madrid grain” cover, a factory reproduction “Walrus grain” vinyl cover, or a factory reproduction “Houndstooth” cloth insert cover. We opted for the Madrid. We felt that the vinyl was perfect for the dusty conditions of the trail. Also, the price was $100 less than the other two options, and as such was easier on our budget. Brothers also had a solution to our damaged seat foam. We ordered new base foam to replace our aged and decaying factory foam. Brothers also offers a roll of thin foam you can use to reface and restore your seatback to its original shape.
Installation time for our project was about four hours. Follow along and see if you want to tackle this task at home.