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Finally got enough money to recover my seats. Started on them about 2 weeks ago and coming along fine, at least for me. Only takes me a bit of time due to some physical constraints and I have trouble standing to long. But being stubborn, I tend to over do it, take a few days off and go at it again. Anyhow, this is my first time I have ever attempting something like this, posted a couple of pictures. so go easy on me guys/gals, I am a virgin at this LOL. Down the road, depending on if I encounter any detour, I am going to re=do the rest of the interior
Looks like you are doing very good on your baptism of putting it back together. Is it leather or vinyl replacement panels? Make sure that all the rubber support backing strips are in good shape, otherwise your back or bottom center portions will cave in. It helps to have a hog ring pliers to help wit5h reassembly or you can make one out of an old pair of pliers.
If you have any questions, let me know.
I just finished my 96 Celebration model. I did everything myself except for sewing. The reason for no seat cover purchase was because I did not want to lose the original leaper on the seat backs. I bought matching leather (unbelievable how close to original coffee color) from a company in California and had it shipped to Florida where I live in Retirement. Took every piece of the drivers seat apart stitch by stitch. I then cut all of the piece patterns and gave it to a local auto upholstery shop to sew. The leaper portion of the seat was in excellent shape and I was able to save thereby not losing the authenticity of the Celebrity edition.
Looks like you are doing very good on your baptism of putting it back together. Is it leather or vinyl replacement panels? Make sure that all the rubber support backing strips are in good shape, otherwise your back or bottom center portions will cave in. It helps to have a hog ring pliers to help wit5h reassembly or you can make one out of an old pair of pliers.
If you have any questions, let me know.
I just finished my 96 Celebration model. I did everything myself except for sewing. The reason for no seat cover purchase was because I did not want to lose the original leaper on the seat backs. I bought matching leather (unbelievable how close to original coffee color) from a company in California and had it shipped to Florida where I live in Retirement. Took every piece of the drivers seat apart stitch by stitch. I then cut all of the piece patterns and gave it to a local auto upholstery shop to sew. The leaper portion of the seat was in excellent shape and I was able to save thereby not losing the authenticity of the Celebrity edition.
Softball60/Paul
It's 1984 XJS. material is leather. all webbing and rubber are in good shape
I also have a 96, and I am planning on ordering new seat covers.
What was the condition of the foam? I redid my wife’s Honda Pilot seats. I feared the foam went bad, but once I installed the new leather skins, it re-tightened everything up!
I ordered my replacement skins from Lseat. They said they can emboss the leaped on the headrest as well. I sent them pictures. Will report back....
I have a 96, so it’s a little different, but if you click the box that says “embossed logo”, the price goes up by $80. I took a picture of the logo I have on my car seat, with a ruler in both cm and inches so that it’s sized correctly.
Now I play the waiting game.
FYI, for those BRG cars with SDC interiors, the matching color is Lark and the piping matches Silver-Grey.
I went thru lseat for a seat, requested Dove Gray, and they sent me what looks like Lark, and insist they are Dove Gray. And also have components that are for a XJ6. Been trying to get a refund, and return for the past 2 - 3 weeks. IMO they are a PIA to work things out
I also sent them Pictures of what they sent me
Last edited by user 652867429824; Feb 20, 2019 at 10:30 PM.
Reason: to add additional info
The foam on my 96 was okay but required some repairs. Most of my repairs were in the back and structural....what I mean by this is that in the 96 there are metal rods that run vertical down the back and were hog clips are attached. Most of this was destroyed. What I did is ........Please forgive me for saying this......but went to Home Depot and purchased some soft spray foam in a can (insulation for windows) placed the wire rod in place and reformed over the top. This actually worked really good. Foam was pliable and gave good strength when hog clips replaced when installing new drivers seat back.
I would ask for a sample of the embossed leaper...if it is not exact........HUMMMM!!!
Vee,
On yours, does the back support air bags work? I’ve had my 96 for 5yrs. With no lumber support. When I got into the seat cover replacement I was able to repair the lumber support pump hosing that connects the bag to the pump. It now works perfectly!!
My lumbar stopped working when the rubber bag got a hole. I tried to fix it with bike tube patch, but I ended up making it worse. When I reskin the seats, I will install an aftermarket lumbar bag. The tubing and motor are still in great shape. I am also replacing the thermostat for the seat heater so it gets hotter.
The foam on my 96 was okay but required some repairs. Most of my repairs were in the back and structural....what I mean by this is that in the 96 there are metal rods that run vertical down the back and were hog clips are attached. Most of this was destroyed. What I did is ........Please forgive me for saying this......but went to Home Depot and purchased some soft spray foam in a can (insulation for windows) placed the wire rod in place and reformed over the top. This actually worked really good. Foam was pliable and gave good strength when hog clips replaced when installing new drivers seat back.
I would ask for a sample of the embossed leaper...if it is not exact........HUMMMM!!!
Vee,
On yours, does the back support air bags work? I’ve had my 96 for 5yrs. With no lumber support. When I got into the seat cover replacement I was able to repair the lumber support pump hosing that connects the bag to the pump. It now works perfectly!!
Softball60/Paul
for the
I have the squab bottoms of the front seats to finish as you can see in the pic. I did have to cut out and replace some of the foam for the rear bottom of the back seat as you can see by the white foam, just waiting for the rear skins to come in, but with the weather going as its is out here, a bit of delay
A bit of a question, or more of a request. If someone in the warmer area could by chance get me the dimensions of the door panels, and the rear panels. Reason is I need to know how much leather I will need to re-cover them. Yea I know, do it yourself, right not my 84 is sitting outside the garage (under cover) so I can get the seats done, and currently it's cold and nasty, just had about 6 inches of snow and to get hit bad this weekend, sure appreciate it
A bit of a question, or more of a request. If someone in the warmer area could by chance get me the dimensions of the door panels, and the rear panels. Reason is I need to know how much leather I will need to re-cover them. Yea I know, do it yourself, right not my 84 is sitting outside the garage (under cover) so I can get the seats done, and currently it's cold and nasty, just had about 6 inches of snow and to get hit bad this weekend, sure appreciate it
Daverb,
I am not familiar with shape/design do the 1984 XJS but I would be more than happy to physically measure mine (1996)
Ive had 2 XJS’ and my problem has always been the narrow centers for the seating portion. The seam always ride the middle of the back of my thigh, and the bar at the edge of the seat frame closest to the door puts way too much pressure on my, leg, plus the lack of a dead pedal adds to the weight my seat has to carry on that side! Im having the interior redone, so Im opting for a wider center of the seat, with no seam where my thigh rests. It'll look factory, and Im not trying to impress any factory correct guys either. I just want to be able to drive for more than 6 hours. A dead pedal would be nice
Seat covers came in....I think I chose poorly on the piping color (silver grey). That’s what I thought looked closest to the color, but it’s not close.
Recovering my seats
