High back seat re-builds

[Ryanfrazier88]

Hey yall,

I was looking to rebuild my high back seats from my 78 Blazer. I bought the new seat foam that LMC sells and I've had the foam for a while and hadn't been able to start the rebuild. I started last night and tore the seat down to it's metal frame. Was way rustier than I was expecting.

The problem I'm running into now is that the seat foam from LMC doesn't appear to fit as intended on my seats. The bottom seat cushion looks like it should work okay. The problem is the upright portion. Has anyone had any luck with these foam cushions or should I just try and find a new set of seats to reupholster?

 

[Big Ray]

Hey yall,

I was looking to rebuild my high back seats from my 78 Blazer. I bought the new seat foam that LMC sells and I've had the foam for a while and hadn't been able to start the rebuild. I started last night and tore the seat down to it's metal frame. Was way rustier than I was expecting.

The problem I'm running into now is that the seat foam from LMC doesn't appear to fit as intended on my seats. The bottom seat cushion looks like it should work okay. The problem is the upright portion. Has anyone had any luck with these foam cushions or should I just try and find a new set of seats to reupholster?

View attachment 495475

View attachment 495476

Throw in some seat heaters

 

[cheavyk10]

Got pics of the foam next to the seat?

 

[warrpath4x4]

whats the new foam look like?

 

[Ryanfrazier88]

I'll have to take some pictures tonight when I get home from work.

 

[Blue85]

Yeah, it's probably about due for a rebuild. You might call around to see if you can get the frames sandblasted. Sometimes if you can wait for them to go in a batch with something else the price is more reasonable. You may have trouble gluing foam to the rusty metal.

Is there more than one high-back design and what LMC sells is for a different model? What are you doing for fabric? If the outside of the foam is the right shape for the fabric, you might be able to trim the foam to fit the frame.

 

[Ryanfrazier88]

So LMC sells seat foam for 73-74 and 78-86 supposedly. The overall shape isn't bad it's how it fits the framework of the seat. I have a big empty plastic drum so I might try and see if I can electrolysis the rust off if I decide to try and make the foam work. When I get home I'll take a picture of the back of the seat to show how poorly the foam looks like it will fit. Not the first time I've had issues with LMC's generalized "universal" parts. when I re-did my floors and rockers I had alot of extra work just to make their sheet metal panels fit my truck.

 

[warrpath4x4]

electrolysis does wonders if you have a big enough tub, an old neighbor had a big enough vat he would drop model A bodies into it

 

[Ryanfrazier88]

 

[Blue85]

I wonder if that foam is for the later style seat like I have:

It seems like the foam has to be a 2-piece. You can't just glue foam to the front and then have the fabric draped onto the metal frame in the back.

 

[Ryanfrazier88]

I wonder if that foam is for the later style seat like I have:

It seems like the foam has to be a 2-piece. You can't just glue foam to the front and then have the fabric draped onto the metal frame in the back.

what year is your truck? They certainly look much more like the seat foam that I have from LMC. I did notice that too that I'd have to create some kind of back piece. The more I dig into this the more I think I'm going to try and find a decent pair of used seats. . .

 

[Blue85]

The "fold and slide" style seats started sometime in the mid 80's (85?) and went through 1991, I believe. For some number of years, the "flip-up" style like you have was also available, so going by year alone might not work.

If you found rear seats that had good back foam, they might be better to rebuild by just swapping the seat bottom foam and the fabric.

I'd be interested to see some guide to which seats were available in which years. It may have been linked to trim package.

 

[Conner]

I saw a similar discussion on another forum about this. The consensus seemed to be that the LMC foam was for the '86+ buckets and LMC just has it mislabeled (which is pretty annoying).

There are videos on YouTube of people doing custom foam for car seats. They basically use layers of foam of various thicknesses/densities glued together and then cut with what looks like a sawzall blade to trim to the right shape. It doesn't look very hard if you have the old foam (or even a cover) to shape from, just time consuming.

I am planning on doing this with my seats when the time comes as well, although I am pretty far off from that point in my project. Good luck!

As a reference point for anyone that cares, my truck is an '85 and has the older style non-folding high backs. To my knowledge the seats are original to the truck.

 

[Ryanfrazier88]

It's not the first time I've had trouble with LMC either. I went to buy a tailgate from them and on the website it just lists the year compatibility. I happen to be passing through Kansas so I went to pick the tailgate up and inspect it. Turns out it's a standard truck tailgate, like it's not a hallow tailgate for glass or anything. Just your standard run of the mill C10 tailgate. I was so pissed. I just think I'll try and stay away from LMC moving forward.

My plan is to reupholster the seats with a green/black plaid pattern since I can't find anyone that offers the original plaid seat covers and that's the style I want anyway.

 

[tarussell]

The "fold and slide" style seats started sometime in the mid 80's (85?) and went through 1991, I believe. For some number of years, the "flip-up" style like you have was also available, so going by year alone might not work.

If you found rear seats that had good back foam, they might be better to rebuild by just swapping the seat bottom foam and the fabric.

I'd be interested to see some guide to which seats were available in which years. It may have been linked to trim package.

I’ve got no idea if both style of seats were available in the same model years but FWIW both my 85 & 86 K5’s ( both were Silverado trim ) had the flip forward type of passenger seats with high backs.