JTR 96 TA

Hello, does anyone know what it should cost reupholster a pair front power leather seats in a 4th gen? (What if I provide the leather?)

Thanks,
-Justin

Brangeta

"So... this is Bessie... my cow... how much is the job now?"

Replacement leather that is real leather seems to cost between $400 and $1200 last time I looked into it, and that includes the sewing and all that. Check Classic Soft Trim, Katskin (spelling?), and leatherseats.com.

n2ceptor

Leather from Europe is more costly than American... As Brangeta stated above it can vary on the quailty...

Brangeta

If you are wanting super luxurious leather, a company named GAHH supplies Porsche, Bentley, etc. with leather.
http://www.gahh.com/smp-v20-c05-a.php

I don't like the cheap crap most companies try to pass off as high quality leather (which pretty much covers most of the aftermarket seat covers you can find for Camaros under $800), so if you want the best, either go with them, or go with what Callaway uses in their C16:

http://www.garrettleather.com/custom...duct_type_id=5

I'm not sure who sells reasonably good pre-sewn leather covers. I always just consider the less expensive ones the crappier ones, and haven't looked into the quality of Katskin, etc.

Counted Out

Power vs. Manual seats shouldn't matter at all. But you can do it yourself for $425 - it is kit that includes "Pleather" and does the front and back seats. I did mine, they look great.

rbaksi

you're talking about the ones from hawks third gen right?

Counted Out

Yup. $425 shipped and it only takes a few hours to do everything.

rbaksi

how do those feel compared to the stock stuff? Im considering buying them for myself

pics would be great

Counted Out

I can't tell you how they compare to the stock stuff, I had cloth before and I actually have never been in an FBody with leather. I was planning on taking more pictures when I finished the door panels, but here's a quick shot:

Mikes 1994 z28

Nice! Where did you get the do it yourself kit?

Counted Out

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ca...atherlike.aspx

You can also see an old, ****ty, cell phone picture of my interior on that page.

They also carry the seat kits for Firebirds, LS1's and even 3rd Gens.

Widow_maker89

Dude... your thread jsut got hi-jacked but the 800-1200 quote is accurate and it very much depends on the leather labor, sewing, thread everything but the actuall leather is roughly 800 from the local shop here in sarasota..

ACE1252

That looks good. What does the granite color looks like? I have cloth graphite interior and a blue car....don't really want red in the car. It might contrast good with the blue(my valve covers do), but I'd like to stay conservative on the interior.

1995blackttopta

here's my 95 T/A's seats redone with the hampton vinyl from hawks. it's the granite/graphite color which is closest to the 93-96 graphite. it's slightly lighter than oem. you have to have your old accordian pieces from the sides of the front seats sewn into the new upholstery. i paid a bit too much for them to do that and install the front leather ($450) and did the rear seats myself. compared to the stock stuff they are a little bit softer than the oem leather. my only complaint so far is that the headrest leather is kind of thin and has no backing and it took awhile to form to the foam and that my drivers side seatbelt is rubbing on it leaving some wear marks up there. these pics were taken back in Feb when i finished installing them and pulled the car out of the garage to get some pics.

Brangeta

The problem with the stock leather and a lot of the cheaper leather is that they are very thin, and more prone to rip. The benefit of thin leather is that it is soft.

More expensive leather tends to be much thicker, and thus it is a stiffer seat, that is more durable. Go to a Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Bentley dealership and be a creeper and just go in and squeeze the seats LOL.

Vinyl isn't something I'm very fond of. Your skin can stick to it, it can have unappealing plastic smells (sometimes), and it can also vary from thin to thick. Naugahyde is a brand of vinyl/pleather that is pretty darn thick and has a backing to it, so it can be extremely durable. I have some samples of it, and it is so thick, that I don't think it would wrap around complex shapes well without wrinkles. I also have a chair that I recovered with the stuff, and my legs stick to it like crazy. I can't sit on that chair more than a few minutes without getting uncomfortable.

A benefit of vinyl is that is comes in thousands of colors, whereas leather doesn't come in more than a few hundred colors unless you get it custom dyed or find a supplier that supplies your crazy color idea. If you wanted (for example) teal colored leather for some reason, you'd have an extremely hard time finding some place that does seat covers that offers it unless you went through a supplier like Callaway uses (and I linked to above) and had them use their material.