Still in upholstery mode...

[My52Chebby]

Hi guys,

I glued blocks of foam, shaped them with an electric carving knife and bodywork sanding disks to shape. Then marked where I thought the seams should go and made patterns to match those seam lines. Then cut out the vinyl with an added 3/8" of an inch for seam allowance all around. The next step was to be my wife's work but she got the jitters, she's a quilter and seamstress but it was the vinyl that scared her off. She offered to pay for someone else to sew the pieces together for me (This is MY truck project and I haven't farmed anything out yet).

These are the foam blocks glued up.



After a bit of shaping.



Thursday morning I sat down by the old Singer sewing machine I bought just for this project (paid $150. plus shipping on eBay for a machine from the '50's, it's built like a Mack truck) and did a few tests. As it turned out, I'm a natural. My dad was a fireman and he learned to knit, cook and sew to pass the time at the fire hall. So here's what I've done so far...



That wire hanging from the bottom is for the heated seat pad... After 12 years in the shop, I plan to DRIVE this thing...

Here's the seat back.




I've sewn up the second seat back and will upholster it next...  After that it's on to the bench seat... It's a bit more complex but I'm pumped now.

It started from foam blocks too...





Seeing as I'm planning to do EVERYTHING myself it could be another 2 years before the truck is finished. Idealy, I would have liked a shake-down run in the late fall of this year. Don't think that's going to happen.

After upholstery, I'll be back into the electrical system and final fitting everything in the cab. There's about 20% bodywork left to do, the electrical system is quite complex (of my own doing). Then a final dismantling before painting. I've fabricated racks to hold fenders, front and back, box sides and doors for painting. It will be painted a solid color so painting the parts separately is not a problem.

Here's a link to my truck build's Fotki album:
http://public.fotki.com/skylark/1952-chevy-pickup/

Later guys...

My52Chebby

[enjenjo]

Looks like something you can be proud of.

[Digger]

Lookin Good Chebby

[jaybee]

Looks good!

[1800guy]

Very nice indeed!  Do the different colors of foam denote different densities?

[kb426]

I checked out your photo album. Looking good.

[UGLY OLDS]

I also checked out your photo album ... Excellent work ... When you built your seat frame , did you include any provision for seat tracks or a method to move the the seat to the front & back ??  

 Loots of good idea's in the photo album ...

Thanks ... :b-d:

Bob  

[My52Chebby]

Very nice indeed!  Do the different colors of foam denote different densities?

Except for the white foam, I couldn't tell the difference in densities by touch.

The blue/green and darker beige are both pretty stiff. If I had to say, the blue/green might be a bit stiffer.

My52Chebby

[My52Chebby]

I also checked out your photo album ... Excellent work ... When you built your seat frame , did you include any provision for seat tracks or a method to move the the seat to the front & back ??  

 Loots of good idea's in the photo album ...

Thanks ... :b-d:

Bob  

In my daily cars I like to drive as far back as I can, arms nearly extended to the steering wheel. In my truck cab, that won't be possible, the only options I had was to locate the tilt-steering wheel as close to the dash as possible with no interference and the seat as far back as possible (with a comfortable seat angle), there aren't any adjustments (for other drivers).

My52Chebby

[jaybee]

That's certainly one of those things that is an individual preference. My own preference is to have the steering wheel much closer, with my elbows down and not too far in front of my chest. In cars with a telescoping wheel normally I'll adjust it all the way out.

[phat46]

Very nice work!

[My52Chebby]

... to show it's complexity.



I'll post finished product when it's done.

My52Chebby

[rumrumm]

I have to tell you that I am very impressed by your work. You may have  found a new calling!