I've searched the archives but wanted to see if we could stir up a few fresh ideas..

1. After removing the old seat covers, I notice there is a burlap/padding layer which has some wires running vertically. Is this available on the market or do most of you just rip it out and put new burlap and some jute padding or something in there instead to protect the foam?
http://69camaro.nextmill.net/temp/08240001_sm.JPG
http://69camaro.nextmill.net/temp/08240002_sm.JPG

2. On the headrest there is a plastic piece. I am changing my interior from white to black, thus I can either clean, sand, prime, and paint this plastic black, or better yet get a new OER version. Does anyone sell this piece?
http://69camaro.nextmill.net/temp/08240003_sm.JPG

[ 01-14-2004, 11:53 AM: Message edited by: Brian Lewis ]

I removed the wires, bought new burlap and reweaved the wires into it. As for the headrest, I had a black interior and changed it to Ivory. I scuffed and painted the plastic piece under the headrest. If you buy new headrests, they are not the same material as the originals but do look acceptable in anything other than a concours car.

Those wires in the burlap must be saved (no one makes them). If they are rusted or broken you can use piano wire. Chevy-Rumble Aug or Oct 2003 has a article on seat rebuilding with excellent pictures showing the process.

OK, here's a stupid question. How do you get the headrest off a 69 seat? There's some kind of small lever on mine, but when I pull up on the headrest, it won't come out? Assistance please????

KZ, The little lever is attached to a spring wire that fits in a notch in the headrest bar. If you get the headrest up far enough to clear the notch, there is nothing else holding it. Just tug on it until it comes out. If you are worried about damaging the headrest, remove the back of the seat, and push up from there with a paint stick or something.
If you can't get past the notch, maybe your spring is bent. There's a little tab on the assembly that limits spring movement. Look in a catalog to see the shape of the spring, maybe you can push rearward on the knob at the same time you pull it away from the bar.
If that doesn't work, can you get at the screws that hold the latch in place? There are two that hold the bezel. You should be able to access the spring from there.

On the burlap wires, I volunteered to install piano wire in mine for my reupolsterer, but he said they were not necessary. I know the General did not do things for the fun of it, but it took him at his word.....hope he was right!!

Why do you need to replace the burlap? It looks pristine in the picture.

Went to Tall Mouse, got some real burlap, cut about a 16x16" section out for each front seat and placed it between the old burlap and the springs because the original burlap on the bottom seats was torn up and ragged. The new burlap inbetween the piano wire/old burlap and the springs keeps everything in place and wasn't much trouble.
In fact I pretty much finished my interior restoration!! Changed from White to Black. Now its off to the body/paint shop in the near future!

http://www.nextmill.net/69camaro/Interior/done4_md.JPG

Thanks Unreal, I'll give that a try!!!!

Brian,

It looks like the dielectrically sealed pleats in your door panels are coming apart. I bought a set of pre-assembled Gold Edition panels that are doing the same thing. How old are your panels?

-Marc

Actually those door panels are 3 weeks old!

I see what you mean by the picture but I'll have to look at the door panels closely to see if they are really having that problem or if its just the angles playing with the light. PUI from Ricks Camaros. Front door fit was pretty good, rear seat panels were a pain, had to adjust them with a little more bend before installing. Also you can't trust the rear panel crank knockout, its over 1" off! Had to return the rear panels because the first set had the metal trim piece poorly installed (nails not driven all the way thru) but Ricks Camaros came thru and took care of it for me. Replacements still aren't that great but liveable for non-concours.

Marc,
I got my originals in last week, and they look great. As you know, they were expensive, but I'm glad I did it. one of the door fuzzies had the fuzzy material peeling from the rubber, so I used up one of my NOS fuzzies. Now I'm looking at pulling the panel off, and using my other NOS fuzzie.

Marc, an update about the pleats coming apart on the door panels! I emailed PUI Support directly about the issue and if I could get an RMA # to get them fixed. They requested pictures of the problem so I took a bunch of digital snapshots and emailed them back to Donna. Donna then sent me a set of brand new front door panels preassembled. All I need to do is transfer over the CAMARO emblem and cut the speaker holes again (uhhgg). I'll do this step after the paint is done since I will be removing the door panels at that time anyways. But wants to let everyone know that PUI corrected the problem without me having to demand it. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Glad you had a good response from PUI. I have had a complete set of Ivory panels in the 69 for 2 and a half years and none of the pleats are separating. Maybe it was a batch problem. At least it sounds like PUI is standing behind it's products.