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Front seat rebuild/replace for '79 210 / B310


pdp8

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I know I could just buy some seats that fit but I'd really like to have them look stock and original and I'm willing to spend more than the car cost me to have that happen.  of course the car only cost $700...

 

I've got the less common brown interior.  I'd like to find some good original seats (yeah, right) or someone to recover them in the original color.

Has anybody had any luck finding factory covers or a custom shop to undertake such a thing?

 

I should mention that most of the interior on mine is pretty good, a bit sunbleached but otherwise solid on everything but the front seats and the carpet (of course the dash is cracked).  A new carpet made the interior pretty nice but really made the seats even more awful.  I pulled a pair from a 91 Corolla that had sort of similar color but I'm just not going to be happy with the contrast after I get the paint done.

 

thanks,

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I know I could just buy some seats that fit but I'd really like to have them look stock and original and I'm willing to spend more than the car cost me to have that happen.  of course the car only cost $700...

 

I've got the less common brown interior.  I'd like to find some good original seats (yeah, right) or someone to recover them in the original color.

Has anybody had any luck finding factory covers or a custom shop to undertake such a thing?

 

I should mention that most of the interior on mine is pretty good, a bit sunbleached but otherwise solid on everything but the front seats and the carpet (of course the dash is cracked).  A new carpet made the interior pretty nice but really made the seats even more awful.  I pulled a pair from a 91 Corolla that had sort of similar color but I'm just not going to be happy with the contrast after I get the paint done.

 

thanks,

 

Old advice but it worked for me.  Check your local Adult Education site for a course on furniture reupholstery.  If you are lucky you will find one!  The reupholstery instructors are usually experts in their field.  The are usually intrigued with reupholstering a car seat or two.  They can get you discounts on the proper seat fabric, proper foam padding and "burlap" or equivalent support fabric, and will give advice on how to cut, fit and sew a very credible reproduction of the original seats.  Bonus, they have industrial sewing machines so you will not burn out your home Singer or Brother sewing machine.

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Welcome to Ratsun.

 

Seat looks, fit and comfort have come a long way in 35 years. Gray and Black will go with just about any body color.

Thanks for the welcome, longtime Datsun owner and I've been lurking for a while, it just took another car breaking for me to get back to the 210.

 

If better looks, fit, and comfort were the criterion, one could argue that I should replace the whole car with something more modern/better.  It's transportation sure but also a trip down memory lane and the original seats have a particular fit and look that make it part of the essential Datsun experience for me.

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Old advice but it worked for me.  Check your local Adult Education site for a course on furniture reupholstery.  If you are lucky you will find one!  The reupholstery instructors are usually experts in their field.  The are usually intrigued with reupholstering a car seat or two.  They can get you discounts on the proper seat fabric, proper foam padding and "burlap" or equivalent support fabric, and will give advice on how to cut, fit and sew a very credible reproduction of the original seats.  Bonus, they have industrial sewing machines so you will not burn out your home Singer or Brother sewing machine.

I like the idea.  I've got a call in to a guy I know who has a custom shop (aircraft mostly) but I'm sure once I get up off the floor from his number I'll be looking more carefully at a DIY solution.  

In the mean time, I do have to send a sample of fabric to SMS for another project so it might be prudent to include a bit of Datsun tan just to get a match set up.

 

thanks,

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I like the idea.  I've got a call in to a guy I know who has a custom shop (aircraft mostly) but I'm sure once I get up off the floor from his number I'll be looking more carefully at a DIY solution.  

In the mean time, I do have to send a sample of fabric to SMS for another project so it might be prudent to include a bit of Datsun tan just to get a match set up.

 

thanks,

 

When I reupholstered my bucket seats, I went a step beyond Datsun!  I noticed that the burlap on top of the metal springs had deteriorated to the point that the underlying carpet was covered in brown dusty crap.  So, I vaccumed it all up and went down to my local Move it yourself franchise and bought too much of the expanded foam padding that they sell to place between the china dishes that you really want to save.  The individual tear-off segments are just the right size to lay on top of the seat springs and catch any future burlap poop.  There's such a thing as being too close to original design defects, and as long as it's out of sight, why not improve? Hog rings are the right thing to attach the upholstery fabric and included wire supports to the original seat structure, and usually can be bought as a set with the proper installation tool [a glorified properly grooved plier, don't worry you will understand when you see one].  You just might in this day have to call your local Veterinary to find a local source of the Hog Rings and tool, but that's what some Animal Rights activists call progress these days!  Don't try to use regular pliers!

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