This upholstery can kiss my rear end

One of my first thoughts about my 280z when I test drove it last October was how shapeless and spongy the driver's side seat felt.  The car has aftermarket seat covers with cloth inserts, definitely a different look from the factory vinyl.  

The door cards and console armrest also have matching fabric, which evidence shows was completed by an upholstery shop.  Since I wanted to restore the factory look and I needed to replace the seat foam, I ordered molded seat foams and seat covers from Motorsport Auto.

The kit was complete, including the necessary hog rings and a set of hog ring pliers.  The instructions were adequate, but light in detail.  I did pick up a roll of 1/2" foam and some 3M spray adhesive as I had read that this would be necessary for the seat back.

I started by removing the seat (of course) from the car, then the seat back and finally the seat hardware.  The back of my pickup made an excellent workbench!

I then proceeded to remove the seat cover from the seat back by bending the tangs at the bottom of the seat upward until they were straight.  I could then roll the seat cover off the seat back until I got to the headrest.

At this point I used fencing pliers to cut the hog rings securing the head rest to the seat back.  This allowed me to remove the cover entirely.

I then moved to the seat bottom, cutting the hog rings and removing the cover.  All my springs looked good, so no repair to the base was necessary.

Previously the seat used carpet padding under the foam, but I chose to use actual carpet.  I had some indoor/outdoor carpet I once used to cover a speaker box, so I cut out a rectangle and folded it over itself to make a base for the foam.

On top of that, I used a square of the 1/2" foam, although I'm not really sure why to be honest.

I then placed the new foam on the seat and wrapped the cover around it.  I fastened the leading edge of the cover to the two tangs on the front of the base and prepared the first hog ring.  Note the zip ties in the center of the seat; these were secured to a metal rod and a flap used to create a little shape in the seat.  I had to pull on the zip ties in order to hog ring the metal rod and flap to the springs; I learned this trick from a post on recovering seats on a 240z.

I then secured the sides and back with the hog rings as well.

The lower portion of the seat was now covered.  If only the back were as easy.

After hammering out a dent in the seat back, I cut a rectangle of the 1/2" foam and used the 3M spray adhesive to attach it to the back.

Once dry, I then trimmed the foam to match the shape of the seat back.

One thing I noticed on the old cushions was that the headrest was covered in thin plastic, presumably to allow the cover to slip over the headrest easier.  I used household cling wrap for the same purpose here, then slipped the cover over the seat back.

Securing the headrest to the seat back via the hog rings was tricky, but persistence paid off.  I ended up pushing down on the foam with the pliers while trying to crimp the rings.  It took a while.  Once the hog rings were in place I was able to "roll" the seat cover down the seat back.

At this point I goofed.  I didn't have the center pleat lined up with the center tang.  This didn't become apparent until I finished the job and the seat pleats didn't perfectly line up with the seat back pleats.  It isn't too obvious if your not looking for it and I decided it was riskier to correct it, but if you're going through this yourself check alignment at this point.  I won't repeat this mistake on the driver's seat.

I found that trying to stretch the seat cover to reach the tangs was virtually impossible.  In the instructions there was mention of using a hair dryer or the sun to warm the vinyl and make it easier to work with.  I found that a hair dryer wasn't enough so I left the seats in full sun for 15 minutes.  This made a world of difference and I was able to stretch the vinyl into place.  I first pulled the front of the cover into place, then the back.  Once the back was in place I used a hammer to bend the tangs towards the front of the seat.

The puckers at the bottom of the seat back won't be visible when the seat is installed, but I could use some glue to flatten them if need be.  

I took the time to repaint the seat hinges, using some satin black Krylon spray paint which matched very well with the original finish.  I also used brake cleaner on the seat slides and mechanism, then re-greased those units using a spray lithium  grease.

Once the paint was dry, I reassembled the seat.  It's now ready for re-installation into the car once I'm done replacing the weatherstripping on the passenger side.

The driver's side seat will hopefully turn out as well.

Door Trimmings - Finishing up

After installing all the seals on the driver's side door and quarter window, I reinstalled the trim that was removed.  I took the opportunity to clean and polish the door sill as well.  I used stainless screws to reinstall.

For the finishing touch, I added a door bumper where there was previously none.

After all that work I am hoping that there will be far less wind noise and rattling in my door.  We'll see on the next test drive.

For now, though, I have to repeat all of this for the passenger side!

Door Trimmings - Part 7

In the final installment of my door seal saga, I installed new glass channel runs.  This wouldn't be a complicated job if I hadn't needed to install the lower run as well.  With the inner door card removed, this shouldn't be too bad.  I ended up running the lower door channel up through the bottom (yes, the lower run is a different piece than the upper).  With the window up, I folded over the run and pushed it into the channel through the bottom of the door.  I then worked the piece upwards while incrementally pushing more into the channel.  

Once the piece had made it to the top, I pushed the remaining run into the track. 

The upper portion was easy to address and simply pressed into the door sash.

The vapor barrier in the door had completely disintegrated, so I prepared to install a new one by running a cord of butyl tape around the perimeter.  

Instead of buying an expensive custom fit barrier or using cheap drop cloth to make a barrier, I decided to look for a better alternative.  I ordered a clear vinyl shower curtain from Amazon and cut it to fit.  This gave me something sturdier that could hold up for some time.  After cutting the vinyl to fit, I pressed it onto the butyl and cut the holes for the window crank and door handle.

