Work on CHUGSzilla's rear upholstery has been going on simultaneously….
Tucker used a single piece of black, canvas-like, fabric stretched over foam cushions and stapled to the plywood backing. It works, but it’s unimaginative, and essentially the cheapest possible way to go. Hmmm. I’m shocked….
We’ve put a lot of work into this project (way, way too much, actually) and though there is a strong temptation to hurry and get it done, We're trying hard to resist that very strong urge. Surprisingly, The Infamous WBJ1 ponied up the bucks for some nice Corbeau front seats and we wanted something complimentary in the back. One can purchase matching fabric from Corbeau, but they know they have you over a barrel, and they charge exorbitantly (I should have capitalized exorbitantly). We chose a UV, water and mildew resistant fabric with some texture, and it looks somewhat like the Corbeau fabric, at about 15% of the cost. Mrs. Blackfoot is seriously talented when it comes to sewing, quilting, knitting, etc and I kind-of roped her into the project (she might use a different word, like “commandeered”).
Way early in the process of modifying this Tucker we cut out the goofy, factory-installed bulkhead that divides the cab and serves as a roll bar. We replaced that with a new roll bar that hugs the sidewalls and the roof. We added some bracing to give the roll bar more strength. The roll bar and braces are made from 2” square tube, and it made sense to make some cushions for the back of those braces. The two cushions have a trapezoid shape. Scott and I cut some pieces of 1/2” plywood to match the bracing, and those are the backing for the cushions. I sourced some 3” foam from Home Depot and pieces were cut to match the shape of the plywood. At this point you may be thinking, “Yo BFT, that’s no different than Tucker would have done”, and you’re right….
Except, we covered the front and all sides of the foam with 1 1/2” polyester batting that's glued to the foam. The batting adds fullness to the cushions, and improves the look and function. But, we didn’t stop there. Mrs. Blackfoot basically made covers for the foam to exactly match the shape. Rather than a single piece of fabric that’s pulled over the foam and then stapled, a'la Tucker, she cut separate pieces of fabric for the front, top, bottom and two sides. All five pieces of fabric are sewn together to make the cover, but that’s still not the whole story….
The seams are French seams, and they’re a lot more labor intensive. (Interestingly, French seams as used in upholstery are completely different than those used in clothing, though they have the same name.) She used the upholstery version, and it makes the seam a lot stronger because on the inside of the fabric there’s a piece of 1” wide gros grain ribbon (pronounced “grow grain”) that is attached with adhesive basting tape to the seam. That is then top stitched on both sides of the center seam. This adds a lot of strength, and it looks nice, too. We could have chosen a contrasting color thread, and Scott, representing The Green Tucker Mafia, of course suggested green thread. But, I'M DONE WITH GREEN! The front seats also have this type of stitching, and Corbeau used black thread, so we went with that. It’s a lot of detail that most people won’t even notice, let alone appreciate.
For the rear seat bottom cushions we decided to go another step further. We glued 2" memory foam to the regular 3” foam to add extra comfort for the rear passengers. We’re hoping the addition of the memory foam is a nice upgrade. The thought was “If you have to ride with The Infamous WBJ1, you should at least be comfortable"….
Pics. The rear upholstery installed.
A close-up of a corner seam per Mrs Blackfoot. Her precision is incredible!
