Is there a source for a W115 rear bench and back seat pad for my 1974 240D? If no pads are available, do you have a recommendation for the type of foam to use for the seats? There is a guy on YouTube who has replaced the pads on his seats with memory foam. I am wondering if the memory foam toppers at Costco would be a reasonable substitute if the original horse hair pads are not available?

Please help and thanks,

Dave

worlduph

__________________
63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

Thanks for the suggestion. I sent worlduph an email and they haven't replied. I'll try to call them on Tuesday. I'm almost afraid of what they will ask for a set of pads.

I was wondering if a full size memory foam mattress could be fit like the guy does on YouTube? I don't have a feeling how this turns out in the end.

I have replaced the front seat pads with original horse hair pads, but it was over $500 for both front seats.

I contacted worlduph.com. They only have the bench pad but they want ~$375 for the pad (plus shipping). WOOF! I thought that the front seats were expensive - but, they do have one pad.

I think I will try to make it out of foam and see how that works. I think I can use a couple of different foam thickness and get it pretty close - or close enough for the back seat.

Right, I saw that vid a while back: front and back seats (2 ep's), bootlegged some stitching....

I was thinking, as a sort of modification to his plan of going full on foam: why not keep the hoarsehair, but underneith add half as much memory foam (best of both worlds).

Post your pics, kind of wondering how it turns out. For now, have a few projects on the to-do list myself (see attached).

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________

Current:
1971 Mercedes Benz 250 (Euro Spec)
1972 Mercedes Benz 250 (US Spec)
Past:
1972 Mercedes Benz 280

Hi Jub,

The horse hair on my rear seat is gone. It is MBTex and springs now. The horse hair on my front seats was going fast. I cannot imagine how to save the remaining horse hair. Luckily, I found the pads for the front seats. The $400 (estimated) cost for the rear bench is just too much.

I'll take pics of my rear seat rebuild. I didn't do this for the front seats. It is really straight forward though...it just takes time.

I looked at your project pics. The fuel sensors are really easy to repair if you haven't damaged them (like broke the wires). THey just need to be cleaned up.

Dave

If it's the only 115 rear bench seat pad in the world, couldn't they name their price on it?

__________________
63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

Found the front seat pads in hoarsehair (maybe they have rear ones as well):

Mercedes W111 Horsehair Seat Pad Cushion 220SE 250SE 280SE 3 5 300SE 1961 1971 | eBay

__________________

Current:
1971 Mercedes Benz 250 (Euro Spec)
1972 Mercedes Benz 250 (US Spec)
Past:
1972 Mercedes Benz 280

Jub, this is a great find! I'll write them and ask if they have the rear seat pad.

Thanks!

Dave

Joshol;

You are right. It could be the only rear seat pad in the world! UGH! I think I will get better at foam and use that.

DOes anyone have experience on what types of foam I should use to make these pads? I'm thinking 2" of dense, 1" memory foam. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Dave

Dave

These pads are for a W111, shich has slightly different seats I just restuffed the front seats on my 72 250c. I used rubberized horsehair cut to shape with an electric carving knife the kind you use at Thanksgiving)
Go to Online Fabric Store and type in "rubberized horsehair" in the search box.

Kenny,

This is a great find! I think that this will work great. thank you for the tip!

dave

Wow, what a find...supercool!!!

__________________

Current:
1971 Mercedes Benz 250 (Euro Spec)
1972 Mercedes Benz 250 (US Spec)
Past:
1972 Mercedes Benz 280

I wonder if what you saw was my video series on this:
Mercedes W123 seat rebuild - YouTube

I replaced toasted W123 seat pads with memory foam. I got a gently used king size 4" memory foam mattress topper for free off of Craigslist. I used a cheap electric carving knife to cut the pads.

The seats aren't yet installed in the car, but I did sit on them with the seats on the ground. I'm happy with the way they turned out and can update this thread once they're installed and in use.

Hey Magic Bus,

Yes, I watched all your videos on the seat build. I decided to get the original pads for the front seat because it is hard to get the same horse hair pad dimensions and firmness with foam. I thought it was worth the $500 to repad both front seats with the original pads especially if I am going to drive this car for another 10+ years.

FOr the rear seat, however, I am looking for what to do. There are NO new rear seat pads that are reasonably priced. There are a couple of used W123 pads that should fit. I will probably go with a used horse hair pad for the rear bench and figure out what to do with the rear back. I need to look closer at my rear seat back pad...it doesn't seem all that bad, but I really should take it apart and look at it closer. The rear bench pad is non existent anymore...

I understand that cost was a major driver in your rebuild. If you had a $200 more to spend, how would you do things different? Would you have a multilayer foam pad for the rear seat vs. using memory foam only? If so, do you have any suggestions on the density of foam used for the multilayer pad stack?