dogwalkfinds: August 2018

We are getting to the end of this project. The metal and mechanicals are mostly done, so it is time to put some effort into the softer parts.

Bucket seat - ha ha

I've been using the bucket seat to test drive around the yard, but I have two complete sets of bench seats that will fit. The seat bottom and back that I took out (and had been using since 1981) were in the truck when I got it. The bottom is original, but the back has had a bracket transplant. These would be the obvious choice for rehab, but I'm too sentimental about stuff to tear those seat covers off.

too good to change

I also have the seats from the California truck which look completely original, but are a little crusty from years in the desert.

bottom

back

Nothing to lose here. Time to fix them up a little.

Remember when a certain chain of clothing stores put antique trucks in all of their stores?

I liked the fact that they used real trucks. It made going to the mall a little more fun, but it also made me a little sad to see these great trucks relegated to immobile advertising displays. Where are they now?
There is another chain of clothing stores doing something similarly fun, but sad, with some great old machines.

I would bet that, with a few parts and a little effort, most of these machines would work perfectly. My 7th grade home economics classroom had about 20 of these classic Singer machines. Thanks to Mrs. Muriel Wild, all of them lasted many, many years and I got my sewing machine driver's license on one of them.
Skip forward just a few years and I'm ready to see if I've still got it. I have many yards of upholstery material from craigslist and an old Singer 503 "The Rocketeer" sewing machine from the local Habitat for Humanity store. So, with some good memories and some help from Youtube, I began to reupholster my seats.

Singer 503 "The Rocketeer"

The bench seat for this truck is pretty basic - one big cushion for the seat and one big cushion for the seat back. I have an old, vinyl seat cover that I used as the pattern for the bottom.

My upholstery material is not very truckish, but it seems sturdy and I have a ton of it in case things go wrong.

There are a lot of different experts on doing this, and I tried to do it well, but I'm sure there are better ways. It took some time to get all the old material out and to clean up the springs. On top of the springs I put a double layer of burlap, then a cut to size layer of 2"x24"x72" high density upholstery foam and then a layer of polyester batting. I pulled it all sort of tight and kept it together with some hog rings.

Then I carefully pulled the new cover (triple stitched, of course) over the top and clipped it onto the frame (reusing the little clips I took off when disassembling at the start).