body and interior Horse hair seat pads

[tomphot]

Bumping this old thread - Jim, did you ever try the VW seat pads?

['76mintgrün'02]

I'll answer, since I sort of pushed that idea... he did and said they did not work for him : (

Perhaps he will share some details as to why...

[steve k.]

There is a place around here that does a lot of foam work. Different types for different uses. They redid my couch cushions. They can carb any special shape. No idea if that will work or the price. If I had an example I could possibly ask. 

 

Steve K 

[jgerock]

8 hours ago, '76mintgrun'02 said:

I'll answer, since I sort of pushed that idea... he did and said they did not work for him : (

Perhaps he will share some details as to why...

I bought an entire set of horse hair pads from Wolfsburg West. None of them came close to fitting the BMW seat frames. The back seat pads were too narrow and were too flat on the upright frame. Would love it if a VW Beetle owner would take the box off my hands.   I contacted a local VW custom shop and even they didn't want them. 

[tomphot]

3 minutes ago, jgerock said:

I bought an entire set of horse hair pads from Wolfsburg West. None of them came close to fitting the BMW seat frames. The back seat pads were too narrow and were too flat on the upright frame. Would love it if a VW Beetle owner would take the box off my hands.   I contacted a local VW custom shop and even they didn't want them. 

 

What did you end up doing?

[jgerock]

1 minute ago, tomphot said:

 

What did you end up doing?

Bought new front seats from GTS Classics and had them make matching covers for the rear seat.

[caseywarren]

I had a similar issue needing new pads for my seats so I bit the bullet and ordered new OEM from Blunt. While they were definitely expensive it was well worth it

 

They fit perfectly & Look super sharp - i.e. Edges and lines look perfect vs the over stuffed look of new upholstery. They also feel great as well. Not like the bumpiness of the old worn out horsehair that was previously there. 

 

I will post some some photos soon once I get everything back into the car. 

 

As as a side note the brand that is stamped on the bottom of the new oem pads is Johnson Controls which is the company that absorbed Haue (which was the original German company that produced the pads) so these oem pads are the real deal. They are carbon copies of the originals. Below is a photo before i put the vinyl cover back on. Top pad is the new one. Bottom is the original one (tag was stamped 1971)

 

Credit goes to mike for providing me the info about Johnson Controls purchasing of Haue

 

[Conserv]

Tom,

 

Because many antiques were upholstered in horsehair, upholstery shops that specialize in re-upholstering antiques frequently have horsehair on hand, and can carve/manipulate it into any shape.

 

As with most of my "projects," it could be a fussy and expensive job, but given the cost of OEM horsehair pads, maybe it would be reasonable....

 

Just a thought!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[joekitt]

Johnson Controls is the worlds largest supplier of automotive interiors - most people wouldn't know that - I've been to several of their interior plants including Toyota in Georgetown KY


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[joekitt]

Just use foam and cut smaller pieces for the bulges - it's how many restorers do it - looks great and lasts longer


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['76mintgrün'02]

but it doesn't crunch under your butt, like they're supposta

[ray_]

5 minutes ago, '76mintgrun'02 said:

but it doesn't crunch under your butt, like they're supposta

 

And the smell!

 

(No, not you, Tom!)

 

[Dan Saunders]

I just started replacement of the seat cover for my drivers seat in my 1973 2002.  The drivers seat was torn badly and the horsehair padding very worn out.  I bought the Wolfsburg West  seat bottom part no. 171881375B.  The seat back is in OK shape and I may enhance the padding on the seat sides in time.  I got the bottom seat cover from World Upholstery.  The Wolfsburg West bottom pad does not fit as is, however, I modified it by cutting it in two pieces at the low point seam.

 

I also bought the rear seat VW cushioning and plan to follow the fAQ that discusses that procedure.  I will also report back on that.

 

 

 

This allowed me to flatten the cushion and fit it to the frame.  I attached it to the frame with 18 gauge aluminum wire.

 

 

After attaching those two pieces I used a few pieces of the old original horsehair cushion that was still in usable shape to patch small gaps.

 

 

This is where I am so far.  When I resume, I will test fit the cover and see how it looks.  It is possible I may need to enhance the padding on the side edges, but not sure.  I will check back in a week or so.  The OEM cushioning is so pricey, I am sure I can make this VW padding work.

 

 

Here is the old seat cover and the new cover and cushioning using the VW Wolfsburg padding:

 

 

So the seat bottom came out good.  The driver's seat back top is in decent shape except for the padding, but I have a new top and since I need to remove it to add new padding, I will install the new seat back top I got at World Upholstery.  I plan to try a foam upholstery padding for the seat back top.  I will update how that goes once I complete it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 1 by Dan Saunders
incremental progress made

[OldRoller]

When reworking the 74 seats, I used 1/8" plastic poster board, cut to size to match the outer edges of the springs. Secured to the springs with stainless safety wire. Spray adhesive holds the horsehair in place. Covered the horsehair with 1/4" medium density foam, glued, then wrapped the seat with 1/2" cotton batting, also glued. Put the cover on and with the seat on blocks used my butt dyno to assess the 'feel' until I was satisfied. 

The spring board evened the support, and the foam/batting did not cause excess 'puffiness'.  

Many ways to do it, just satisfy your butt dyno!

[lunarkingdom]

15 hours ago, Dan Saunders said:

I also bought the rear seat VW cushioning and plan to follow the fAQ that discusses that procedure. 

Can you share the link to this please? I also am going down this rabbit hole soon!

Edited August 26 by lunarkingdom