What makes a good old truck a good old truck? Its natural good looks? How much stuff you've been able to haul in it over the years? Maybe you've won a mantle full of trophies with it? Or is it because you keep flogging on it and it just keeps going-a good workhorse, as it were? Many of us have, have had, or look forward to having another truck like this, but even workhorses have their limits!
My '72 C-10 gets the farthest thing from preferential treatment. It looks good from afar, but is far from good looking cosmeticly, even though I've been trying to change that as of late. One of the most used parts of any truck is the seat, namely the driver side. My '94 Chevy 1500 has over 250,000 miles on it and is in decent shape considering, but I've had to fix the seat back more times than I can count. I get no relief when I drive the '72 either; it has a nice big crater where the seat foam once was right where I park my rear end. I'll say this was not caused by me, but I've dealt with it for far, far too long.
The C-10 was reupholstered many years ago in a saddle or brown color and the seat and carpet were especially heinous at this point in time. So I figured I'd do a little stock-style interior redo by myself since it's all basic stuff, right? I opened up my Classic Industries catalog and started jotting down what I needed-seat foam, seat upholstery, carpet, a dash pad, door panels, armrests, and sunvisors. My ulterior motive for doing this was to also switch the interior color to black from the previous brown and white since I want to paint the truck Hugger Orange at some point. But for now, this interior makeover will be much cheaper and easier than bodywork and paint and yield much needed great results.
We know not everyone will want to undertake something like this themselves, but we also know there are more than a few who would, and maybe this will light a fire for them. I did everything myself, but I did take the seat to Auto Upholstery of Orange in Orange, California, just for tips and guidance to pass on while I did the work, since I'd never recovered a seat before. It wound up honestly being a two-person job in many areas and I was glad to have the watchful eye of the shop owner, Rudy, and an extra set of hands at many times. So call your friend who has a nagging attention to detail when it's your turn.
Classic Industries also has a good selection of interior dyes/paints if some of your pieces are in good enough shape to save, but you'd like to change colors. So make a list and call Classic Industries and save yourself some money by redoing the interior of your truck yourself. Of course if you get in a jam or over your head, take it to someone like Rudy and sit back and relax!
