Trim Blog – Hot Rod Trim Auto Upholstery

Why is my seat uncomfortable?

Note: this post has been updated with more images and information added.

We totally know we’ve got a queue of jobs to get through this winter. But we thought it might be useful and that it’s about time we get into some details about why we dwell on fixing the seat foundation before any new foam and skins get fitted.

You will never get a great driving seat despite how fresh your seats look unless the foundation is fixed. In some cases, seats were not even made comfortable from factory.
Seat foundation is like house foundation. But you don’t drive your house around and get a sore back or bottom.

The example we’re using here is XC seats, using XA/XB as additional examples for comparison.

If you would like to know what to look out for in investigating why your seats are uncomfortable, these are some of the more common problems that we have encountered during our jobs. It goes without saying that welding repair and spring replacement are required well before the fitment of any upholstery.

Frequently observed issues: cracked / fatigued metal, worn/twisted (or sometimes missing) weld nuts etc., fatigued / saggy springs, worn or broken spring clips, metal wear from fatigued / unsupportive springs, collapsed (or sometimes broken) edge wire(s) …

You can right-click on each image to view it in detail.

Driver back rest issues

Look for metal fatigue / cracks as they can be hard to spot.

Even on the less worn out side (inside) of the driver seat, spring clips could be worn.

The head rest part usually doesn’t suffer too much stress, but a weak spring could continue to wear out itself, and/or other parts of the frame that it comes into contact with. Note that not every single spring needs to be replaced. Broken ones should be, but sometimes factory springs just need to be reinforced.

Fatigued and/or broken edge wires and/or springs are very common. If left unaddressed, edge wires / springs will continue to hit and wear the metal out, and springs/wires could eventually snap. Your seat sags and collapses and the broken metal parts poking out for example would also damage the foam and fabric covers. All in all a very unpleasant experience obviously.

Driver cushion base issues

Look for worn/twisted (or sometimes missing) lock nuts,

Keep inspecting every spring because sometimes they look okay and unbroken until some pressure applied, then you’ll know they’re fatigued. They stop functioning as springs and will not provide any support or comfort when used.

Comparisons between upgraded XA/XB vs. yet to be restored XC seat bases:

We hope this post is helpful in demystifying why your seats are uncomfortable.

Note: the images and information below have been added to illustrate some details that I missed before. Furthermore the driver seat now has all broken and fatigued spring replaced.

XC Back Rest with New Factory Spec Springs

Lower headrest spring has been replaced – this will give better support to the driver head rest especially when the seat skin has a wire that needs to be hog ringed down to the spring.

Lumber / mid-section spring has been replaced with a handmade, factory-spec spring. It is made with spring wire and in fact a slightly thicker gauge, with the expectation that it will offer an even stronger spring and therefore better lumber support. This mid section is also where the seat skin needs to have the listing wires hog ringed down to springs.

Sometimes connector links help stablise the springs

XC Cushion Base with Upgraded Spec Springs

Below are some more detailed photos that should have been included in the post.

Metal fatigue + broken off weld nut pretty common for old seats.

Just a final note …

It is really important to check symmetry and squareness of the frames. A seat that’s had (accident for example) damage and has been trimmed without addressing the fundamental problems may look twisted and would feel really uncomfortable when used.

The AP5 Project

AP5 Chrysler Valiant (1963-1964).

This has been one of our most enjoyable projects for a customer who had this car as his first car when moving to Australia from New Zealand.

It has also been one of the most involved projects because of the astronomical amount of seat rebuilding and hand bending of seat springs. It has all been so worthwhile not just because we got paid for our work, but it is truly a cherished experience when we get to contribute to restoring history and improving things meant for human comfort. This is not about building and presenting a museum piece, it is about making the car how the customer remembers his very personal experience of moving countries. We’re proud of being part of that reconnection.

I decided to create this post years after doing this project, because I think the Australian Production 5 deserves the spotlight.

