Bench Seat differences

[brewster]

Ya I couldn't find the link for the second one, I'll look again, but I don't mean this in an offending way but what makes a bonanza so special

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[philo_beddoe]

I'm not really sure, but i have never seen another one, and no one i know has ever seen one. I know there are some on this forum obviously. I just had an old timer tell me the other day he has a 78, and that they were only sold in the south.

I guess they are like a 71 Cuda tx9, or a 67 Shelby gt500, or perhaps a 1st gen camaro rs/ss.  Maybe not that rare or pricy, but everybody wants one. Lol

If you ever see one, dont think, just buy it!!

[brewster]

Hmm interesting

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[brewster]

Here's some more bonanza's
http://eauclaire.craigslist.org/cto/5538690036.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5534611695.html

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[rball716]

@rball716 I would take a educated guess that you don't have speaker in the dash

@brewster  You would be correct. The holes were crumbling so I cut them out and filled it in with expanding foam then sanded it smooth before taking it in. I have the 2 speakers in the cab corners, which works good for me. I'm going to be making up some 6x9 mounts for the corners this summer.

[brewster]

Oh ok cool

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[LTZ C20]

Took me long enough but I got the seat cover off. The tears in the driver side are either bigger than I remember or have grown in the years I've had it. Always being covered, I never knew. A quick cleaning made it look pretty decent, still needs a lot of love.

[brewster]

Ya that drivers side is a little rough but it still looks very good, I like it

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[LTZ C20]

I'm going to try and clean it again, that may make it look even better. Then I'll consult with vendor we have a work who does really nice upholstery repair. She may be able to mend just the drivers enough to make it last longer until I decide to either have it recovered, get a kit for it or get different seat(s) completely. For now, I'm just concerned with stopping it before it it tears up the whole seat. I'll also treat it with some vinyl treatment to help it become more flexible and restore moisture to it so it won't crack and tear as easily.

[philo_beddoe]

Passenger side looks great.
My bench is the same.

[LTZ C20]

I've been looking at some places for a new upholstery kit. I've only found one that I really like.

This is for 73-80 trucks, it's vinyl/velour. The vinyl is the saddle (dark brown middle and sides) and the velour is the sandstone (light brown driver & passenger spots). The saddle just about matches my new console, dash and repainted trim perfectly.

[philo_beddoe]

Looks real nice! What do you mean "kit"?  Not a two piece cover?

[LTZ C20]

They call them a kit because it's the replacement upholstery and the hog rings and hog ring pliers. You need those to remove and reattach the material to the seat. The material is usually in 2 pieces anyway, 1 for the seat cushion and 1 for the seat back. So thus it's a "kit".

After stopping at a spring shop, I plan to make a stop down at a long time upholstery shop and get a few ideas or quotes for recovering the seat. I've seen there work a few times, even did the headliner in my buddy's K20. This guy knows what he's doing.

[philo_beddoe]

Post whatever they tell you or show you. Do we need a whole new cushion or can we just beef up the drivers side seat and back. Seat covers and cushions aint cheap!

[LTZ C20]

My visit to the upholstery shop went well. I showed him the seat cover I posted that I liked. He said he could make that exactly if I wanted, we discussed a few other options as well.

He said he can shave and shape the cushions to look and feel more like a bucket seat that will cradle and support my body better than a bench. We also looked at using multiple materials and possibly adding headrests as a safety and comfort feature.

These are the colors and materials we looked at.

This is vinyl called Sierra Saddle


These are cloth, velour type materials, somewhat thick feeling, not thin like a headliner might feel, it's also pretty tough he said, it holds up well.

Sandstone


Sandstone with brown

Walnut


The plan it's to create the image of the cover I posted earlier. The sides and lower wrap around area will be the Saddle vinyl. The side pleats and middle will be in the cloth Walnut. The pleated driver and passenger spots will be the cloth Sandstone with brown. The back side of the seat that rests against my subwoofer box will be some type of similar colored light carpet. Then the driver and pass spots will be shaped like buckets, the middle seat will be shaped like a bucket as well but not full-size, probably about 3/4 size, just a little wider than the dark brown middle section normally is. I'm doing the middle shaped also so that my girlfriend has a comfy place to sit. She always sits in middle, she doesn't like sitting on the pass side.

Then, depending on whether or not I put headrests on, those will be covered to match and he said he will also cover the plastic hinge covers in vinyl also, he said it will look better than just repainting them. They are kinda banged up anyway, paint might not hide that, a smooth vinyl over the top would hide everything.

All this could change tho, if I decide to use a different material or color or who knows. That's just my plan for now.