How To: Installing DMCH Leather Seat Covers ... some thoughts

[nkemp]

There is a good write-up on installing the leather seats from a while back. That writeup assumes that you are going to reuse the ribs from the old seats. But times and some products have changed. The DMCH seat covers I got recently do not need the old ribs since they have ribs sewn in. The bottoms are different in that they have a plastic strips about 2" wide that is used to retain the seat bottoms snug into the grooves. You no longer need to pull the bottoms tight to the underside of the rubber pad. Instead the plastic sheets hold it tight. I did not take a picture of the seat bottom ribs before installing so if someone has one feel free to add it to the thread.

Since pictures are better than words sometimes here are a couple from the seat bottom:

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I think, but don't know, that it is pretty easy to take the bottom pad off when the seat leathers are off/loose. Then reattaching the retainers would be easier than the way I ended up doing it. If I had the seat leathers loose, I think I would have removed them from the frame end (not the rubber end) which would have been simpler.

But I goofed and fit the bottom plastic sheets after I hog-ringed the seat bottom. So I had to remove the rubber bottom by bending back the retainers near where the green zip tie shown in the photo. I suspect it would have been a LOT easier to take the bottom off before hog-ringing the bottom. To bend the metal I used a wire cutter as shown here:

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Do not remove the bottom two retainers (one each side) or any more retainers than needed. To get the bottom two retainer back into their holes if they comes out, work from the topside of the seat. Once the retainer is bent, the pad can be removed. When the pad is reinstalled, the wire can be bent back into shape ... sorta. I think the chance of the pad coming off the retainer if bent with a hook is somewhere between slim and none so I added the zip ties to make it slimmer and more-none ::-):

Note that you may be able to get the retainers out of the hole in the frame. That is the easy part. Getting them back in by only being able to work from the bottom could be a PITA. You are trying to get it into a hole, you cannot see while under tension. I accidentally had one of the bottom retainers (the short ones) come out. It took quite a while to find the hole and get it back into the hole. It wasn't until I realized that I could get to it from the top even with the leathers on did it go easier. YMMV ... taking them out of the hole in the frame may or may not work better.

The black plastic strips have six holes, three holes each side. I'm not sure what they are for. They are not for securing the rib like it used to be in the original design.

More thoughts on replacing seat covers:

Wear gloves when removing old hog rings. I have a blister right hand ring finger that will take weeks to recover
If you are having trouble removing the old hog rings, try using a cutter like shown above. The old ones are easy to cut. The new SS ones are not easy to cut! Wear safety glasses because the do fly and fly far.
I used a plastic bag (the tissue thin ones from the supermarket in the produce section) over the headrest and then slid the headrest cover on. With the bag it is super simple to put the headrests on or take them off
Have some of the larger zip ties handy. Sometimes it is worth using them to snug the leather and then hog ring it on either side
You do not want to cut too much when cutting the slot for the plastic trim on the seatback lever. Use a pointy think to align one hole, then put the screw in the other. Then put the aligned hole's screw in. You may need to make a few more cuts. Remember cutting too short is preferred to too long! I found that the angle needed for the plastic trim was not intuitive. Also note that you can see how well your pointy thing is doing by looking from the inside of the seat.
Now, while the seats are out, is a good time to vacuum the car and to hide any wires.


Would I do them myself again? Yes
Do you hurt when done? Yes
Would having more than your own two hands help? Yes But be kind and don't ruin a relationship while trying to get these on. BTW...if you can do this job with a friend without fighting, you can do wallpaper together. ::-):

[rddmc]

Thank you for sharing your experience and for the pictures. Your conclusions are very helpful. Do you have pictures of the finished effort?

Thanks,

Rod
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[nkemp]

Here is the before (a bit out of focus). Note that the vinyl sides were badly burnt/scorched and a big chunk was missing. There was some black fabric covering the hole to distract from seeing the yellow foam. That is the way I got the car too many years ago and should have fixed it sooner.

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Here is the after:

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More

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[pezzonovante88]

Here is the before (a bit out of focus). Note that the vinyl sides were badly burnt/scorched and a big chunk was missing. There was some black fabric covering the hole to distract from seeing the yellow foam. That is the way I got the car too many years ago and should have fixed it sooner.

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Here is the after:

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More

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Can't view the attachments.

[nkemp]

Hmmmm....

Anyway, here are the before:
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Here are more after seat pictures:

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[rddmc]

Nice work, they look great.

Rod
10921

[Domi]

Looking really good, nice job :thumbup:

[Alan]

Very nice looking.

