Seat upholstery kit from "you know who"........

[78K20]

My 84 has the OEM cloth / vinyl bench seat. I wanted to replace it with an all vinyl cover, so when my 4 legged buddy rides with me the hair will vac out easier.

So, I did a LOT of searching here, and decided that a purchase from LSC would be a wise choice. When it was time to do the install, I decided to take the seat to an upholstery shop. They have the heat guns & extra hands, plus the experience to do the job right.

Well, I got the call from the upholsterer today, and it wasn't good. I drove over there to see first hand.

First, I would like to say that my seat foam is fine. The cover should have been pulled on, and heat applied where needed, to get that "glove tight" look.

That's NOT how it went. The cover is too big. Baggy! So I told the upholstery
guy to make it right. He's going to cut it apart, and make it smaller, where needed.

I'm NOT happy about this, and will NEVER do this again. I didn't bother contacting LMC cause what are they going to do to make things right at this stage. Just thought I'd inform everyone & anyone that cares, before they make the same mistake I did.

I will post current images below, and give an update in a couple day's, after
the cover is corrected, and re-installed.

[1BadSS]

Looks like your foam has lost its shape.

[Stitch]

I'm not an advocate of LMC because they are a reseller of mass produced interior products. I also cannot say whether that cover was sewn up right or not. It looks to me like it is sewn right.

I can guarantee that that cover is NOT installed correctly. They should have very easily been able to install that cover. Also, if the cover didn't fit correctly, they should has fixed it and installed it for the price they quoted you. If you had come into my shop and I gave you a price of $xxx to install the seat then it would not have been more than that. I have a feeling they charged you more money to install the cover correctly that's why they called you to show you the cover was sewn 'incorrectly'. If you had brought the seat to my shop you would never have been called. We would have corrected what needed to be corrected and called you when it was done. You hired them to install the cover and that's what they should've done. Not call you to tell you that the cover didnt fit. You're paying them to install it correctly whatever that entails.

I can honestly tell you from experience that the backrest cover is not pulled down far enough. That's why there's wrinkles in the sides and it being baggy in the top corners. And the bottom cushion is not pulled far enough forward before they rolled the trim over the front of the seat. See where the cord is at along the front of the seat? It also looks like they tried to pull the bottom cover on instead of roll it on like it should have been. It clearly is back too far by about 1 1/2". Just my observations.

Sorry for the rant. But I'm tired of people blaming others when the problem lies in their workmanship.

[Grande Rojo]

I've had an LMC cover in my truck the last two years. Fits like stock, looks great.

[blakeduren]

I just installed an LMC cover on my suburban bench. It fit great. I did pull a little bit more of the material under the seat though, just because the seat foam was original and probably sagged just a bit. By the way, it was a velour/vinyl cover.
Blake

[lilpoindexter]

It just proves that LMC SUCKS!
Your experience is typical of those who purchase from LMC

[78K20]

Stitch,

Thanks for your input.

I'm not an upholsterer, so I could be getting taken.

The shop showed me the back of the seat at the bottom, where the ends meet and you put the hog rings on the "jute" to hold the front & back tight.
In this area, the jute overlapped by a huge amount. Enough to where the rings would be into the vinyl. And still, the cover was loose fitting.

This is a new upholsterer for me. The guy I've gone to in the past is gone.

I was quoted $75 to $100 labor, depending on............

When I went back, and was shown how it looks now, the price went to $200.

I can honestly say that the seat foam was fine when I delivered. The OEM cover fit perfictly. No dips, or sags, etc.

[78K20]

Upholstery guy called me last night. Said he'll need another day to "finish up".
He told me he removed the welting. Claimed it was too stiff. Wouldn't let the vinyl lay down like it should.

He told me he "double stitched" in the welt area's. Told me that I'll like it.

I'm not used to being told what I'll like. I hope he's right (about likeing it).

I just don't feel good about this whole deal. I didn't tell him to remove the welting.

I expect to receive a call from him today, to come see what he's done.

When I get to his shop, I'm going to take some pictures of the results, and I'll update my post with them. Good or bad.

[78K20]

Well, I got my seat back to my shop. I'm not happy with it, but it is what it is. I will never do this again.

The upholstery guy did remove SOME of the welting, and the cover does actually fit better. He said he also removed a full 2" of material all the way around.

I would rather have the welting. All of it. But I've got the seat back, and I can put this all behind me & get on with it.

I'm posting an image of it on my shop floor. I guess it don't look too bad. I'm just kind of anal about my stuff.

Another thing I don't like about this cover is the cut-out's on the seat bottom for the seat belts to come thru. They just look tacky to me. I thought I could have re-installed the molded plastic inserts, but it don't look like they will completely cover up the cut-out re-inforcing. I would have rather had the seat belts fed between the top & bottom of the seat.

I also hope the wrinkleing on the top of the back go away with time.

I guess I could always put a mexican blanket over it!

[Restrorob]

Thanks for the update, I don't care for the seatbelt cut-outs either. If I decide to stay with a bench it looks like Stitch will get my business.....

[junkyardjohn]

Originally Posted by stitch

i'm not an advocate of lmc because they are a reseller of mass produced interior products. I also cannot say whether that cover was sewn up right or not. It looks to me like it is sewn right.

I can guarantee that that cover is not installed correctly. They should have very easily been able to install that cover. Also, if the cover didn't fit correctly, they should has fixed it and installed it for the price they quoted you. If you had come into my shop and i gave you a price of $xxx to install the seat then it would not have been more than that. I have a feeling they charged you more money to install the cover correctly that's why they called you to show you the cover was sewn 'incorrectly'. If you had brought the seat to my shop you would never have been called. We would have corrected what needed to be corrected and called you when it was done. You hired them to install the cover and that's what they should've done. Not call you to tell you that the cover didnt fit. You're paying them to install it correctly whatever that entails.

I can honestly tell you from experience that the backrest cover is not pulled down far enough. That's why there's wrinkles in the sides and it being baggy in the top corners. And the bottom cushion is not pulled far enough forward before they rolled the trim over the front of the seat. See where the cord is at along the front of the seat? It also looks like they tried to pull the bottom cover on instead of roll it on like it should have been. It clearly is back too far by about 1 1/2". Just my observations.

Sorry for the rant. But i'm tired of people blaming others when the problem lies in their workmanship.

i agree 100% ya get what ya pay for, & you're not going to get the best work possible from the cheapest guy in the phonebook. It always amazes me how some people will pay untold $ for something like a simple rubber grommet because it's in a n.o.s. Cardboard box, & then expect proffessional results from a $13 an hour shop. I guess people have differing expectations. John