Okay...

Well, I've done it, though at the moment it feels like a pyrrhic victory.
Many intrepid DIYers have set out over the years to "restore their pleats -will be documenting the process" only to never be heard from again.

Thanks to Ykobayashi I decided to give this a crack. Picked up a yard of muslin and a sewing awl and got to work. Warning, this is not for the faint of heart. Undertaking this repair may provoke an unmitigated stream of existentialism.

If you've removed a seat skin, you'll be familiar with this:



Rotted fabric, etc, etc, etc.



Started with a seam ripper, removing as much of the old stitching as possible.



The awl, the muslin and some heavy duty polyester thread. :



A cubic yard is about three times the amount you'll need, but if you've any experience with sewing, you'll know it's better to err on the side of caution.



The needles that came with the awl were a little too bit. They completely obliterated the muslin and I didn't want to needlessly stretch the vinyl. In the end, I used a standard sewing machine needle
The sewing awl is quite a delightful device. Very proto-sewing machine. It takes a while to find your technique however. On the skin in question, there are 8 rows of thread to replace.
the first row took me around 80 mins. After the first 10 mins, I decided this was a horrible idea, a complete waste of time and a picture of masochism.

After completing the first row, efficiencies began to materialize.



The second row took 40 minutes. The third 28 mins. I finally settled on 21 minutes a piece for the five remaining rows. Again, this is a complete and utter waste of time.

After finishing the first two rows, I decided to test things. Not to make sure it was worthwhile (it wasn't) but to see whether the tension in the new muslin would be enough to overcome the tension of the vinyl. I used a ruler to insert the felt "sausages":



Lo and behold...



Here's what the back looks like, with two bits of felt now inserted:



The outer most columns I was able to finish with a sewing machine as these stitches are not visible. You're basically stitching into vertical seam so you have to sandwich the lot. It's a little awkward. You can then seal the entire thing off and trim it up.



And after... 5 hours maybe? :



The original backing covers the foam on the wings, but as that foam is glued to the vinyl, covering seemed superfluous. Also, that would have required more time with the awl and I could not abide that.



And finally:




Again, this is total waste of time. If you're into repetitive tasks and dopamine feedback loops, give it a shot. I've never knitted, but this process was spiritually akin. You put some headphones on, or some bad Tv, or make a phone call you've been avoiding, etc, and stitch away. You get there eventually.

The thing is, these skins are so old and faded that even if you paid someone to restore the stitching -and they'd be making new holes, which I think would affect the integrity of the seat- color them with some palomino spray... you'd be pretty close to paying for new skins.

That said, I did nail it.




-

__________________
1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Bravo !

Top man !

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

I am impressed. Job well done!!!

__________________

All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

Sorry!

It looks great though!

Uhm, thanks for trying out my idea. Sorry I said it would take an hour. Wow you have grit.

I haven’t started my blue seats yet. I have a continuously variable stitch length adjustment on my upholstery machine. My thought was to adjust it till the needle was able to hit the holes repeatably. But this is another one of my theories. Definitely the side boxing will have to be disassembled for access.

Thanks for taking the leap.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Well ;

Once you do a thing a few times it usually becomes far quicker....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

It was certainly an expedition =)
And again, the discovery of the sewing awl made it awl worthwhile.

I had a similar thought re: my sewing machine. It's about a 5 on the stitch dial, but without complete certainty, constant tension and machine like precision (on my end) I saw myself getting 30% of the way and then accidentally punching new holes a fraction of a mm off.

Keep us posted!

__________________
1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

You know that awl is a really awesome tool. Mine has paid for itself many times over. Especially when I fix the strap on my wife’s fancy shoes and purses when they come apart.

My cheapskate dad taught me how to use one when I was a kid.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

I have some 126 seats apart. The pad PN is 126 910 2650 NLA from Mercedes but I've seen them from upholstery people.

__________________
85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

See attachment: Section 91.4-100 Removal and Installation of Driver's Seat.
Instruction seems to be for another model not for 1981 240D

Attached Thumbnails

   

I see it also has a 114 part number....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Adjustment stuck, cannot access the rear bolts to remove the seat for re-upholstery.
Applied WD40 the day before in the up & down rail, then used a slide hammer pulling on the round nut, see picture.
Inserted an aluminum U-channel between the lock notches and the lock on both sides to allow movement of the rail.
Used a 50 lb. weight to help apply/push down the seat spring while removing/lifting the seat cover lock.

Attached Thumbnails

   

Did some rear seat repair with S springs. 9 ga bought on eBay. I got 10’ for $20.

My 300sd rear seat was getting really saggy. When I’d sit down in the back I’d feel the seat crush down and clunk on the Pan under the seat. I tried pool noodles a couple of years ago but my experience with those is they hold the seat up but eventually they crush down and lose springiness.

So I saw the M….source videos on YouTube showing their expensive kit with a springs. I decided I’d try to replicate it. I basically cut 8” lengths with about 8 coils each and attached them between the front lip and the pan where the old springs attached. I basically wired them in in parallel using stainless steel safety wire. Right in the area where the springs are bent into kind of an L in the vertical direction in the cantilever portion of the springs. Sorry I didn’t snap a photo. I put four on each side and two in the middle.

It really worked well. The seats have their spring back and my passengers aren’t bouncing off the floor boards.

I’m going to do the same to my 300d soon and I’ll snap some photos. Basically the seat comes out. The cover and horsehair comes off. Then I wire 10 x 8” pieces of S spring between the top and bottom of the spring box a long the front lip. If you sit in the collapsed seat it is really obvious where you need to add the support.

I’ll be back with photos of the second install. When it cools down. My garage is an oven now.

Edit - ah this video shows an example of how to support the cantilever springs.

https://youtu.be/jNHZZdNC6-o

I used safety wire to secure them. It reminded me of my mom using cord to secure springs in our couch when I was a kid. She would reupholster our furniture by tying the springs together with cords. You can also use the u bolts in the video. That’s cleaner. I think those are just aircraft cable clamps available at Home Depot.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Is that easy to form into those molded rubberized mats?

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Yes, German vehicles used coconut fibers, older American vehicles used horse hair .

The image posted clearly illustrates why I always mention covering the bare springs with muslin , canvas or something before putting the buns, used or new on them .

My problem had been : the thin cloth at the unseen edges of the seat covers is dry rotted and needs to be addressed else the cover will come loose again soon .

I don't have a sewing machine nor the skills to replace the crispy delicate cloth .

I _do_ have some very nice covers harvested I want to try to place over my old unbroken spring boxes .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

As promised here are the images of my rear seat respring. It worked well. I just wired in some springs along the front edge of the seat then replaced the covers. Cured the sag. I removed all my pool noodles.

Before:


The fix:


detail


all back together with much better contour. no more sags.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles