the seat in my civic wagon was ripped when i bought it. it had already been repaired once, and ripped out again. wagons in particular seem to be plagued by ripped driver's seats, and the only one i've found in a salvage yard with the right color uphostery also had a ripped driver's seat. so, i decided to try skinning the passenger seat, and just reupholster my seat. the yard only charges $30, all you can carry, so the cover only cost maybe $2 among the other stuff i pulled. the upholstery pliers and rings cost about $10 shipped, and i already had the spray adhesive. i figured i'd document it as a DIY. eventhough there will be differences with other models, most of it should still apply.

tools required:
wire cutters/small bolt cutters
phillips screw driver
sockets- 12mm, 14mm, 19mm
hog nose upholstery rings and pliers
scissors/blade

the horror


removing the seat couldn't be more straight-forward. 4 12mm bolts and a plug.







new(er) cover and extracted seat


remove the automatic seat belt reel (if applicable), 2 bolts and the loom clips.



side cover, 2 phillips screws


the lever slides off. inserting a screwdriver into the end and pushing it off works really well.


seat rails and hinge assembly, 12mm, 14mm, and 19mm





the first of many hog nose rings to be cut. most of the rings attach a metal wire (inside a fabric/vinyl sleeve) to another wire or spring. try to remember their location to make reassembly easier.


this rubber strap hooks onto the springs on the back of the seat, simply unhook. one on each side.


the other ends of the straps attach here on the front.


the rings in the middle of the back can be cut from front or back.


the headrest posts go into these tubes. you need to remove them to get the old cover off, and the new cover on properly.


the other end of the tube is under here.


it's a tight fit, but get your hand up there and squeeze the two halves together and then pull the tube out.



several rings on the bottom


these tabs slot into this plastic channel.



many more rings to cut. this is the easy part. reinstalling them is a bit harder.


the foam had some chunks missing. i went to a local upholstery shop and they gave me some scrap foam for free. i cut and shaped a patch to fill the voids and used spray adhesive to glue it in. i also glued some smooth fabric over the repairs to hopefully prevent further damage from friction and wear.













now, time for the new cover. i ordered this nice 101 piece kit from JCWhitney.


unfortunately, this is what they sent me. false advertising.


starting with the bottom section, it makes the job easier if you remove the wire "ribs" from the sides of the cover so you can install the rings on the middle rib.



reinsert the rib into its fabric sleeve, and install more rings.


the holes for the hardware of the driver's and passenger's side are different, so a few holes have to be made. the original holes won't show up once the hardware and plastic covers are put on, and the seat is reinstalled.




once you put everything back together, admire your work and reinstall the seat.



Before:


After:


ring locations under the seat cover. i would have put this pic earlier in the post, but didn't want to spoil the reveal of the new cover.


i hope this tutorial helps somebody out some day.


Modified by gutterslide at 8:22 AM 11/8/2005

 

sweet. good job!

 

nice DIY write up....damn your car is filthy!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ECAhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">....damn your car is filthy!</TD></TR></TABLE>

i know. it's shameful.

 

Nice job with that interior, Ish

 

good job man,i would've just saved up fro nicer seats,hell even recardos

 

nice wirte-up