By Ron Ceridono Photography by John Winter

ack in the Oct. ’22 issue of Modern Rodding we introduced John Winter. As we explained then, Winter was looking for a means of upholstering his ’32 Ford coupe that wouldn’t demolish his building budget. Not being afraid of a challenge, Winter bought an appropriate sewing machine, a good pair of shears, a few yards of material, and stitched the coupe’s interior himself. Since then, he has upholstered his ’36 Ford Tudor sedan and a variety of other vehicles for friends.

While talking to Winter he offered a few tips and tricks he’s picked up when it comes to seats in a hot rod. The first example we’ll show here is making a seat from scratch with blocks of polyurethane foam. Winter begins by making a pattern of how the cushions should be shaped. The foam rubber is then cut out on a bandsaw and then the individual blocks are glued together to make a cushion. Foam comes in a variety of densities, so the cushions may be soft or surprisingly hard—it’s not unusual to make the seat bottoms and the backrests out of different densities to suit individual preferences.

Another option is to make the seat cushions out of one large sheet of foam. In some cases, an extra “band” of foam is wrapped around the front and sides of the cushion to help the edges keep their shape. This extra material may be made from the same material as the seat cushion density or foam that is slightly “harder” to act as leg and side support bolsters.

Once the cushions are made, patterns for the upholstery are next. Winter has several methods of making patterns. One is to make paper patterns then transfer those dimensions to individual pieces of plastic then onto the fabric being used. Another trick Winter has learned is to make patterns with the sticky transfer paper used to make vinyl signs.

Regardless of the material used to make patterns, it’s important to allow what is called seam allowance. That is the area between the edge of the fabric and the line of stitches—in other words, the pattern must be made larger than the finished piece will be. Winter suggests allowing 3/8 to 1/2 inch seam allowance for all the individual pieces that will be sewn together.

When Winter needed seats for his ’36 Ford sedan he came up with a unique solution. He used the front bucket seats and the rear bench from a Chevrolet HHR. But rather than just bolt them in place, he took the covers off the seat, took them apart at the seams, then used the individual pieces as patterns for new, custom covers.

Like many modern factory seats, the HHR cushions were made from solid polyurethane foam. They are made by injecting a catalyzed foam mixture into a mold, the material expands, and to fill the contoured cavities of the mold the foam solidifies and the result is a seat cushion.

Although molded seat cushions are tough, the foam in used seats often develop splits that require attention. But we’ve found Winter likes a challenge and he has come up with a unique method of repairing such problems. He uses a combination of drywall tape and vinyl top adhesive to repair damaged areas, and in some cases join sections of cushions together.

After making repairs to the foam from the front seats, adding foam to the sides of the HHR rear seat to fit around the wheelwells of his sedan, he also made the two-piece rear seat into one piece by gluing the molded foam cushions together. Once that was done Winter stitched new vinyl covers for the front and rear seats, adding pleated inserts in the center of the seating areas for a custom look. Winter’s patience, persistence, and willingness to try something new paid off with a great looking, comfortable, affordable interior for his ’36 Ford. The best part is he can say he did it himself.

3. Once cut to shape the individual pieces will be glued together to make one cushion.

5. This seat cushion is made from one piece of foam with an additional band of foam wrapped around the main section and glued in place.

7. Another way of shaping foam is by sanding. Here the edges of the added foam have been carefully rounded with an air-powered angle grinder with an abrasive disc.

9. Another method of pattern making is with transfer paper. Notice the lines where the two patterns join. These are alignment marks to ensure the two pieces are sewn together properly.

11. This is the single seat for the Jeepster. The pleats were made by sewing thin foam to the material (see the first installment to see how this is done).

13. A before and after shot of the seats in Winter’s ’36 Ford. On the far side is an original HHR seat—compare it to the reupholstered version closer to the camera.

15. A thread-removing tool was used to cut the stitching holding the seat cover together.

17. These are the individual components of the of the HHR seat covers. They will be transferred to the new vinyl material.

19. To give the seats a custom look, pleated panels will replace the plain centers of the original seats. The lines indicate where the vinyl will be sewn to the foam to produce the pleats.

21. The plastic retainers that secure the seat covers to the frames are sewn onto the new vinyl.

23. Here the sides of the seat cover have been folded back before being attached the molded foam cushion.

25. To force the adhesive into the mesh tape, Winter uses a plastic spatula. Here he joined the two sections of the HHR split back seat foam into one.

27. Hard to believe this is one of the junkyard seats Winter started out with. The result is comfortable, good looking, and affordable.