The customer initially came to us telling us about being back stabbed by his seat. Fixing the broken seat spring is a no-brainer. Naturally, he wants comfortable seats overall. Not just pretty seats.

Time to do some discovery.

So even merely opening the backing boards reveals the driver back rest has lost some of its padding despite the previous retrim staying intact. The snapped and mangled up springs destroyed the padding. Even without broken springs, this padding is not the poly foam we are used to today. The AP5 padding is old, mouldy, and completely flattened.

Seat padding would need to be re-constructed using modern materials. Dunlop foam is a logical choice. To satisfy request, we added extra side bolsters to front and rear back rest foam, and added extra listing pockets to the seat skins. This customisation allows the skins to be installed snug around the extra foam bolsters, hence the more sculpted look compared to factory standard AP5/AP6 seats.

Upon completion, we couldn’t be more happy. The AP5 is just beaming with life.

VJ Charger Non-Reclining Custom Seat Skins in VH 770 Style

I have been given the opportunity to come up with something that I hope will make this customer’s Charger very cool! It is a VJ with non-reclining front buckets but it has a VH 770 back seat that doesn’t need to be retrimmed. So the idea is … (on the right):

And the result is …

This custom VH 770 style non-reclining bucket seat trim will now match a back seat like this one (we did this for another customer in a previous job), also made with Chrysler diamond dot vinyl inserts:

Also VH 770 but in factory tan:

Despite being a one-off set, the skins have all the factory listing locations; ensuring that the sizing, fitment and shaping would still be as factory as any VH / VJ non-reclining bucket seats — like these:

A factory standard set of VH base model seats we installed with new foam and skins in another job.

Allow me to digress as I’m reminded of a Plymouth Duster job we did in NZ — the car has its original back seat but along the way ended up with front seats out of a VH/VJ NZ-assembled Charger. So we opted to make the back seat match the front seat trim, and came up with this…

We truly appreciate the opportunities to turn old things into beauties again, and long live old classics!

VH VJ Hardtop Door Cards and Door Top Reconditioning

Changing from wooden boards that are prone to moisture damage and cracking to laser cut aluminium composite panels (ACP) that are naturally waterproof —

Reconditioning: rust cleaned, painted, install new boards with new rivets, apply new foam and vinyl to match the rest of the interior —

For another hardtop (VH) that has electric windows, a set of specifically laser cut ACP boards was made:

Completing another fully trimmed VH hardtop door cards with fully reconditioned rear door tops (manual window winder version; before punching in holes):

VH R/T Charger Interior in Tan Vinyl

After black vinyl, we get asked a lot about doing VH Charger interiors in T1 Tan vinyl.

There are different price points and turnarounds depending on material choice.

Factory original options are generally available out of USA as well as from some local supplies. The cost of only the vinyl (shipping, labour costs etc. not included) at this price point would be approximately AUD$1200 – $1500.

So some customers ask about similar, but more hip pocket friendly options, which do exist. There are also a small handful of people who want to do their Charger differently and opt for leather.

This particular VH R/T replica has opted for a similar to factory tan vinyl throughout. A good alternative to the factory T1 Tan is a Ford kiwi light saddle vinyl, which in our opinion has a very similar colour and grain to the Valiant one.

As per our customer’s request, we made a set of matching door cards with custom silver inserts.

Whichever you might consider, we can give price and turnaround estimates for the different possible options. To help you decide, we can provide detailed photos of samples or mail out samples to you.

VH VJ 770 Charger and Hardtop Door Trims

Our first post in 2026 is all about door trims.

Vinyl and Carpet Choices

We recently completed two sets of 770 style vinyl door cards for two separate customers. One for a VH Hardtop in tan coloured vinyl with bound plush carpet, and one for a VJ 770 Charger in black roebuck vinyl with bound loop carpet.

Backing Panels

The VH Hardtop set is made with laser cut aluminium composite panels and has replaced window winder holes with electric window switch holes; and the VJ 770 Charger set is made with laser cut masonite boards.