Standard seat... dreaded broken spring

[cwcarpenter98]

Yup, the side support spring broke on my seat yesterday.

I'm not big on using LMC, but they seem to be one of the only places providing a spring. They also have a rebuild kit with some foam and padding. My truck could really use some help in the foam department.
Have any of y'all used these parts? https://www.lmctruck.com/1960-66-che...eat-components

My seat cover is still useable, so I'm not really looking to replace that yet, but I definitely want to fix the foam and now the spring.

If you have sources for the standard seat foam or a good side spring, please comment, thanks.

[nsb29]

Most of the time the foam you get no matter where you get it from is not the same as the original don’t remember where I got mine was able to use it but the upholster had to do some carving on it
If all you need is that vertical piece it would probably work the spring that runs horizontally is not reproduced I use spring wire and made my own

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by nsb29

Most of the time the foam you get no matter where you get it from is not the same as the original don’t remember where I got mine was able to use it but the upholster had to do some carving on it
If all you need is that vertical piece it would probably work the spring that runs horizontally is not reproduced I use spring wire and made my own

It is the side spring that is broken. The flat springs that run front to back are ok.

I'm thinking about taking it to an upholster, but I have no clue where a good shop is

[The Rocknrod]

Although the Custom Comfort seat I have can use the 67 seat foam (see my sig) my upholstery guy still had to trim to fit some. So if I were you I'd talk to a local upholstery shop and they can guide you a bit. Maybe sell you some foam.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Although the Custom Comfort seat I have can use the 67 seat foam (see my sig) my upholstery guy still had to trim to fit some. So if I were you I'd talk to a local upholstery shop and they can guide you a bit. Maybe sell you some foam.

I definitely don't have much experience with upholstery work so that might be my best option

[Riverstory]

Where did the spring break? I had to fix 8 springs in my panel utility bucket seats, both side and front to back springs. I used some springs out of a junkyard seat and other I repaired myself with pinch pins and metal silicone.

They have been working great for over 1 year after upholstery.

You might want to switch some side springs from the passenger to the driver side, If possible.

[cwcarpenter98]

Sorry, I should have taken a picture, but I found this picture on the site instead.

It's one of these side springs:

[Riverstory]

I got those at the junkyard. $10 for the entire seat

[nsb29]

Lmc ant my favorite but there probably finest Taiwan makes but there you’re only choice. That’s why I bought a package of spring wire off EBAY and made my own LMAO it probably came from Taiwan.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Riverstory

I got those at the junkyard. $10 for the entire seat

Junkyard is an option, but then I'm still dealing with old springs that also might break and I would have to store the rest of the seat.

Originally Posted by nsb29

Lmc ant my favorite but there probably finest Taiwan makes but there you’re only choice. That’s why I bought a package of spring wire off EBAY and made my own LMAO it probably came from Taiwan.

LMC is not my first choice, but as you said, only choice online.




I took some pictures of the spring just now. Big sad. Yes, I used a new piece of extra carpet from when my parents put new carpet in the house to keep the springs from cutting into the foam.

I'm going to call a couple local upholstery shops in the morning to see about getting the spring fixed and possibly the foam too.

Thanks y'all for your suggestions, I appreciate it! I'm trying to fix it this week while I'm on spring break so I can continue to daily drive the truck for the rest of the semester, but I'm also going to Gatlinburg for a couple days. I'll keep y'all updated on what happens.

[1restorick]

I bought the side springs from LMC and they are not identical to the OEM. I went to the junkyard and got the springs out of another truck. I did use the LMC springs as an additional spring for each side. Then I took a large piece of carpet and hog tied it to the springs for additional support. For foam, I bought a large foam piece from Legendary interiors. It was a much better quality then the LMC foam. It was actually like a piece of memory foam. I attached a couple photos. Good luck with this. The stock bench is worth the work and can be very comfortable.

