Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: J. Huber on February 04, 2012, 20:38:59
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Hey I'm Rich too! or...
So that's where it is...
I had trouble naming this topic! I am about to get my driver's side seat reupholstered -- and today removed the seat. Yikes. For the last 14 years, every time something slipped out of my pocket or slid under the seat it was pretty much gone! I am sure you all know what I am talking about... Anyway, as you can see from the picture, it was a mess under there..
I also want to mention how the technical manual matched up to for this job. It mentioned that the seats can come out in 3 to 5 minutes... it also says that be prepared for a seized bolt that may have to be removed with "violence"... Well, 3 out of 4 bolts came out in 3 minutes -- the last one took me about two hours! and yes some violence. I tried a number of ways to free the bolt that had rusted to the nut -- in the end it was the mini hacksaw blade that did it.
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James, you almost have enough money there to get the seat redone. ;D Is that the wrench you were using or the one that went missing about 4 years ago. ;)
How are your springs under the seat? If it's a bit soft and you aren't doing the springs you should try the pool noodle trick. I put them in this winter and wow, what a difference. Try it without and then with on the floor before you put the seat back in. For me it was well worth it and the price was right. They feel like new again, or at least what I figure they would have felt like new.
Marcus
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What exactly is the "pool noodle trick" ?
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Pool noodles are those round foam, wild-colored 6 feet or so 'tubes' that (I guess) make for good swimming pool playthings. Here one finds them in toy stores, for next to nothing price-wise. They happen to be just the right thing to use to bolster the seats. I have not yet attacked my seats but will probably do so next year and will try this trick.
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Ashley, have a read through this thread http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15617.0 Garry shows a couple of pictures. I also put a slightly larger diameter section of pool noodle (they come in a variety of diameters) on the inside of the spring where it curves around the front of the seat.
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This one
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15617.0
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So just cut them to length and line them up like sausages under the seat?
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Started out with a similar but smaller project. The rear portion of the drivers seat was loose due to a missing bolt on the right rear and a bolt on the rail on the left side of the seat. After reading a lot of relevant threads on this site, I felt comfortable tackling this small project one Saturday afternoon (too cold to ride with the top down even in South Georgia). I got the seat out after an hour of fighting and discovered numerous gift (similar to the posted picture) left to me by previous owner. I then decided, armed not only with the knowledge of how to remove a seat, but with the experience of one under my belt, to do the other and found more treasure under the passenger side. Additionally, I found two extremely soiled sections of carpet under the seats so I decided to remove and shampoo those sections. Much to my surprise, I got them fairly clean, and while they were drying decided I should remove and shampoo the front sections as well. Those came clean as well, but now I noticed that all of the visible carpet in the car has faded from the sun and the true color was the darker, under seat color of the original dirty carpet. One of my friends who owns an interior auto upholstery shop recommended dying the carpet as it is in good shape, but I may be leaning toward replacing it with all new carpet. So while I decide, I ordered the dynamat extreme as many have recommended to use under the carpet in either case. While that is on order, I also purchased a loud pink pool noodle to bolster the seats as recommended by many. I hope to actually begin to put the car back together as soon as I can come to a decision about the carpet, but this simple afternoon project has ballooned into something much bigger. I wish you guys had warned me. Of course, this started out as a small response to the original post....
I'll go back to looking at pictures in "Pagoda Style" to keep me inspired.
James
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James,
When you get the three noodle pieces in place, try to tie them in there any way you can so that they do not move around and spoil the great effect they have. My new car I have just purchased is about to be a second candidate for them.
Garry
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Well, I am planning to try the noodle thing for sure. But unlike you, James E. I am not planning on "exploring" under the other seat this time around. Probably not as lucrative anyway. Nobody but my kids sit there and they guard their money like Fort Knox.
One other thing I can share: underneath the seat there is what appears to be scribbled crayon number 154. (note the Greman-style one if you can make it out).... Indeed, this is the production number shown on my data card. I have seen it on other parts of the car too but it never gets old knowing that my car was "assembled" by some human. Not sure what the Z stands for.