A part from the mechanical side of a car, the driver seat can be considered one of the most important things in your car. If you can't sit behind the wheel, you can't drive. With that said, your seat is usually the first one to wear out due to everyday usage, and it usually needs to be redone or restored after only a few years. The seat that we're going to show you today has had about 20 years of service- it almost looks like the owner lived in the car!
When restoring a car's interior, the seat and the foundation are very important because the foam support is usually the same whether it's stock or custom. The foam will dictate the design that can be created and serves as a foundation for what needs to be created. If you want something plush, add more padding to it. If you want something redone to look sporty, the factory padding left over will sometimes be all you'll need for your seat to look like what you want.
We visited Top Stitch, an upholstery shop in Montebello, California, where they showed us a seat that they took from rags to riches using Cars Inc replacement seat foam. Cars Inc offers foam replacement for several Chevrolet models and years, including the Impala, Malibu, Monte Carlo, and, in our case, the Bel Air. This bench foam, or padding, is made of high-grade foam that's molded to the original contours of the two-door bench seat. This grade of foam meets or exceeds OEM specifications, since it fits and is really easy to install. This will cut your seat restoration time down, as well as the cost.
Top Stitch's portfolio includes craftsmanship work done on Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and the local lowriders in the neighborhood. So when it came time to take on a classic seat restoration, we knew it would be a breeze for them. Follow along as Bony, of Top Stitch, shows us how they restore and bring back to life this classic cruising seat using Cars Inc replacement foam.