Question about seat springs

[Joe Flanagan]

I have two front seats (lower part) that are pretty good on the passenger side but bad on the driver's side. The springs on the driver's side of both are collapsed/missing, etc. Can I take good springs from one and transplant them into the other to make one good seat? Right now there is basically a hole in both seats where the driver would sit.

[Plymouthy Adams]

best of my memory has it that the springs are clipped into the outlying rails that make the perimeter of the seat then next affixed in similar manner to the springs left and right of each other

[Joe Flanagan]

Saturday is bulk trash pickup day in our neighborhood. They do it once a year. I still have some parts stored in the dilapidated garage up the road where the car sat for 20 years. The former owner wants to get them out of her garage. I've got the seats up there, some doors, and a few other bulky items. I don't know how many pieces of Plymouth seats I've accumulated in the hope I can make one good set. They're all kind of FUBAR. Anyway, time to clean house.

[Chester Brzostowski]

I have two front seats (lower part) that are pretty good on the passenger side but bad on the driver's side. The springs on the driver's side of both are collapsed/missing, etc. Can I take good springs from one and transplant them into the other to make one good seat? Right now there is basically a hole in both seats where the driver would sit.

Joe,

What you are suggesting sounds perfectly reasonable. Here are some links to my 48 website and how I redid my seats.

http://www.chetscoins.com/1948p15/2006/Upholstery2006.htm

http://www.chetscoins.com/1948p15/2011/05072011.htm

http://www.chetscoins.com/1948p15/2011/05212011.htm

Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Chet…

PS... You need Hog Clips and the tool that goes with them.

[Joe Flanagan]

Thanks, Chet. I just wanna get all the springs I need out of the seats I'm gonna trash. Sounds like a fun job.

[BobT-47P15]

Those springs may have been individually wrapped in burlap, too.

They are on the '47 anyway. Not sure it's really needed nowadays,

and mine has been disintigrating over the years. Every time I remove

the seat bottom, there is a burlap shower.

[Young Ed]

Wrapping the springs probably doesn't do much but stuffing them sure does. The seat for my 46 pickup has each spring stuffed with foam. Makes a huge difference.

[Joe Flanagan]

How does that work, Ed? Do you just stuff foam rubber down the center of the springs?

[Young Ed]

How does that work, Ed? Do you just stuff foam rubber down the center of the springs?

Thats exactly what it looks like they did. I don't recall them being packed 100% maybe 50% or a little more. I'm sure you can experiment a little.

[Joe Flanagan]

I've also read that if you tie them together laterally, it gives the seat firmness. I believe that's how it was done at the factory but I haven't actually seen the seat in a while. I do know that much of this stuff has come undone over the years and has been jerry-rigged in various ways.

[Plymouthy Adams]

type in the serch engine "repairing car seat springs" numerous articles on this on the internet..plus good upholestry books will be a plus when you decide to get serious with this section of the build..just remind yourself to keep the better shaped outer frames and such with the better springs and go from there..do not scrap the others completely..remove a few pieces for rebuilding your's if needed..takes up less room..or for than matter..the bulk and wight is gone when you remove the cover and padding..the seat bottom is not heavy and est to put on the overhead..it is the bulk of the seat frame/back that is so heavy and bulky to mess with

[bamfordsgarage]

Hi Joe — sorry I don't have any photos for this, but Jerry made some adjustments to my '47 Dodge seats that kept the original appearance while greatly improving comfort. Since you will be doing seat spring transplants anyway, you might want to consider this modification as well.

The problem we had on our California trip was the factory seat bottoms were too springy and bouncy. Over time, our butts jiggling up and down on the bottom cushion (sorry for that image), relative to the stationary back rest, would cause our shirt backs to ride up. Plus, the constant minor jiggling was just plain annoying.

The spring coils are compressed, height-wise, by ties that IIRC was a twine material. Then there is a layer of upholsterers' felt on top of the springs and under the seat fabric. Jerry removed the fabric and felt, and then re-tied the coils to be about 1" shorter and thus much stiffer. We got some high-density upholsterers' foam, shaped it to fit, and placed this on top of the seat springs, followed by the original felt and seat fabric.

The result was a seat that looks original, but is much more comfortable and far less bouncy — similar to that in a modern car. The foam was not cheap at about $80, but worth it. You could probably get some guidance and suggestions from the upholstery shop if you buy the foam from them (I recall that it was a special foam for auto upholstery and not what one would normally find at a fabric store).

[Joe Flanagan]

Good advice. Thanks, Tim. Thanks to you, too, Chris. I never would have thought of the bugg-jiggling dynamics, shirt tails riding up, and all those other little-known aspects of seat performance. Great things to know.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Joe Flanagan

[Plymouthy Adams]

jiggly butt..eh...this may get the mental image of Chris out of your mind..but PLEASE only follow the link if you like sick/twisted cartoon humor..