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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Seats and Restraints => Topic started by: Terryr85 on February 06, 2014, 11:52:43 am

Title: seat covers
Post by: Terryr85 on February 06, 2014, 11:52:43 am
Anyone know where you can get those old Mexican poncho looking seat covers?
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: bake74 on February 06, 2014, 09:05:58 pm
     You should look into like JC Whitney or the like.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Irish_Alley on February 06, 2014, 11:19:32 pm
i wana say the parts stores sell them also
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: 75_chevy on February 06, 2014, 11:58:48 pm
this style ? (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/07/aby5yqyq.jpg)


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Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: IdahoMan on February 07, 2014, 03:01:35 am
75_chevy,

That's the kind of seat cover I am looking to get, but I don't know where to go to get the best kind. Heavy, protective and long-lasting.

CoverKing?
Saddleman?
marathonseatcovers?

 ???
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Terryr85 on February 07, 2014, 09:54:44 am
That's what I'm looking for. Just like that
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: DnStClr on February 07, 2014, 10:38:49 am
You can get them from www.autobarn.net.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: jaredts on February 07, 2014, 01:10:02 pm
I couldn't find them in stores.  I got mine from Ebay (the kind with pockets in the front).  Very happy with it.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: cramezl on February 07, 2014, 01:29:45 pm
I got mine from the place whose name shall not be spoken.

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Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: IdahoMan on February 07, 2014, 02:21:19 pm

As I understand it you want to go with a one-piece seatcover though, not the two-piece. Bunching issues.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Greybeard on February 07, 2014, 03:03:52 pm
Do they even make those nice fitting heavy material ones anymore? The ones I used to get I got at Kmart, but that was about 200 years ago. Then all of the ones I was seeing around were the lightweight wimpy ones. IIRC the Saddlemans cover company was the brand I used get. I guess personally I'd try them first. And most definitely get the one piece, especially if your seat folds.

FWIW, my brother has the neoprene covers in his rockcrawler (jeep) and for short periods they are OK, any more than an hour and you might as well just have a wet seat because your back and butt will be soaked from sweat. YMMV, but I sweat a lot.  :o

Went looking around and found these>> http://www.amazon.com/Full-Truck-Bench-Seat-Covers/dp/B009W85R4A/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_1

Can't tell if they are quality or not, from the price I would say not. But ya never know.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: bobcooter on February 08, 2014, 08:42:19 am
I bought one like that at Auto Zone. Don't waste your time or money. It actually shredded itself! I was amazed that anyone could make a product that doesn't really do anything but sit there and it still self destructed!!!
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: SilverMiner on February 08, 2014, 04:00:31 pm
I think the style you are looking for are called the "saddle blanket" style of seat cover. The low-end parts store covers back in the 80's used to be durable but just fit poorly, but nowadays they fit poorly and don't last. Whatever you do, don't assume they will survive a trip through the washing machine!

I went shopping for seat covers this past summer and ultimately went with a set of SuperHides from Marathon Seat Covers, and I have been very pleased. Unfortunately, Marathon no longer has the "saddle blanket" as a fabric option, and the Marathon covers do not have the very handy front pockets. They do however have an option of adding two very useful "map pockets" to the rear, which work particularly well in my Suburban. The fit of the Marathon covers could not be better - absolutely exceptional to the point of almost being difficult to install. I was glad I did it in the heat of the summer. Besides being extremely durable they are also very easy to clean, and I really like how they feel when I sit on them. Just enough friction to keep me firm in the seat without making it difficult to slide behind the steering wheel.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Joe-NC on February 09, 2014, 08:17:22 am
Don't waste your time or money. It actually shredded itself!
Same here. Mine got tiny fibers all over everything and just fell all to pieces. I had to vacuum every inch of the cab to get it out.

