Bench Seat Foam ?

[KTLX]

All, considering rebuilding my original bench seat for my 70 short bed fleetside, Does anyone know of a good vendor, all the price quotes I have received have all been over $225. I can't imagine foam costing that much.

[Classic Heartbeat]

The seat foams are manufactured in Shelton, Wa. They are the only company to my knowlege that is manufacturing them. We recieved a notice several months ago from them stating that because companies in China are increasing the produduction of products to sell to the rest of the world, their consumption of raw materials has increased signifigantly. This makes the chemicals that are needed to produce the foams harder to get and the price has gone up substantually. This is the same problem as to why steel parts have gone up and also played a part in gasoline prices going up. This has helped guys in the scrap buisness, because the price of scrap has gone up considerably. American Cushion Industries, (the company that makes the seat foam) has also told us that for now, they are not giving us prices that are set in stone. Quite the contrary.. We are supposed to call for pricing now. I don't see it getting any better in the near future either. WES www.ClassicHeartbeat.com

[4x4Poet]

Higher tarrif time.

[Bowtie67]

FYI - there where 2 different foams used for our trucks, there was a thick (6-8") foam and a thin (2") setup. Unfortunately most of the suppliers dont mention anything about the thin unit and all they list is the thick unit making it look like there is only one. I ripped my seat down last year but first I had ordered the foam for my bench seat so I would have it ready to install only to find I had the other style that no one sells and in looking around pretty much you end up having to repair it your self or bring it to an apolstry shop. I have a brand new thick style foam for the lower bench seat for the C10 series and I will take $150 for it.

[MOTHERTRUCKERS]

67-8 were thin pad, 69-72 were thick. There is also a difference in the back cushions depending on the options of the truck, 67-8 seat covers will not fit 69-72 seats and vice versa. We sell both styles.

[PICKMUP]

...to expand on what Ed/Mothertrucker said...There were both thick & thin bottom cushions in 67-8 and 69-72.
...and 67-68/69-70/71-2 covers/seat frames are all different. The covers have to be made for the style/year seat you have. Check your seat before you order foam or covers.

[Maximum Overdrive]

No foam shouldnt cost that much but it does because its a captive market. Sooner or later though overseas competition will step in and undercut the market big time like they have on just about every other product.

[Lyon]

If all else fails fabricate your own bench seat out of block foam. It's not that hard to do. That's what I did, because with a crew cab I needed two bench seats, therefore everything I buy is usually double the price. (There are no kits available for crew cabs for anything!) It only takes a couple of hours at most to do it yourselve. I used the old seat foam as a pattern and trimmed down a block of foam I purchased at a local vinyl and foam dealer until I was satisfied with it. I used a regular utility blade knife but I think the pros use an electric knife. This is the route I took and it only cost about $100 total for the foam.