I have a 40 1/2 ton that is pretty much in its original condition (even the original bed wood is still intact). I'm not entirely positive that the seat material is original, but it looks like it very well could be. It's a kind of leatherette (not real leather and not really vinyl), fairly smooth to the touch (without any pattern, etc.). The color appears to be (now faded) black, or perhaps an extremely dark brown.
we are the third owner of our unrestored kc which has a seat covering that sounds similar to jim's...ours is also nearly black, vinyl with a little texture to it, but it is probably not the original...i think that all the kc's originally came in brown vinyl seats...it may have been lebaron bonney that once told me there was a brown leather option, but this never sounded right to me and I have never heard any independent comfirmation...
An educated guess would be a dark brown because that is the first year of a tan steering wheel and geneeral brown tone for the instrument panel knobs, etc.
The Chevrolet pickup we had during the war had a dark, dark brown seat cover with a design in it and piping in the seams. It was not vinyl nor leatherette (plastic was not around then) but looked like really heavy oil cloth just like we had on the kitchen table but a lot thicker.
Like This? I have one, possibly two (this one) NOS seat backrests. They both have this covering material. This one is dirty. I cleaned a corner for the photo.
You will find many different suggestions for the materials to use between the seat springs and upholstery. In the last few years I have done a couple of Chevy seats with very good results. Doug's video gave us the confidence that we could do it.
I like to use burlap directly over the springs. I have seen videos of people using a piece of thinner house carpet but I feel that is too thick and stiff. I like the heavier burlap you can get at an upholstery shop. I have also used a double layer of the burlap you get at fabric stores. Cut it so it hangs over the springs about an inch or so all the way around. I do hog ring the burlap to the the springs just below the top of them so the hog rings are not visible on top of the springs.
Most seat upholstery kits include a nice thick cotton batting or you can buy it at an upholstery shop. The goes on top of the burlap and underneath the seat cover. That is the extent of the padding that came in most of these older cars.
On both of the seats I did I added a 1/2" layer of fairly hi-density foam over the burlap and under the cotton batting. We cut the foam to just fit over the top of the springs. It's not cheap but really makes a great feeling seat. Then the batting laps over it and down the sides of the springs to give the cover a contoured look.
It's not the foam material you get at Hobby Lobby or a regular fabric shop. Those are not dense enough. We have a local furniture upholstery shop that will order it for us.
The other trick I learned the hard way is that it is easy to overstuff a seat. My reasoning was that more padding is better. The key is enough padding but not so much that the seat covers do not fit or look good when installed.
Great info. What thickness cotton batting do you use? And nothing over the batting but the seat cover? It seems that it might get bunched up when the cover is put on.
The cotton batting was maybe a couple of inches thick. It is hard to really measure because it is pretty fluffed up. That is a very common material at most upholstery shops and is inexpensive. If you watch Doug in the video you see how fluffy it is. And we used the very hi-density foam in place of that gray matting he used. I know some people have used high quality carpet padding for that layer.
We did not have trouble with bunching of the batting. The key is to position it over the springs with it hanging over the edges about half way down all around.
We actually turned the seat cover inside out before we tried to install it. This really means that the sides are facing up when you position it on the springs and padding. You are looking down on the cover and the edges are folded up towards you.
After you have positioned the cover you can start working around the perimeter folding the edge down. This way you do not move the cover on the batting.
Thanks a lot for all the advice guys. I like to investigate the project a while before I attempt it. So it will be a little while before I attempt this job but I’ll post back when I finish it.
Another question.... Where does the welting appear on an original seat. On the back, it seems to appear only on the sides and not across the top. On the bottom, does it do the same? Where the welting only goes down the side edge and not across the front?
So... finally warmed up enough up here to thaw the ice out of the doors on the 46 3/4 ton. First, not sure 40 and 46 used the same covering on the seats from the factory but my 29-48 master parts book gives the same part number for the cushions from 1940 to 46. I think the seats are original to the truck given the overall condition of the the truck and cab interior. And they are a deep burgundy and what we always called leatherette with a finely wrinkled texture if you look close. Anyway,there is only one line of welting on the bottom cushion running only along the edge of the top panel/sheet, from the rear of the top on one side of the cushion, forward around the front and back to the rear of the other side. This forms the seam between the top and the vertical edges. Those vertical edges are formed of 3 pieces joined with each other at the front corners with double sewn seams with no welting. The back cushion also has only one line of welting running along the edge of the main panel you lean against. The edge piece however looks to be one piece all the way around. Hope this helps. If I weren't so techno-stupid I'd post pictures. If you'd like pictures, let me know and I'll get my son to help.
I checked the GM Heritage Site and saw a number of brochures on 1/2 ton trucks. 1934-1937 shows truck seats with welting going along the sides then across the front along with a vertical welt seam on the corner edges. 1938-1942 (or so) shows the welt seam goes along the side edge then down the corner and not having a welt on the front edge. Maybe they are different for the 3/4 ton truck.
I'll try to get help with pictures tomorrow. I looked at the brochures and see what you mean. I'm wondering if there were variations in the sewing pattern depending on whether the seat was the optional leather or not. In one of the brochures it does mention the standard seat as being leatherette. Or maybe even depending on where the vehicle was produced. Mine came out of Kansas City.
"..... as I sit here in sunny Florida..." Now you're just teasing! Although I thought I read this morning there were "falling iguanas" in the Florida forecast. :-)
Hi Mike I seem to be one of the lucky ones who can't post pictures. I'm not sure how to rectify that but I'll work on it. Meanwhile, if there were a way for you to private message me your email, I could send you the pictures that way.
