Upholstery - 68 bench seat repair/recover

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
1

Hello all. This started as the “while we’re replacing the headliner, we might as well…(fill in the blank)” project.

This is a 68 with the original Decor parchment bench seat that’s starting to show some seam splits on the driver’s side. A local upholstery guy says that the splits can’t be stitched and that it would be best to get a cover that they would install. I see some very nice re-upholstery kits at John’s and WCCC for buckets but not for bench seats.

A few questions and invitation for any comments. All advice/education is welcome as this is unknown territory for me.

  1. Are those splits in fact non-repairable and,if so, is the cover option the way to go?

  2. There are noticeable differences between the colors of the headliner, replaced armrests, the original seat and original door panels. What are your thoughts about what can be done (like dyeing) to improve the appearance?

  3. The upper dash panel is in reasonable shape although there is an odd bulge in it over the gauges and the dash speaker grill is slightly split. Does it make sense to replace it at this time?

That’s it until the next “might as well” item comes up… Thanks in advance.

2

I think you can get the bench seat repro upholstery, both front and back or front only, through WCCC. There are stale links to them (http://www2.cougarpartscatalog.com/67bench-2b-fo-ro.html is one example), so they were made in the past. Call WCCC Monday and ask (503-463-1130); since all those sets are likely made up for each order, I bet one could be had.

He can advise on the color fading too. The dash is in the “how big’s the budget” category - if it was me, I’d worry that the guy who makes them will quit making them, so better to get it now.

3

Thanks R.B. The WCCC link is still good. I did see it last night but saw the applications as “67” and “light blue” so I passed it by. I’ll give WCCC a call Monday.

4

I had a '68 with a bench seat that had also split in couple of places in the driver’s seat area. As the rest of the seat bottom cover was good, I obtained some original vinyl yardage from SMS Fabrics and had my upholstery guy replace the worn panels and add new seat buns. It lasted 3 years for me and still looked great when I sold it.

5

Thanks Dennis.

6

We have worked with our supplier and given them correct originals to copy, we have had two customers test for us and both were happy. Should have them listed on our site in the next 2 days.

7

Thanks Don. I literally was just about to give you a phone call. I’ll check the site later this week.