This seat is out of a mid 1970’s Chevrolet farm truck, and obviously in need of some TLC. After stripping it down, repairing the foam, and making a pattern, it was time to cut and stitch a new cover from some sturdy Naugahyde
. Now it’s ready for the next harvest.
This is Rich’s daily driver used to commute about 60 miles per day. “Scotty” is a 2000 Honda Insight hybrid. It has a 1.0 liter 3 cylinder gas engine coupled to an electric motor that gives the gas engine a boost when accelerating, and acts as a generator to help recharge the battery pack when braking. It is considered a mild hybrid, since it will not move without the gasoline engine running. The electric motor is sandwiched between the engine and the transmission, and operates only when an extra kick in the pants is needed. Body is constructed mainly of aluminum to help keep curb weight under 2000 lb. He has 140k miles on it currently, with a lifetime fuel economy average of 57 mpg. That is particularly amazing considering that most of the new hybrid offerings aren’t able to achieve 50 mpg. He loves this car, and refuses to replace it until he can buy one that gives better fuel economy. Amazing little car, especially when you consider it’s over 12 years old!
This gallery contains 8 photos.
A couple of years ago I had the fantastic experience of getting this car up and running to prepare it for auction. It’s a 1926 Murphy bodied, Springfield Rolls Royce Phantom I dual cowl phaeton. The chassis was built near Springfield, Massachusetts … Continue reading
Here are the cushions after reupholstering. Bare seat spring units are still available, and I chose to go with the reproduction units for the seat base cushions only. I was able to reuse the long backrest unit, since it was in much better condition than the seat spring units. Instead of using the traditional hog rings to fasten the cover to the seat frame, these have a metal channel around the base of the spring frame that must be bent closed over a welted seam. Others may have a wooden base frame that the cover can be stapled to.
This is the “before” pic of one of the seat cushions out of a customer’s Model TT truck. Rusty, bent and broken springs covered with a nice green carpet that was wired over the framework. A natural habitat for the local mice.