Rick

[1restorick]

More photos:

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 1restorick

I bought the side springs from LMC and they are not identical to the OEM. I went to the junkyard and got the springs out of another truck. I did use the LMC springs as an additional spring for each side. Then I took a large piece of carpet and hog tied it to the springs for additional support. For foam, I bought a large foam piece from Legendary interiors. It was a much better quality then the LMC foam. It was actually like a piece of memory foam. I attached a couple photos. Good luck with this. The stock bench is worth the work and can be very comfortable.

Rick

Thank you, Rick, for the pictures and info. I'm not as concerned about the looks of the spring, but rather I want it to be functional again. I like the idea of an additional spring for more support. I will probably ask the upholstery shop about adding an extra one or two in the morning.

Did you cut the foam yourself?

I do like the bench seat and definitely want to keep a bench. I wouldn't be totally against a full foam seat either, but probably just cheaper to fix what I've got

[The Rocknrod]

For side springs they all seem to look the same, maybe it's just me. I did buy the LMC springs for my seat side as I had to replace one.
OER - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/o...MaAqgAEALw_wcB
Al Knoch Interiors - https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Al-Kn...EaAu-5EALw_wcB
OER - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/o...0aAnpbEALw_wcB
Clips and Fasteners - https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Se...ts-p/a7895.htm

[cwcarpenter98]

Thank you for the links, Rocknrod.

The upholstery shop I went to is too busy to work on it this week, and I'm wanting to fix it this week, so I have resorted to fixing just the spring and I'll deal with the foam at a later point.

A bench seat is just a special couch, right?

I'm headed out of town for a couple days, so I'll update when I get the springs and get back.

Thanks y'all for the help and suggestions!

[1restorick]

I did cut the foam. I just used an electric carving knife from the kitchen.

I had a person on Ebay make me the cover.

Rick

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 1restorick

I did cut the foam. I just used an electric carving knife from the kitchen.

I had a person on Ebay make me the cover.

Rick

Thanks, Rick. Your seat looks great.

[1restorick]

Christian, if you just need to repair the broken spring these "crimp able" clips work pretty well: https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/10...-p/cso4452.htm

Rick

[65Custom]

Christian,

If you want I can get you the number to an upholstery over in the Cleveland area, My buddy at the resto shop uses them all the time. Let me know, I know it is a bit of drive to get over there.

Kevin

PS I need a seat if you find a good one somewhere let me know. (hopefully with all the springs and none broken) Lol

[cwcarpenter98]

Thanks, Kevin, but I've decided I don't want to spend any additional money on this seat frame and cover. I'm about to park the truck for awhile, so I'll start looking for a better seat while it's parked.

[cwcarpenter98]

What I thought was one broken spring ended up being two. Dadgum.

Before heading out on my last spring break trip earlier this week, I ordered some couch springs since they were cheap and showed up when I needed.

To attempt to bring support back to the driver's side, I added some springs across and replaced the broken side support. The broken front to back spring is staying broken, but hopefully there's enough additional support to compensate.

This is a temporary fix so I can keep driving the truck until I park it to repair the rust in the cab this summer.

On the seat foam, it looks like the part number might be 3844920, but the last digit is pretty much impossible to read.

[The Rocknrod]

Looks like you got it on the run. Should work for what you want it for.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Looks like you got it on the run. Should work for what you want it for.

It will definitely work for now, and I can start looking for a full foam seat without having to rush

[cwcarpenter98]

I added some additional clamps to the additional springs going side to side. That helped to bring some additional stiffness to the old springs.
The new side support spring put too much upward pressure on my left side which is why I added the other 3 spring. I haven't driven the truck yet, but just sitting in it felt decent. Definitely not exactly how the factory seat was, but much better than the broken springs.

I also used some paracord to pull the new side spring down some to keep the side at the proper height. The new spring pushed it too far up on the side.

For a quick and dirty fix though, it turned out fairly decent, I think.

[The Rocknrod]

Oh ya that should work.