For hobbyists who are used to working on the drivetrain, suspension, and electrical aspects of their Pontiacs, tackling the restoration of the seats can seem intimidating at first. Truth be told, there are a lot of individual steps that are essential to completing the job correctly—hence the two-part story—and attention to detail is required. However, the project can be completed successfully by anyone who has basic mechanical skills, an eye for detail, and some direction.
1. Here is where the project began—with a pair of dilapidated ’77 Trans Am bucket seats. Note the stained, torn seat covers, missing stitching, and compressed seat foam. We will illustrate the restoration of one of these moldy-oldies in this story. Some photos will show the other seat.
The correct seat covers and application-specific seat foam available today fits well and looks great—at least, that's our experience with the items we sourced from YearOne for this story. So if you have the basic tools, the parts, and the time, you can restore your seats in a weekend.
32. When it comes time to install the foam and cover on the seat frame, the seam will be laid flat toward the outside of the foam so it stays flush with it when the cover is rolled over it. If the seam is facing straight down or to the inside, there will be bumps in the seat cover. Seats that appear to have wavy welting are the result of an improperly positioned seam. For now, the soft parts will be set aside so stripping and painting of the seat frames can be completed. We will continue with the seat restoration in the next issue.
We employed the talents of Gillin Custom Design to show you how the company approaches the task. Gil Monge and Linda Nilon started the business in 2001 through a shared appreciation for interior design and Gil's love of classic cars. Linda's group handles commercial and residential interior design and Gil's group does the automotive side—everything from stock restorations to all-out one-of-a-kind custom interiors.
Upholsterer Kurt Reiche and Gil will put their combined 40-plus years of experience to use for HPP readers by showing us how to restore our tattered bucket seats.
