Here’s where the upholstery project sits as of today. 4 more yards of material were acquired. I was lucky they still carried the same exact brand and style so there won’t be any match up problems. With what I already have there will be plenty of surplus in case I figure out a way to do a headliner.
The dots transferred to the foam using the cardboard template were connected with green lines. When the holes are punched into the foam for the buttons, it’s the intersection of the lines that are used, not the dots. The template it too imprecise, but serves well to layout the overall pattern.
The profile of the Procar foam seat cushions is vague and inexact. Drawing a line around the back cushion onto the foam resulted in a mess that could not be replicated for the second seat. It was so uneven it also could not insure the tufting would end up centered front to back or side to side when installed. As a result paper templates were created.
Initially these were traced around the cushions, after which the pattern was folded in half lengthwise and matched up for shape. This was fitted to the cushion and trimmed or built up with masking tape until a perfect fit was created, and a final master created. This was used to mark up the blue outline on the foam pads. These are the backs:
A second line was marked outboard as shown above. I’ll explain this shortly. The backside was also marked with the blue outline to be used in cutting the foam.
The same process was done for the bottom seat foam. Template created, and foam marked top and bottom:
The foam pads will be sliced to size using the blue line on the reverse side, and the outboard line on the front surface. This results in a pad that sits even with the edges of the cushion, but extends outward at about 45 degrees all around the perimeter of the seat cushion. Having this larger surface on top allows for an invisible blending as the vinyl fabric is folded over the sides of the seat.
I have a couple of options on what to do next - trim the foam pads to size, punch the button holes, or mark the fabric. Regardless, the project cannot proceed until I take a day or two and assemble all the buttons needed for the complete job.
I can appreciate why diamond tufting cost so much back when it was popular. Just the materials cost a fortune, to say nothing for the hours of prep work before the actual labor begins creating the finished upholstery.
In the meantime I determined I can actually get rid of the clunky stock inside door and window handles. I’ll get into the details when it comes to the installation, but I picked up a pair of late 50’s Corvette window winders (chrome knobs), and will match these with standard Chevy door handles:
Because the truck handles are flush on the back and the passenger car handles extend outward, these will move the handles further from the upholstery whether or not I use the ½” extensions. I don’t have an arm rest on the driver side of my truck because the factory location is too high and hurts my elbow. With the new tufting, I’m also removing the arm rest on the passenger side. I don’t want to rely on yanking the door shut with the door handles, so I’m also adding 1933 Ford inside door pulls like these:
They will be mounted in the area above the door handles on the metal of the door just above the removable panel. Dangling on the tufting they should look pretty cool and be very handy.
More to follow!