Salvageable seats?

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Fredensborg

I like music, languages, weaponry, and freedom.
7173 Mustang Supporter Member
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Location
Zimmerman, MN 55398
My Car
1973 Mach 1
1980 Bronco
A couple modern Fords
My interior is in ok shape for being 50 years old, however I have some seams that have come apart on the passenger seat and in the back. Can these be repaired by an upholstery shop? They appear to literally have “come apart at the seams” the actual vinyl material is not ripped. 90F4CDEE-08BB-4E52-9426-B61718D55065.jpeg0EFACA97-A692-482A-B256-A64C31CECD3B.jpeg
 
Maybe. The material is ripped at the seams. The seams split because the vinyl becomes less supple over time. If the thread had failed, you would see a bunch of needle holes instead of a somewhat jagged edge. This means that the remaining material would have to be stretched to create enough of an allowance to stitch the material back together. This puts more tension on the seams than is desired. Also, all of your vinyl is distressed now, so reusing it will likely lead to more splitting sooner rather than later. Not a recipe for long term success.

The center sections look to be in good shape, and are the hardest to source for replacement. If they were my seats, I would take them to a good upholstery shop and have them take the upholstery apart and use the pieces as patterns to cut new vinyl and preserve the center pieces. Before stitching everything back together, I would take the center sections to a good dry cleaner and see if they would recommend dry cleaning them. If they don't, you could try hand washing them in a gentle detergent to freshen them up and remove any deep seated dirt.
 
You can order enough matching vinyl to have those re-done You just need enough of the off white vinyl for the hump in the back and the narrow strips on the front seats. I ordered a sample and it looked like it matched to me. This was a couple of years ago and I have the white seats also. Although I didn't pull the trigger on doing this.

See my thread here;

https://7173mustangs.com/threads/seat-cover-value.35164/
 
FYI. You can also ship the covers to an upholstery shop that specializes in automotive interiors if you don't want to purchase OTC.
 
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