[Rich_NYS]

I printed out the "slip me some skin" article; is that the article that is recommended? Also, what is the "plastic bag & zip-tie" method I saw a few guys refer to? (Is it: plastic bag on headrest, zip-ties somewhere else? Or: plastic bag & zip-ties on headrest?)

Thanks!

[nkemp]

I printed out the "slip me some skin" article; is that the article that is recommended?

I'm not sure which article you are referring to. There is a reprint of a DeLorean magazine article that is OK as a general overview. Just disregard the parts referring to the wires in the old seat since you don't reuse them on the new DMCH leathers. Also, the new DMCH covers have built in plastic methods to use with the hog rings. And as mentioned above, the seat bottoms are not pulled with rings. You pull the plastic "T" throught the foam to form a retainer. See pictures. ALSO... I didn't take any pictures of the new covers before I installed the covers. If you could do so, especially the bottom insides, then others will have an easier time visualizing the new seat bottoms.


Also, what is the "plastic bag & zip-tie" method I saw a few guys refer to? (Is it: plastic bag on headrest, zip-ties somewhere else? Or: plastic bag & zip-ties on headrest?)

Thanks!

First off, zip ties can be used in multiple locations. Anywhere you would use a hog ring a zip tie will work (how well/long is TBD). I used zip ties where I couldn't get the hog rings to work like I wanted or where I wanted an extra pull point.

Getting the new leathers over the headrest can be difficult ... or so others have indicated. I used a supermarket produce bag (like found on the rolls) to put over the headrest before slipping the new covers on. The plastic helps them to slip right over with ease. The bag remains under the leather and you'll never know afterwards.

When you remove the old covers you'll find the two rows of hog rings below the headrest in the narrow part. These pull the covers tight and give the seat the neat trim look just below the headrest. It is easier to use zip ties to install that portion than to get the hog rings in there. A pro can likely do hog rings with ease. But since this will be the first and likely last seat reupholstery job you'll be doing, zip ties will work much easier.

Lastly, take your time and keep working it until it looks right. It takes some time but the covers can be massaged into place.

[Rich_NYS]

I'm not sure which article you are referring to. There is a reprint of a DeLorean magazine article that is OK as a general overview. Just disregard the parts referring to the wires in the old seat since you don't reuse them on the new DMCH leathers.

"Slip me some skin", Gullwing Fall 2004, David Jacobs.



I didn't take any pictures of the new covers before I installed the covers. If you could do so, especially the bottom insides, then others will have an easier time visualizing the new seat bottoms.

I'll take a bunch of pics; I can send them to you if you'd like a Moderator to add them to your post, and/or I can post 'em in the thread.


Great response....thanks for the help!

[nkemp]

I'll take a bunch of pics; I can send them to you if you'd like a Moderator to add them to your post, and/or I can post 'em in the thread.

Adding them to my post would be perfect by my me.

[nkemp]

"Slip me some skin", Gullwing Fall 2004, David Jacobs.



The article is worth reading but the installation parts are outdated if you use the DMCH covers. When you read the article and look at your new seat covers you'll see that you don't reuse any of the wires. Also, the lower seat does not use hog rings to pull the covers tight in the grooves. It will make more sense when you are looking at them.

[Rich_NYS]

There is a good write-up on installing the leather seats from a while back. That writeup assumes that you are going to reuse the ribs from the old seats. But times and some products have changed. The DMCH seat covers I got recently do not need the old ribs since they have ribs sewn in. The bottoms are different in that they have a plastic strips about 2" wide that is used to retain the seat bottoms snug into the grooves. You no longer need to pull the bottoms tight to the underside of the rubber pad. Instead the plastic sheets hold it tight. I did not take a picture of the seat bottom ribs before installing so if someone has one feel free to add it to the thread.


I'm not sure if I'm seeing what jives with this or not.

Mine do not have ribs sewn in, they have sleeves that very much resemble the original configuration. I'm also not finding any plastic strips.

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[nkemp]

I'm not sure if I'm seeing what jives with this or not.

Mine do not have ribs sewn in, they have sleeves that very much resemble the original configuration. I'm also not finding any plastic strips.

29177

That does not look like the ones I purchased earlier this summer. Instead of sleeves, there is fabric sewed to plastic. You pull the plastic through the foam and lay it flat against the foam and that is what holds the seat bottoms in place. For yours, use the info in the writeup mentioned above.

Have fun ... and wear gloves when pulling the old hog rings!

[robvanderveer]

I've got those exact same covers as the picture. It's the seat bottom cover right? The backrest covers did have the sewed plastic lines for the headrest and inserts.

[dmc6960]

I'm not sure if I'm seeing what jives with this or not.

