Upholstery Advice On 65 Cj5

I realize that and we talked about it... The original seats weren't original to my jeep they were original to another which really means nothing. I went through a lot of pleated material I just didn't like.... Those I did weren't marine or were so expensive it didn't make sense for me. So we came up with this idea.. My thought being I have so much else to fix let's get something I can sit on that will last for a while. I can always pull them later and do a full factory when I don't have so many other things.

 

And that’s what I said about what "you" want. Most of us trying to do a "restoration" do take some deviations in our quest for originality. Me included.

 

To your point tho, I'm trying hard to go with original with as much as I can.... Thx for your input as it's guts like y'all that keep me straight

 

Nice work on rebuilding your seats. Not completely "original", but nice looking and functional. I've had seats stitched similar to yours. and used thin-ish marine (closed cell) foam that didn't absorb water. I also waterproofed the stitching by sealing the underside of the stitching with "shoe glue" adhesive.
There are marine vinyls that have embossed "stitching" so they are waterproof which are practical, but not the same as original.
-Donny

 

Thx Donny... Howard

 

BTW, I used to coach ⚾ at ODU... Brother in law lives on Artic and somethingth?

 

I did my undergrad degree at ODU from '78 to '82. I also taught the nightschool scuba diving program for the university in the mid/late '80s.
-Donny

 

Damn, my wife and I got certified in that pool in the late 80's. That's nuts!!

 

I started teaching at ODU probably spring of '87. I used both pools on the campus, usually the one at the back of Webb Center, but sometimes at the old stadium pool. In your time period, it was likely that I was your instructor, or the guy I took over from (where I was still assisting). I certified more than 140 students at ODU. The other instructor was an ex -Navy Seal that originally certified me. I'm guessing your NAUI certified?
-Donny

 

We are , though we haven't dived in years.

 

Maybe late to the party on this thread. But I'll offer my 2-cents. I am in the process of restoring my seats to factory. The jeep had original seats, I'm the second owner. As I removed the vinyl which ended up being three layers. I got to the original Buff Wellington. Then I took the seat frames ( I had to source one since one was in bad shape and too rusted out) to my sandblaster/powder coater. He put all three in the bake off oven to remove foam and rust. Then I replaced all the springs ( I had Zig Zags). Back to powder coater. While that was going on I ordered vinyl from SMS out in Oregon.. Which I will NEVER do again. They have horrible customer service. Kim there just feeds you her BS. Charged my credit card in full on day one. Told me 8-wks. And it took 6 months. And I only got them in 6 because I got so pissed I emailed the owner with complaint. BUT if you can wait...a year or more...it may be worth it. The color is dead on to factory. The welting is dead on to factory. I just got the fabric last week. So now the powder coated frames and vinyl will go off to my local shop for new foam and covers. I have one stock seat with only Foam on it which will be used as a pattern for the foam contouring. See pics on my build thread. (See Signature for link).