Cartouche Upholstery Kit 82B Cab

[Robert Gray]

Has anyone any experience with these kits?

I purchased one thru Snyders and find; 1. The instructions ambiguous and difficult to follow 2. The upholstery barely larger than the bare springs much less the springs plus padding.

Is there a trick to getting the upholstery on over the padding? Should the actual padding material be trimmed to the shape of the seat top (back)? If I allow it to sag over the seat (back) margins there is no possibility of getting the upholstery on.

Appreciate any suggestions

[Neil Wilson]

I have not seen the kit. But, the original seat covers should have a cord sewn around the bottom or back of the covers. This cord fits into a channel in the springs and the channel is crimped arount the cord. The springs must be manually compressed while the covers are installed and the channel crimped.

Attached is a picture showing an original 82-A cab seat cushion. The crimped channel can be seen along the bottom.

It would be good to see a picture of the covers showing the cord at the bottom and the cord around the face of the seat so that it could be compared to original.

[Robert Gray]

I bought the springs from Snyder and have no complaint about them. The quality looks good and they have the channel to accept the cording on the upholstery

I ordered the upholstery from Cartouche thru Snyders. While the materials and workmanship on the upholstery looks good, when placed on the spring it looks undersized by about an inch in width and front to back.

The instructions from Cartouche are confusing at best. they refer to materials that are not supplied and do not even mention the cord in channel system saying hog rings should be used.

My question is...has anyone else used springs from Snyder and a Cartouche kit? Did all fit? Either the springs are too big or the upholstery too small. They were not cheap to buy. I am sending this info to Snyders asking for their comment. Snyders has always given me good service and I look forward to their reply.

I am posting another pic in a seperate post that shows what the upholstery looks like pulled on to the springs as much as I could.

As can be see in these three pics the quality of the sewing etc and the spring reproduction is good.

[Robert Gray]

These pictures show the strain points a/c either the springs or upholstery incorrectly sized

The third pic is showing the cord going in to the channel

[Neil Wilson]

Thank you for the pictures of the Cartouche upholstery seat covers for the 82-B. The information I have below is in regards to the 82-A cab. I have a seat back spring for an 82-B, it has the channel for the cover skirt. So, I am guessing the installation process is the same as for an 82-A.

Note in my picture, of an original seat cushion, that the material under the cover wraps over the edges by a couple of inches and is hog ringed to the springs. With the cover is installed, the spring is under compression so that there is a tight fit.

If the goal is to do a driver vehicle, where originality is not a big concern, then the Cartouche covers look good (assuming they can be fit). A method needs to be devised to compress the entire spring so that the skirt cord can be inserted and crimped into the spring channel. If there is a potential problem with the final fit, then the corded skirt edges should be held in place by some means on a temporary basis and the spring pressure released to examine the final fit. As in every aspect of restoration, fit and recheck fit everything before final assembly.

An AA'er was able to hold the spring under compression using a series of strings looped around the upper spring edge and tied to the spring coils at the bottom while someone else compressed the spring. The skirt cord could then be inserted and crimped as needed. The kit was from Bratton’s and they sell Cartouche upholstery according to their catalog. The skirt cord diameter of the seat cover was too long. His solution to the problem was to remove a section of cord and then make a pleat in the skirt at each side.

I would bet that the springs sold by vendors are all made from the same supplier! I bought a pair from Bert's Model A Center and they seem to be the correct design except for the channel at the rear corners of the seat cushion. The reproductions have a radius in these corners. The original springs are almost square in these corners. The will mean that the cover skirt diameter will need to be smaller than original for them to fit. This is likely the reason for the problem stated in the above paragraph.

If the goal is to do an original restoration, then Cartouche covers for the 82-A are incorrect (and probably the 82-B covers as well). I am guessing that the LeBaron Bonney seat covers are also incorrect. The top of the seat cushion and the face of the seat back should wrap around to the sides (by about 2"). And, there would be folds in the seat top/face to take up the additional material. There are other differenced as well. Below is another picture of original seats for the 82-A.

[Matt Kroll]

I can state that the LeBaron Bonney 82-A kit is incorrect as well. The seam is not far enough down around the sides. And yes, it was a bear to get the cover on. I had to pre-compress the springs with nylon wire ties.

One thing that I did notice is that both Bratton's and Snyder's catalogs show 2 different part numbers for the '28-'29 (82-A) and '30-'31 (82-B) seat cushion spring, while LeBaron Bonney lists only one. I wonder what the differences are, and if that is impeding the installation of your cover Robert?

Neil, do you know of a supplier that sells a kit that is correct? Or would we have to have covers made from scratch?

-Matt

[Neil Wilson]

I don't know of anyone making correct covers. And, for someone to make correct covers, they would need to see an original so they can duplicate. Pictures might work. Plus, they would need to see the springs being used to insure that the skirt diameter ends up correct.

I need to do this for my 82-A. I just have not yet found an upholstry guy (I have not looked very hard).

[Chris Haynes]

I plan on buying the complete springs with covers installed from Lebarron & Bonney

[Robert Gray]

I plan on buying the complete springs with covers installed from Lebarron & Bonney

What is the premium for doing it that way?

[Neil Wilson]

I checked out the 82-A and 82-B seat backrests and found that the 82-B backrest is about 1-3/4" wider than the 82-A. And, the individual springs look like they are heaver wire

[Robert Gray]

I tried the backrest spring vs upholstery and it looks to me like the problem may be that I have B springs and A upholstery by your last comment. I asked Snyder to check their records to confirm what was ordered....I expect they will answer me sometime monday and I will let you know what they say....If it is an order mix up I kind of messed up by mounting the seat upholstery....cant return it now!!!!

[Neil Wilson]

The height of the backrest is different between the 82-A and 82-B:

A - 16-7/8" back and 18-3/4" front
B - 17-3/4" back and 17-1/4" front

The back measurement is with the edge crimped onto the skirt.

Both seem to be the same depth.

So, if you have A upholstery, it should most likely be too long in the height and too short in the width.

[Chris Haynes]

I plan on buying the complete springs with covers installed from Lebarron & Bonney

What is the premium for doing it that way?

They don't post the price on their web site. Just this notation.

"Upholstery Service: LeBaron Bonney will expertly cover your old springs, or you can buy new springs already upholstered. Please inquire."

[Robert Gray]

The problem is/was a mixup in measurements. Snyders has been extremely helpful in resolving the problem. I appreciate and am most thankful for Snyders assistance and reccomend them as a source.

[modeleh]

Just to add some confusion, there were different seat springs for the late 31 82B cabs. I believe the seat backs were thinner to provide more room between the steering wheel and seat. I ordered the kit for the late 31 from Mac's, but it is still in the box. Like a cheap, stubborn fool, I am wasting my time fixing the original springs, hoping they are the ones that will match the upholstery kit I bought.