Project Racing Seat Rehab

So I posted a little info in the daily thread about this and thought it might be good to provide more information on what was done with some pictures because who doesn't like a diy with pictures.

Several years ago I picked up an F1 Spec version of a Bride Gias seat, so a cheaper look alike of a very popular and very pricey seat. Functionally this seat has been great and for the first few years it looked pretty good as well. However over time the seat upholstery has faded, a few small holes were starting to appear, and I was developing a list of things I would like to change about the seat to make it more comfortable.

The image below will show you what my seat looked like when it started life, however my seat was all black rather than all red. The areas boxed in blue and yellow are where I made the adjustments.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psw5hp8a5d.png

The first item on the list was to address the seat bottom, specifically the areas boxed in yellow. I wanted to be able to rest my leg on the center console during long drives and due to how high the sides of the seat bottom come up that was not possible.

So after removing the upholstery and the base foam, I started to mark my cut. I marked the cut to be level with the side of the seat frame, making the sidesas low as possible without changing the frame or how the seat bottom bolts to the frame. The image on the bottom right shows the difference in before and after height.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psqjofetin.png

The next step was to modify the pieces I cut off of the seat bottom so that they could be used to finish the new lower edges of the seat bottom. To do this I broke out the files and dremel tool. Then I bolted the shaped pieces back to the seat bottom. This provided nice rounded edges for reattaching the foam and would allow the new upholstery to mimic the initial shape.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...ps2i8rsdh6.png

Now that I had the shaped edge pieces reattached to the seat bottom I needed to do some shaping so that the transition from the seat bottom to the modified edge pieces was smooth and consistent. The first step here was to add some thin strips of steel to provide a solid base over the parts. The second step was to break out the expanding foam. Since I was going to be reinstalling the seat foam over this surface all I needed was a material that would bond to the seat parts that was easily shapeable, and expanding foam does just that. Once the foam was applied I then shaped and sanded it to provide a nice and smooth finished surface. This took two applications of the foam as there were some gaps in the material after the first application.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psatgizw88.png

With the seat bottom sorted and awaiting new upholstery, I started in on the area boxed in blue. The side bolsters on this seat come straight out from the seat back shell, and they have always pinched my sides when I would wear a jacket or coat and sit in the seat. The remedy the issue my plan was to flare the side bolsters outward.

With the upholstery and foam removed I discovered that the seat back is actually a little hollow in this area. So the plan was to cut off the side bolster supports and then reattach them to the shell using steel supports. The first picture shows the mark line for the cut. The second pictures shows the right side bolster support cut off and the left side attached via tape at the desired outward angle. The bottom photos show the cuts in the seat back shell filled with foam and the first of the two steel support pieces in place. The supports actually feed between the seat back shell and the seat frame, so they are locked in place.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psopxh8t3y.png

These pictures show how the steel supports use the same mounting holes as the seat frame, the frame is just slid back out of the way for fitment trials. After some shaping the cut side bolster parts are attached to the new steel supports via rivets. And then the seat frame and seat foam are put back in place.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psj7fhsgtj.png

These shots show the parts after all the structural work was complete. You can see in the bottom left image how the side bolsters are no longer vertical but rather extend outward in a V-shape.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...pssnza9hp5.png

Now that the seat was the shape I wanted, the next step was to replace the faded and worn cloth with some new vinyl and suede. While looking for inspiration on how I wanted to refinish the seats I stumbled across these Buddy Club seats and really liked the contoured stitching on the seating surface.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server35...-spec-seat.jpg

So I figured I would try something similar with my seat.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psoz0m6rta.png

I opted for fewer but larger contours. It was a bit of a pita but I think the end product turned out nice.

Here is a picture of the seat complete and reinstalled in my car. It's tough to get a good picture of the seat in the car so this one isn't that good. I will have to try to grab a better one this week at the NG.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l3...psrmd2fmtp.png

In hindsight this was quite the job, however the investment in materials was significantly less that buying a new seat and I got to try out new stuff with the upholstery work. And since I used automotive upholstery fabrics the materials hold up better than the original stuff.

Awesome thread!

Never seen anyone so something like this. But it's a very clever approach to get a custom fit seat without breaking the bank.