Crack in the front seat

[Robroy]

I guess this probably is one of the most common problems on all old cars with a whole front seat.
I have a crack about 1-1,5” long on the drivers seat. The rest of the interior is like new, so I’m gone try and mend it some way. I guess I will need to consult a tailor shop, unless someone on this board should have a do-it-yourself method or solution to share with me?
Any ideas?

[centurion 455 ragtop]

My advise is remove the seat and have it done by your tailer either repaired or have him redo the entire seat. Doing the quick fixes never really come out as well and your Centurion is a beautiful car, do it once and do it correctly. You may find yourself doing the job twice by trying the quick fixes. If money is short, slap a close matching color tape on it so the rip doesn't grow, save your money and then get it fixed later on. I would only do the quick "do-it-yourself" repairs as a last resort. Unless you want to take on a project on redoing the seat yourself.

My interior had rips, I thru seat covers on it and saved my money soon after brought my car to an interior shop and had everything re-done. Now one of the compliments I always get is on the interior, its nearly perfect now, just need a few more trim parts replaced.

[Robroy]

You’re right Rick, quick fixes seldom last. I guess I was hopping someone might have a miracle solution in their back pocket.
As you say, it’s important to stop the crack from growing more.
I will consult a tailor shop and get the job done proper.

[centurion 455 ragtop]

What may save you some money is to see if you can bring him the seat. It's a pain for you taking it out, but it will save you on labor. In my case the entire interior was trash, so the guy took the car and re-did my door panels included the carpeted bottoms, along with the rear panels, front and back seats and new carpets.

I sent my seat belts out to a company called Snake Oyl out of Texas, http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/ re-did my belts, they are not cheap, but they repaired and rebuilt my original buckles and material like new and original looking. I tried to find good used ones but had no luck so I had mine re-done. Their quality is 100%.

The dash I did myself. I now just have a small spider crack on the top of the dash pad, saving my coins to get the entire dash top re-done, now that I heard is not cheap.http://www.justdashes.com/Index.htm

You see my Centurion was a solid car but a basket case and was a few days from being parted out and off to the crusher. I have original shots on this site. http://www.buickcenturion.com/1973/rick_m/

[Robroy]

Thanks for the tip and the links Rick,

Gosh, you have really done a good job on your car!!:xyxthumbs:
Much sweat, tears, time and dollars are behind that red convertible, that’s for sure.

I really respect someone who has the patience and knowledge to do a job like that.

[Shrav]

I had to pull my front bench to do some floor work when I originally bought the beast (us northerners are blessed with road salt in the winter which can eat entire cars!). It was only 6 bolts and having a drop top sure makes it easy to get it out of there! And as an added bonus I found my build sheet tucked under the bench when I removed it. :xyxthumbs:

[Robroy]

Living in Northern Europe I know all about the damage road salt can do to a car. That’s why most of us keep our old enthusiast cars safely tucked away in the garage over the winter.

I once took out the front seat on a Chevy Caprice, and as you say it was a rather easy job.
I appreciate your advice.
Thanks

[gr_speedy]

Rick howmuch did it cost you to redo the interior? IF you could break it down to front seats, rear seat, door panels it would give me a great idea. Thanks in advance.
Foti

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Keith is on the money with his reply...and, oh geez, Keith a perfect white interior is awsome! I have to take some new shots of mine this summer. My old shots were during the winter months in the garage, poor lighting about 2 years ago. I since installed power door locks, re-installed a matching console and replaced the gas and brake pedals and added a kick panel litter basket.

Check around your area. I found mine at a local car cruise, and then spoke to guys at the cruise that used him and saw his work on their cars. He happen to be about a 2 hour drive from me. He charged me about 2 grand to do the entire interior: carpet, door panels, rear panels, and seats along with kick panels and headrests and visors. I brought him the car on appointment and it was done in two weeks. He didn't give me a breakdown. Though I have spoken to others that used him and some have brought him factory buckets and bench seats to be re-done. Unfortunately I don't know what the breakdown is. I would have no clue on what just a seat would cost. When it was all done he gave me a bill with the complete job. Oh and when the job is done and you go to pay, can't hurt if you ask to pay him cash if he skips the tax. It worked with my guy and I saved some money.