Mine do not have ribs sewn in, they have sleeves that very much resemble the original configuration. I'm also not finding any plastic strips.

29177

You should see 6 circles, 3 on each side, drawn in silver marker. These mark where you need to cut holes, and transfer a wire from the old seat bottom. The built-in loops in that wire then secure to the bottom of the seat.

[Rich_NYS]

You should see 6 circles, 3 on each side, drawn in silver marker. These mark where you need to cut holes, and transfer a wire from the old seat bottom. The built-in loops in that wire then secure to the bottom of the seat.

Thanks Jim,

I found two circles on each side; one of the loops hangs out the end of the sleeve so no need to cut out for that one.

The confusion is due to his seatcovers being a different style than mine (his doesn't use the bolster wires, if I'm folllowing correctly.)

I'm almost done....this is no fun, but it's looking good!

[dmc6960]

Oh yea, I forgot one side stuck out the end. Nick's covers also confused me when he was telling me about them. Must have been a recent production change.

[DMC-81]

Oh yea, I forgot one side stuck out the end. Nick's covers also confused me when he was telling me about them. Must have been a recent production change.

I'm late to this informative thread.... I think they were a production change. I am installing DMCH seat covers currently that I got a while ago. The date stamped on the underside was 11 07 14. Here are 2 pictures of the rigid plastic tabs.

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I'll post my experience that adds to the information already posted.

[DMC-81]

As Nick alluded to, installing the rigid plastic strips were easier before the bottom was hog ringed in place. I didn't have to remove the rubber bottom to do this. Because there were 3 holes in the strips, I opted to use the zip ties and stainless steel washers as well, as I figured they will help anchor the strips in place and fill in the holes in the seat bottom.

Before:
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I applied leather conditioner before and during the pulling and stretching process:
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Here is the underside right side bottom cushion finished:

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After:
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This was my first attempt at upholstery work, so I took my time to try to install the skin properly, and I was pleased at how well it fit.

The upper half is next...

[DMC-81]

I was able to finish the upper half of the passenger seat today. Here are some additional thoughts:

As Nick mentioned, the DMCH seat covers have integrated plastic ribs all around, so you don't reuse the old metal ones. Here are some pictures:

The center ribs in the backrest...
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The 2 ribs in the headrest...
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Instead of using the plastic bag trick on the headrest, I used the approach in the "Slip Me Some Skin" instructions, to use a light spray of Silicone on the headrest foam. After that, the seat cover slipped right in place.

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To help me draw the center ribs up to the "BBQ grill" for fastening, I put 4 temporary zip ties in them to grab onto.
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Here is the final result...

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This was my first attempt at auto upholstery, so I took my time. It was a lot of work, but the end result is satisfying. I expect the other side to go somewhat quicker.

I took more step by step photos. They are in the interior restoration album if anyone is interested.

Cheers,

[Rich_NYS]

Nice!!!

[DMC-81]

Nice!!!

Thanks Rich!

Well, I managed to get the Driver's seat done today:

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The estimate that I got from a quality auto upholstery shop to install 2 seat covers and repaint the seat rails/frame as required was $900.00. I thought that price was high, but man, that was a lot of work to do it myself. Still, I would do it again.

Some other thoughts after the second seat, I used an average of 135 hog rings per seat, and when you are pulling/coaxing the back of the headrest down to fasten, do the 2 seams first as they tend to spread out of place if you start with the middle.

[DMCMW Dave]

The estimate that I got from a quality auto upholstery shop to install 2 seat covers and repaint the seat rails/frame as required was $900.00. .

That's VERY high.

[sdg3205]

That's VERY high.

Seems like the 'we don't really wanna have to do this job' price.

[DMC-81]

Seems like the 'we don't really wanna have to do this job' price.

Yeah, based on their body language, I think they weren't sure how/scared to do it. After the owner quoted that price, I laughed while putting the seats back in the wagon. I said that price is not even in the right ballpark, and it was more than the price of the seat covers. Then I said that I'll do them myself.

It would be different if they were an expert in DeLorean seats, but I figured I'd better take the chance on my own skills, rather than paying and risking a hack job.

[Kevin 02530]

Can anyone tell me the trick to getting the hog rings on to the two horizontal brackets at the bottom of the headrest? Next to impossible to to the pliers in there.

[gamerguy51]

Can anyone tell me the trick to getting the hog rings on to the two horizontal brackets at the bottom of the headrest? Next to impossible to to the pliers in there.
No hog rings, zip ties! See user "decobra" post from "slip me some skin" article in a Delorean magazine.

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[Kevin 02530]

Thank you! Can't seem to find that article but I zip tied them anyhow. Worked out well.


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