TF - Stock Bench Seat Questions

[Dan in Pasadena]

I stripped the old, super dry, cracking upholstery off my TF bench set frame today and noticed a few things I have questions about. First, here's a few photos of what I'm asking about:

So I never realized our seats have a sheet metal bottom. I assume everyone's does? Are these square holes in the bottom "breathers" to allow air to escape when someone sits on the seat?

If they are then why are they basically covered on the underside of the seat with these dried out plastic covers? Seems counterproductive. Can I remove these covers?


At some point one of the seat back pivot bolts must have fallen out and been lost. The owner substituted the bolt I found installed which is obviously not the same size as the other one. Because of this the factory hole has been worn too large and now I'll have to patch and re-drill a correct size hole. Does anyone know if thes bolts are reproduced? They seem to be an odd bolt with a very large head and a shoulder. ALso, because i'm alittel anal i'd like them to be stainless so I can polish them. I am having the frame sandblasted and powder coated gloss black just so the portion that is visible will look "right" - to me anyway.