If you find a good interior guy I would think you can bring him the seat instead of the entire car and save a few on re-installing the seat yourself. Take your time finding a good one, heck the time you take just gives you more time to stash away some extra money for the job.

[gr_speedy]

Ownsome interiors guys, very very nice. Keith, Rick did you change the colors from the interior or had them redone in their original color? Mine is black and i want to keep the same color. My interior panels are all good. Rear seat is also good, front bench is my problem. Carpet is gone since i ripped it out to have access to the metal (or whatever is left of it LOL).

[centurion 455 ragtop]

I kept mine the original, the photo with poor lighting doesn't do it any justice. I'll have to wait for the Spring when I get her out of the car bag.

I would venture to say that Keith's is also original color.

[Smartin]

Rick, what's left on the interior resto?

I'm glad mine is in perfect condition, so I don't have to spend thousands to get it redone:laugh: :laugh: :Brow: :spank:

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Rick, what's left on the interior resto?

I'm glad mine is in perfect condition, so I don't have to spend thousands to get it redone:laugh: :laugh: :Brow: :spank:

One thing left is the small dash bezel that has both the rear defroster and the power top. (that would be the left side dash woodgrain faceplate with this option). I have the switch for the defroster, and the rear glass. Also looking for a almost or new condition Centurion nameplate and plastic trim that mounts on the passenger side dashboard. Oh that's two things left:Brow:

[Robroy]

It’s embarrassing to admit that I still have this crack in the front bench :o.
I have covered it with a piece of strong black duct tape to prevent it to grow for a while now

The main reason for not having it fixed is that I’ve been unable to find anyone in the neighbourhood to do the job in a proper way.
I did however hear about a company called Color Glo recently that seems to know the tricks needed for such mending.
Has anyone any experience of them and their methods? http://colorglo.com/
It seems to be an American company that has franchised and become international

[The German]

... ... I did however hear about a company called Color Glo recently that seems to know the tricks needed for such mending.
Has anyone any experience of them and their methods? ... ...

Hey, Per, seems as nobody knows something which could be of help for you and I also have no experience for such a problem b/c I never had to fix a crack in a seat up to now. Only I found that here in Germany the company that you linked in your posting has lots of shops too : http://www.color-glo.de/index.php?seite=unternehmen ! If you will find no help in Sweden around your home try asking the shop in Hamburg by phone how you could do the job by yourself using their special products. Guess you will get enough information to become able doing the repair as good as they would do it. It´s only a crack in a seam, not across the flat parts of the seat so that it should be easier as you probably expect it.

Another source for help could be this one : http://www.lederzentrum.de/ - They have the following information in a movie for real leather; guess it will be the same process for vinyl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i23e228sC8&feature=player_embedded

Hope my info will be of some help for you, Per. Good luck !

[Phil Genario]

When it goes in the stitched area like that , it actually splits the seat upholstery like it was cut, you may have to go for an entire seat bottom, as that type of upholsery grain is tough to duplicate in a panel repair!.

[Robroy]

A Color Glo representative visited me just before the New Years weekend.

After inspecting the crack he said that he could mend it and that the mending would hold but it WILL show. When I asked how much he said it would show some but he would do his very best to make it look as good as possible.
The price was 170 dollars so I said go for it!

He spent three hours in my garage (that was smelling from strong chemicals) before he was done.
On a scale from 1 to 10 of difficulty this was a 9 he said, probably because the crack was a few years old and had settled in to the seat.

I have no picture available at the moment but the mending is a little bubbly, apart from that it looks ok to me. He told me that with a little luck the bubbles will go away after a while.

So am I happy with result?
Well I’m glad I have stopped the crack from growing and that I don’t need to have any duct tape on my seat anymore that tends to sag on hot days, but I had hopped for a mending that would be a little more invisible. With a black shinny interior like mine I realize it’s very tough to achieve a mending that will not show at all though.
IF the bubbles will go away I think it will look fine, we'll see.

Thanks for the research Rolf and sorry for my late update