That's not the way they were back in the 80's. I would love to find the same design with better material.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Terryr85 on February 09, 2014, 01:49:09 pm
I need to do something soon. I had pristine seats and one -20* morning I jumped in and it cracked all to heck. I found the local parts store can get the saddle blanket ones for around $35 so I don't know if they are going to last or not. I've always wanted to try to redo them myself with old seabags
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Greybeard on February 09, 2014, 06:50:44 pm
I need to do something soon. I had pristine seats and one -20* morning I jumped in and it cracked all to heck. I found the local parts store can get the saddle blanket ones for around $35 so I don't know if they are going to last or not. I've always wanted to try to redo them myself with old seabags

I really don't think it's polite calling old folks that just because they live by the sea.  ;D

I did search for seat covers and found the company that bought the company that originally made the saddle blanket seat covers back in the day. They have gotten real spendy over the years. About $118. They make both more expensive ones and less expensive ones. This one sounded like the ones that used to be available; full fabric back and hemmed cut-outs for three sets of belts plus the all important dirt catcher in front.

http://www.seatcoversunlimited.com/Saddle-Blanket-p-16159.html (http://www.seatcoversunlimited.com/Saddle-Blanket-p-16159.html)
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: DustyRusty on February 10, 2014, 07:35:21 pm
I had the Saddleman covers in a number of colors but that was back in the 90s.  Both one piece and two piece.  They all were durable and washable.  i'm sorry to hear the quality has suffered.  Somewhere I still have a medium blue one piece that I laundered but never put back on.  Don't know where it is in the garage or if it has deteriorated over time.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Greybeard on February 11, 2014, 02:05:27 am
Yup, I have one too. But I'm keeping it....LOL.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: IdahoMan on February 16, 2014, 10:49:53 pm

Anyone have any pictures of the ones from the 1980s?  How thick are they? I have the original seats in my truck (vinyl&clothe) and I'd like to keep the wear of of them.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Greybeard on February 17, 2014, 01:09:01 am
I happened to look at seat covers today at Thiesens. They were the two piece type and the material (through the little holes in the package) felt much the same as the ones I have in my truck now which is at least ten years old maybe more and a one piece. The real difference I think is the tightness of weave. These new ones today seemed to look looser in that respect.

What we do in our Dodger pickup with the split bench is to use actual Baja type blankets that can be got at wally world. It the same material as these new ones. Then we removed the fringe on one end and turn the end up and use a tent stitching hand awl (really cheap tool) to run a stitch up to make pockets and sew some strapping material onto the sides at the crease and wherever needed to hold them tight (easy to figure out). Buy three with two the same and one contrasting and build your own. It's time, it's not rocket science. You might have $60 bucks and some time tied up in them. But they will be something you can say you made instead of bought. Personally, I like saying that even if it doesn't look as machine built as one that's machine built. Hmm.... ???

One thing I might consider doing for a flat top bench is to create a fold near the top over the back, in the front under the pocket and in the crease to slide a dowel into and attach the tie straps to that instead of the material itself. This would spread the load some and not separate the weave as much. The same thing could be done at the crease and in front only with shorter dowels. I think I would actually use stainless steel heavy wire myself for more strength and rust resistance. Probably a 1/8" or 1/16" wire, or whatever, material would do the trick of whatever is easiest to source. It wouldn't need to be much.
Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: IdahoMan on February 18, 2014, 10:02:09 pm
This might seem a silly question...

The seats on my 81 Silverado are the cloth type with vinyl head-area, back and sides. I have read elsewhere that with some seats (Ex: Leather), putting on a seat-cover improperly can cause wear rather than prevent it. 

Is this something I should keep in mind when getting a seat cover?  I want to protect against wear, bending, cracking, stretching, weather, spills, etc.. That's the idea.

Title: Re: seat covers
Post by: Irish_Alley on February 18, 2014, 10:35:00 pm
on my 2004 impala (bought it used in 2011) there is some bad rubbing on the rear passengers side. after putting in my little ones car seat in the middle i noticed the lines line up with the car seat. the problem was the idiots that strapped their kid into the car seat before i had it never tightened up the car seat good enough. guess what I’m trying to say is my car seat has been in the car 2+ years with no signs of wear, while the people before me made some nice wear marks on the seat cause they were too lazy to strap it down.