I have bought new seat skins and foam for my 69 Camaro. Is this a job for the experts or can a novice do it ? I have never tried interior before and want the seats to good

Well, I guess it depends on what you call a novice. If you just bought your car and didn't at least participate in the build, then you might be a novice. But if you can change plug wires and/or change your own oil, then you are certainly qualified to tackle the upholstery.

I have limited mechanical skills but had done engine/clutch/transmission R/R so I figured that I could tackle it.

I think that I only made one mistake in that I didn't replace the springs. If your seats bottom out now, foam and covers won't help that problem.

Its been 10 years but I don't remenber any instructions coming with the materials so be very mindful about the way the seats come apart.

First thing, throw away the hog ring pliers that come with the kit and go buy a good pair and a good pair of wire cutters. "Dikes" or diagonal wire cutters I think the're called. Craftsman was my choice. Also go to an upholstery shop and buy about a pound of hog rings. You'll understand why after you have to cut out the ones that you screw up. That's why you need good wire cutters.

It helps if you can lay the new covers in the sun to soften them up. I remember doing some of the work in the front yard.

BAck seat was a no brainer. Just a lot of stretching.

Most difficult part was getting the seams of the front "bucket" part of the seat to look even and not puckered. Every few hog rings, fold the seat cover over and look at your seams. If uneven or they have puckers, cut the rings, stretch the cover again and start over. I probably cut out more hog rings than I left in place the first time.

Don't be in a hurry. Impatience in your enemy. Be a perfectionist. If you start getting pi$$ed off, walk away for a couple of days.

I think that my seats are on par with a professional but it take lots of time to get them right. Good luck and you'll have sore fingers from the stretching. I'm sure that you'll be getting lots more tips from the guys here that have done this more recently and more often than I.

This member just did his and they look great to me maybe he has some pointers. He actually states that there was less stretching than he expected.


http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=142471

Hi, the back seats were no trouble at all. I did them by myself including rebuilding the padding for the bottom seat in about 4 hours. I have never done any upholstery work before. I can't speak for the front yet as i haven't done them yet. I am using the front bench seat by the way. It definitely looks more challenging. I don't know if you have removed you old covers yet but be prepared to at least have to add a little padding, up to complete replacement. Due to mice running of with patches of your padding or even from possible water damage. Good luck, Aaron

I have restored every nut and bolt on my 69 myself and after countless hours of trying to get my front recovers perfect I brought them to a pro. I just could not get the original look back. You can always try. The seat backs went OK, it was the bottoms that gave me the most trouble.

I did the seats in my 75 Camaro back in 1997 and they came out perfect. I then did the bench in my 81 El Camino in 1998 then the seats in the wifes's 69 Camaro in 1999 and then the seats in the 93 Z28 and finally the seats in the 69 Corvette. The more you do the better you get. Recently I did a set of seats for a friend for his 71 Hemi Cuda. No one makes buns for the 71 Cuda yet so I had to use sheet foam to build up the entire seat to fill up the vinyl. I cut and shape the foam to run the seams under the seat piping so you could not see it when you were done. Camaro seats are relatively easy. The Vette seats were the most complicated. Take your time and you will be proud to tell people when they ask you who did the seats and you say "I did".