MTFCA Forum

Made some headway with the seat upholstery today. Had a few things to fix once I got in there. Installed the new back springs, covered them with canvas and cotton wadding and started to tack the cover material along the bottom tack strip. Seems impossible to get my pneumatic tacking gun in there. Guess I need to use the old spring type.

Tomorrow I’ll start the folding and tacking along the top. Any tricks to getting those puckers out of the button areas or is that common with original spring type (not foam) installations? Also ... do you form the folds for tacking one direction from center and then the other direction?

This is what I did Mark
The foam strip across the top edge of the spring helped form the nice round crown. The pleats create themselves as you pull the upholstery up around the top from the center to the outsides

Looking good Doug. !!

Looks good to me! Some of those puckers are due to the curve at the top of the seat back and the pulling around the end of the spring. The material needs to be stretched as tight as you can get it. Some puckers will just be there.
Norm

Unless you are in a heated garage, this is not time of year to do this. You need the heat of the sun to make the material do like it should. Dan

This is how far I got today. Yes, it’s difficult now that it’s colder out. I discovered that even though I carefully centered the upholstery onto the top and bottom tacking strips, the seams are not symmetrical on the ends where they come to the curve. Got the passenger side to work but there is too much material on the drivers side to make a transition without a big fold. Have taken it apart four times. Finally gave up and took the T for a drive.

Mark, about a dozen years ago I wrestled with a backrest installation, and finally figured out the maker left out a pleat. Not sure who made it as it came with the car.
One trick Is to always start at the middle and work your way out. Whether you are doing a top, or a seat. Also, your backrest pleats should line up with the seat pleats. Might also help to do it in the garage with a couple temporary heat lamps overhead. Keep at it, looking great.Don’t be afraid to walk away and regroup, though.