Lowe seat cover

[MML]

(typo in header, Lower not Lowe!)

Hi fellas,
I recently picked up a lower seat cover on ebay for the bargain price of $40. It's in immaculate condition, never been fitted before.
My question is, do I need any additional bits or pieces before I take it to a vehicle upholsterer? Would the average upholsterer have any clips, rings, etc that might be required? I'll be reusing the existing foam.

These are the actual photos from the auction, what you see is exactly what I got.

[David T]

All you need is what they call Hog rings and the pliers to squeeze them. Any auto upholsterer would have them. What they would NOT have and you may have to repair is the rubber strap under the seat. It is not that difficult to do, you may want to try it yourself.

[SS Spoiler]

Gullwing magazine had a nice four page write up with pictures
that I took to my upholstery guy. He said it had a lot of good
ideas. My seats turned out perfect. Maybe a techy guy can
upload them. Gullwing was put out by Ron Wester. Don't
know if we should ask Ron first?

[kings1527]

Very nice grab for $40. OEM seat covers that have never been installed are very difficult to find nowadays, if not impossible. I'm fortunate to have a NOS full set in storage.

I'd recommend prior to installation, using Leatherique to re-hydrate the leather and make sure that it's as pliable as can be. If it has shrunk over the years at all and then you try to install it, there's a possibility that it could tear.

Aside from that, are you SURE it's never been installed before? I see some small holes on the bottom of the cover in your last pic and not sure if that was due to a prior installation or something different.

[MML]

Many thanks for the replies guys.

David, I'll bear that in mind for the strap. I think the old rings have to be cut off though?

Alex, you may be right on the holes, I re-read the listing and it was stated as "looking like it was partly fitted then not used" so whoever the seller got it from may have punched them in preparation for an install, and not gone ahead with it.
The leather itself looks flawless though. But I will give it some sort of treatment first.

[Chris 16409]

What they would NOT have and you may have to repair is the rubber strap under the seat. It is not that difficult to do, you may want to try it yourself.

My rubber strap foundation on my driver's seat was torn. I had an upholstery guy rebuild both of my seat's foundations with new material. He advised against using rubber as it ultimately would stretch out and could tear again. The stuff he used was strong (called it Herculite) and can support a lot of weight.

[mluder]

I assume you are replacing an existing cover?

The reason I ask is there are two wire retainers that run front to back that pull the cover down into the seat just inside the bolsters on the side. These retainers have loops in them that are used to pull them down through holes in the seat foam to create a nice seam along the bolsters. The original assembly used some plastic ties and plastic washers to pull down. These usually break in the removal process. The replacement is to use large zip ties and fender washers but you still need the original wires.

I realize this is not a very elegant explanation. Perhaps someone else can describe it better.

Cheers
Steve