Has anyone had any experience with "dealer installed" seat covers? The Seller of my 1956 Custom Royal swears that they were put on the car before the first owner took delivery---I would like to take them off because our intent is to preserve, not restore, the car in its original condition, but I am afraid of what might be beneath these seat covers.
Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Posted 2018-09-29 4:27 PM (#570911 - in reply to #570906) Subject: RE: "Dealer Installed" seat covers
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George: I have seen your "Dealer Installed" seat covers (photo below). They aren't very pretty (to be honest). In comparison, the stock 1956 black and white 542 Custom Royal sedan seat covers shown below are very pretty. The fabric is outstanding (I have a sample in my hands (literally)). I would vote to remove the covers and run with the OE seats. (I have done this on my 56 Dodge)
My suggestion would be to remove either the front or read seat bottoms (neither are attached by anything other than a clip and/or gravity) and then remove (cut off with side cutter pliers) the hog rings that are holding the seat cover(s) to seat bottom. The rear seat bottom will likely be in better shape than the front. If you don't like what you see, then you can reattach the dealer seat covers with zip ties (zap straps) from the dollar store.
This is what your 542 trim code seats looked like when they left the factory:
Using zap straps/zip ties to replace hog rings (before I trimmed the tails off the straps):
Your seat covers (to show others what your situation is currently):
Posted 2018-10-28 7:58 AM (#572504 - in reply to #570906) Subject: RE: "Dealer Installed" seat covers
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Removed "Dealer Installed Seat Covers" and found that the original seats (except for a tear on the side at driver's door--probably due to sliding in and out of the car) are in good condition---lucky me!
This car is a "preservation not restoration" project--the goal is to have a "nice used car" (called a "cream puff" in the '50s) so this fits right into the plan!
Posted 2018-10-28 11:16 PM (#572543 - in reply to #570906) Subject: Re: "Dealer Installed" seat covers
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hope thems really good zip-ties . i got hundreds here that ain't worth even the time to
throw em away as they snap doing tightening ----------------------------------------later
Posted 2018-10-29 12:29 AM (#572545 - in reply to #572543) Subject: Re: "Dealer Installed" seat covers
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60 dart - 2018-10-28 11:16 PM
hope thems really good zip-ties . i got hundreds here that ain't worth even the time to
throw em away as they snap doing tightening ----------------------------------------later
I think that is directed at me, not the original thread starter.
I think that the ties I used are pretty strong. They did not break during the tightening sequence and seem to be holding. At worst they can be replaced with hog rings in the future.