OH yeah. It’s on.
Time is ticking, and the Z is on it’s way to being our wedding car! Yes, I convinced my beautiful, sensible minded fiancee to use the 280Z as our chariot. The only catch: it has be 100% ready. For my wedding, is there anything else it would be? :]
Since that day (about a month ago) i’ve been planning, scoping, and wrenching on the 280z to get it ready for game day. With little over three weeks away, it seems like it’s got a great distance before it gets to 100%.
This morning, it was back to the seats.
Last time, I had just recovered the seat backs leaving the seat bottoms to be finished.
There are three small screws that hold in the cover plate to the adjustment mechanism. Behold! the underside uses that same straw-like padding as seen in the seat backing.
Seat adjustment mechanism
I was blocked by these stubborn screws holding down the chair adjustment spring fixture. Even with WD-40, corded drill with PH-3 (big) bit, and some taps from a hammer – those tough screws were NOT coming out.
So I got a little clever and cut the old vinyl to slide it out from the seat spring fixture. This method will prove VERY useful when putting the new cover on.
Undoing the chair slider…
The original seat foams are from Toyo. A quick part search on google for ‘PM690M9’ reveals nothing – surprise.
Minor surface rust in the seat spring; only a little clean up required.
Tada! No one’s going to see this part anyways…
After a quick test fit of the new seat cover, I thought there was a bit too much play in the cover and the seat foam. So i decided to use some extra foam i’d been saving just for this purpose. Though pink open celled foam like this isn’t ideal (as it WILL eventually disintegrate), it should last several years before collapsing out, by that time, i’ll just get new foams entirely. Here, i cut a pattern for the seat bolster because the seat cover is a touch wider than the tapering original seat shape.
I also decided to replace the straw-like padding on the bottom between the seat foam and the seat spring. My first thought was it was just a protective layer between metal and foam.. but the other day when working on the driver seat (which had this material and burlap…), i realized it’s other responsibility… absorb any excess moisture. oh well.
The new seat covers use a string to cinch the cover to the frame. I decided to re-use the hog tie re-bars (as well as the string) to make sure the covers sit firmly in place.
Here, you can see where i cut the new seat cover to fit in between the bolts that hold the spring assembly. I pulled the string out from that portion of the seat cover, cut, slid the cover through the opening between the bolts, and then fished the string back through. First thing i thought of was that this solution would be something my dad or grandfather would think up of. Worked like a charm, and best of all I can move forward.
Looking pretty full in there – now just to pull down that mid-section to give it contour…
Seat completed, hog tied tight.
Perfect. The seat bottom is extra cushy, and it’s got great shape. I lightly sanded down the bolts, sprayed the seat back bracket with bed liner for a nice rough texture, and cleaned / sprayed the slider lever.
the DAILY DATSUN 