Good afternoon all. I’m putting the stock '69 XR7 low-back buckets in my Cougar convertible after swapping the old ones out for '70 high backs ~20 years ago. The technical term for the set of '69 buckets I picked up is “roached,” so I’ll need new foam as well as upholstery. Thankfully the frames are solid and will clean up fine.
A few questions - is '69 Mustang seat foam the same? I have an NPD here in town and would like to pick up to save shipping if possible. Secondly, who makes the most accurate seat covers, and do they still make ones with leather inserts as original? NPD lists a set with leather inserts from Distinctive Industries, but I see the WCCC site says they are discontinued from their supplier.
I’d like to be as accurate / original as possible, though the grain on the leather inserts would probably not bother me unless it was way off. Any thoughts / experience would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks Don, I knew you’d know the answer. What’s your take on the Upholstery? Better to go with all-vinyl than the incorrect grain vinyl / leather covers from Distinctive Industries?
The leather distinctive does looks like poo and is a rough grain matte finish. The vinyl looks much more correct. Why pay a premium for leather if it is not even in the ballpark?
I went down a similar path. The saddle leather and foam in my 68 XR7 was roached…proper roached even. I have a family owned upholstery shop in my town and would have liked to use them to recreate the covers in leather. We even discussed buying the vinyl set and inserting the leather sections. In the end , even thought they had books of samples, they couldn’t find
the matching leather color & grain. So they gracefully bowed out. I was able to get some raw materials from them however.
To my surprise the replacement vinyl I purchased from WCCC was a perfect match. Saddle interiors have somewhat of a reputation for fading color. I installed it along with the foam kit and have been totally happy with the results.
That is what happens. I have pulled a seat before and tucked a shop rag in to the springs to mostly stop that. When the Burlap starts to fall apart the springs will eat the foam fast.
The best way to stop that is to replace the foam and burlap.