front bucket seat foam

[roguedc72]

hey challenger guys(and girls) the question is about seat foam,after doing a lot of research it looks like the bucket seats in a 72 challenger are different than other years, I can't find foam specifically for 72's, after watching a video from legendary auto on upholstery installation on a 73 seat, my seats don't match those either,the video was really helpful but not the same. This project continues to drive me nuts!!!

[anlauto]

1972 is a "one year only" seat foam.....I doubt anybody reproduces it.

[Burdar]

You'll probably have to add foam to your existing foam and reshape it.  A good upholstery shop should be able to do this easily.

[johnr]

Get hold of some dense chunks of foam and an electric knife. Use what you have got for patterns and start carving. Time consuming, but worth the time.

[patosmith]

I have a 72 and went through the same issue. The seat foam I ordered was not correct.
There are some Legendary videos on youtube that shows adding 1 inch thick sheet foam to the original foam.
I went down to the local upholstery shop and bought a few yards of the foam and a couple of cans of spray adhesive.
I bought an electric knife (like you would use in the kitchen) and used it to shape the foam once it was attached to the seat foam.
I was surprised that was not really not that hard.
I had a vinyl seat cover kit and a box of hog rings.
First time I had ever recovered seats and they came out great so look for those videos.

[roguedc72]

thanks patosmith, I picked up some foam and adhesive and now that I know it's do-able (with success) I'll give it a shot. I have talked to a couple of upholstery shops and I was surprised when they weren't interested in the job!?!? money is all green right?

[johnr]

You would think money is all green, but a lot of folks are only interested in production & speed of turnover. It seems to get progressively harder to find those that are interested in the challenge or art of their craft. Although, there are still quite a few of those that are proud of the skills they possess and we need to get more of the next generations interested in learning and preserving these skills. The survival of our hobby, if you will.

                                               -- johnr --

[roguedc72]

got 1/2 inch thick foam, some spay adhesive and mom's carving knife and took a shot at it, I did both seat bottoms mainly because they're easier to do, the hardest I think is snagging the listing wire inside the cushions with the hog rings, but once they're attached the rest is not that hard. Next are the backs which are totally different from other years, I'll post some pics when I'm done ( if I don't totally screw it up),so far so good.

[Roadman]

got 1/2 inch thick foam, some spay adhesive and mom's carving knife and took a shot at it, I did both seat bottoms mainly because they're easier to do, the hardest I think is snagging the listing wire inside the cushions with the hog rings, but once they're attached the rest is not that hard. Next are the backs which are totally different from other years, I'll post some pics when I'm done ( if I don't totally screw it up),so far so good.

                I'm bettin they come out awesome.   

[roguedc72]

OK, here's a lesson, even if your foams look good, the new covers will still be "loose", my passenger side foam back looked like new(to me),put the cover on,too loose! it's a do-over. The seat bottoms-I added 1/2 foam, they look ok but as mentioned in another reply, I think 1 inch  would be better, so the seat backs will get built up with 1 inch foam. Also,when ordering hog rings, get at least 200, that will allow for "do-overs" without stopping to order more. It's easier than you would think,just go slow,take your time to make sure of proper fit before hog ringing. And use 1 inch foam, old seats are guaranteed to need it.