At this point the door was ready to be reassembled.  I returned the door card and reinstalled the hardware.

Door Trimmings - Part 6

I mentioned in my previous post that I pulled the rear quarter window.  While that wasn't required to replace the door seal, I did want to replace the seals on this window, especially the seal on the forward edge.  I had a replacement for this seal and discovered while removing the old seal that I'd have to pull the window out to remove it.  

Once the interior plastic trim panel was removed, the screws securing the quarter window were exposed.  Once those were removed, it took a couple of sharp blows to the window to "pop" it loose, since the car was previously repainted with the window in place.

Once the window was out, I began removing the frame to body seal, which has to be glued into place.  Once the old seal was removed and the frame was cleaned with denatured alcohol, I spread a thin later of weatherstrip adhesive on the frame as well as the new seal.

After the adhesive cured, I spread another thin later on the seal and attached the seal to the window.  After using painter's tape to hold the seal in place, I let the adhesive cure.  While curing, I placed the new seal on the leading edge of the window.  This new seal simply "hooks" over the top edge of the window and is held in place with four screws.

Once the adhesive cured, I put the window back into place.  This was not easy with the new seals and took a bit of force to get the window aligned.  To get the seals to fold outward, I placed the window outside the car and pushed inward on the window, forcing the seals out.  I made this a little easier by spraying silicone lubricant on the seals beforehand.

Once i had the screws in place I tightened the window slowly, watching to ensure that the seals moved into place properly.

Door Trimmings - Part 5

The next sealing job to tackle was the big one: the door seal.  This task ended up being split into two parts; more on that later.

To begin, I pulled the trim pieces that would get into the way.  This included the vinyl covered metal that secures the lower portion of the weatherstrip to the floor as well as the plastic trim surrounding the rear quarter window.  In order to get that quarter window trim off, I had to remove the strut tower and seat belt mechanism cover as well as the upper light bar.

I found dried duct tape adhesive on the trim piece that I removed with denatured alcohol before installing (you can see it in the picture above).  After pulling the strut tower cover and seat belt mechanism, I was surprised to find a strut mount topped with lots of mouse droppings!

After using the Shop Vac to remove those droppings, I pulled the trim panel.  I also ended up pulling the quarter window itself to replace some seals on that, but I'll describe that process in another post.

Next I pried up the seal from the flange and simply pulled it off, working my way around the door.

 

Once the old seal was removed, I cleaned up the flange and positioned head liner vinyl around the flange.  I then positioned the new seal for installation, starting with the molded 90 degree corner.  I pushed the seal onto the flange an inch at a time, ensuring that the seal channel was fully seated as I went.

After working my way around the entire door perimeter, I trimmed the excess seal ensuring that the two sides would butt against each other tightly.  Using some weatherstrip cement, I bonded the two sides of the seal together and taped them together to cure.

Once the adhesive cured I shut the door.  The door requires a bit more force now to close, but the seal is making positive contact around the perimeter.  I've read that over time the seal will "break in" and loosen up a bit, but I've also read that this seal from Black Dragon has given others trouble in the past.  Only time will tell for me...

Door Trimmings - Part 4

The next seal to replace in my door sealing saga is the upper corner door seal.  This seal is located at the rear of the door just below the sash.  In my case I didn't have one to start with and installation wasn't quite intuitive, so I had to look this one up.  Essentially, this piece is glued into place with weatherstrip cement.  You'll need to pull the inner door card and the outer window seal to perform this job.

Start by gluing the rear part of the seal to the door.

Then, wrap the tab around the door and glue the tab to the upper part of the door.  When complete, the outer door seal will install over this tab.

Door Trimmings - Part 3

Another easy seal to replace is the lower door seal.  This seal simply clips into place.  The original seal on my door was missing altogether.

All of the door seals I'm installing were acquired from Black Dragon Auto before they closed their doors.  The prices on the seals were really low and I bought every seal they had which fit my car.  In this case, the lower door seal was clipped into place and this job was done.

Door Trimmings - Part 2

Next on my list of door seals was the door sealing rubber on the upper leading edge of the door.  The old seal literally fell off the door by itself, so all I had to do was pull the clips from the door and clean up the area.

Next I positioned the seal on the door and slipped the "clip" molded into the seal around the door sash.

Finally, I used some new clips to fasten the seal to the door.

I didn't reuse the old, brittle clips and instead found that these Doorman clips were a good substitute:

Door trimmings - Part 1

I spent some time on the driver's door today addressing cracked and deteriorating weather seals.

The upper door seal was first (and easiest).  The old seal was falling apart after years of use.

Once all the remnants of the old seal have been removed, the new seal simply tucks between the flanges on either side of the door sash.  I didn't need to use any weatherstrip adhesive on this part.  I started at the front of the door and tucked the flat part of the seal between the door and the sash.

Some choose not to loosen the sash, but I knew I was going to install window channel runs so I pulled the interior door panel and loosened the sash to make it easier.  I finished the job by using a paint stick to tuck the outside edge of the seal into place while ensuring the back side was in the groove.  Once the excess was trimmed, this job was done.