Six simple tips for Camaro and GM Muscle car upholstery restoration...

With the August heat starting up and summer in full swing, many auto enthusiasts are pulling their Camaros and GM muscle cars out of the garage and working hard to get their projects back on the road. Since most automotive hobbyists spend more time in their seats then anywhere else, Classic Industries offers these six simple tips to help with the restoration of any classic GM vehicle’s interior:

1. Replacing Your Seat Upholstery? Replace Your Seat Foam!
When reupholstering seats, many do-it-yourselfers often don’t realize that the seat foam usually also needs replacement. After more than two decades, foam tends to deteriorate due to heat and age and even the best condition original seat foam likely needs replacement. When it’s time to replace your seat foam in your Camaro or other classic GM vehicle, Classic Industries offers seat foam for many GM vehicles manufactured using modern materials for a more comfortable driving experience.

2. Is The Upholstery Original?
When customers call us to order upholstery for their Camaro, one of the first questions we ask is this: “Does your car have a deluxe or standard interior?” Most will answer without a second thought, but many owners are shocked to discover that the seats in their car aren’t original. Over the years, many previous owners swapped out their beat-up original seats for better condition seats from another year or trim level Camaro, or worse, a different model entirely. Because muscle cars like Camaros were often owned by hot-rodders, most muscle cars have seen some modification, so be sure that the seats in the car are correct for your model, year and trim level. If in doubt, Classic Industries’ tech department has the dimensions of the rear seat available to help you figure out which set of upholstery to order for your seats.

3. What Are Hog Rings And How Do I Use Them?
Hog Rings are metal clips that act like giant staples and are used to attach upholstery to the frame of nearly every classic GM vehicle. Hog rings attach to the listing strips to the underside of the upholstery to give it a 3-dimensional, ‘sucked in’ or ‘skin tight’ look. To use hog rings, poke the hog ring through the very bottom edge, just enough to capture the edge. Use the groove in the hog ring pliers to squeeze the hog ring until it forms a complete circle, taking care not to crush it flat. This closes the hog ring and will hold the upholstery in place.

4. A Little Organization Goes A Long Way: A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words
As you get ready to take your seats (or your interior) apart, take pictures of how parts go together. By taking pictures, you create a photographic record for yourself specific to your interior. As you disassemble your original interior, bag and label where each part and fastener goes to keep track of what goes where, helping prevent confusion and every do-it-yourselfer’s worst fear: left over parts. This way, when it’s time to reassemble your interior, everything will be easy to find as well as where each piece is supposed to go, saving you time and headaches.

5. A Match Made In Heaven: Color Matching Your Interior
Upholstery manufacturers do the best that they can to match OE colors exactly, but due to changes in formulation between dye lots and even differences in the material, sometimes things aren’t always a perfect match. Whenever possible, purchase all of your interior upholstery from the same vendor/manufacturer to ensure color consistency. Classic Industries carries reproduction upholstery for many classic GM vehicles and can also provide samples of their material at no charge so that you can compare to your original upholstery to ours to find the perfect match for your interior; just call our customer service department for details!