AH! The cockpit! The cabin! The place where I hope to spend a hell of a lot of time.
It's got to be comfortable and functional, but I don't want to take away from the First Generation look. I originally planned to keep the factory interior and 'update' it a little, but my wife Paula mentioned putting late-model seats in it after seeing someone elses '69 with newer seats. I just can't..... as much as it would definitely improve the comfort and even the 'look' of the interior, I want it to BE a 1969 Camaro inside. That's just how I am. I'll modify what came from the factory but I want to stay away from totally replacing things with modern parts if I can.
Paula liked the Comfortweave over the Houndstooth so that's what I'm going with. I prefer the contrast of the Houndstooth seats, but I have to keep her happy with this whole project don't I?
The Camaro came to me with a Firebird rear and passenger bucket seats. I had to sell the rear seat and get a full-size Camaro rear that the new upholstery would fit correctly. I started with the back seat, seeing as how I don't have to replace any buns \ foams. After seeing a couple F-body seats now, I can tell you that the drivers sides of the back seat get trashed by water! They were both extremely rusty with damaged stuffing and burlap, especially at the base of the seat-back. A little creative polyester batting, some spray upholstery glue, a rivet here and some welding there..... no problem!
I ordered plenty of hog rings and a very good pair of hog ring pliers as well. Buy two bags to start with.. I put at least one ring at each point as the original upholstery, then added a couple here and there as needed.
Comfortweave upholstery requires you to install the buttons yourself. I couldn't believe I had to poke holes in brand new upholstery! It ended up being extremely simple. Comforweave is 'textured' in the center, so centering the button prongs in the correct location was easy. A little bit of pressure and they pushed right through. SCARY! I got the hang of it real quick This is NOT for the faint of heart..... none of this is. But if I can do it, anyone with a little bit of patience and confidence can do the same thing.
