Javelin front bench seat

[David Morris]

Hi All,

I am seeking some advice. We have a Javelin front seat that looks a bit tired and some of the panels are split and need replacing. We now have the seat out on the bench ( wow, they are very heavy! ) and would appreciate some advice on how to best strip off the seat covering from the body of the seat, so our lovely seamstress can fit new panels as required. Once she has done her magic, we would then feed the seat and probably recolour to restore the overall effect.

The whole assembly looks a bit delicate before we start and we don't want to cause any more damage by going about removing the top covering the wrong way. Any advice would be most welcome.

Many thanks,

David

[Chris Spencer]

David - Its a very solid steel frame and I doubt that you can do any damage to it by removing the cover alone - that is unless you take a sledge hammer to it in order to remove the said face cover - Given that the seat fabric & materials are 65 + years old you will probably find that you will have to replace the wadding that supports the face fabric off the sprung base & sprung back - Be prepared because has you start to handle the cover you will find that stitching will start to part (basically the cotton thread is at the end of its useful life) - the rear upstand is a single panel of pressed sheet metal and the base is a tubular formed frame (which is why the seat is so heavy) - the spring base & back separate easily from the main seat steel structure once you have removed the face covers - the seat fitted to standard cars is easier to undertake has it does not have the fold out arm rest - its of a simpler pattern design and the face covering was originally Rexene a early form of vinyl covering - Deluxe cars have the arm rest - a more complex seat cover pattern and is faced in leather - on all models the side & rear faces are Rexene / vinyl - I have contacts / recommendations for vehicle upholstery / material suppliers & for effective recolouring / repair kits if you require them - I am literally just in the process of completing the repairs & recolouring / refinishing a full set of Javelin Delux seats for a client & can add a link to my forum site for you to view the images if required - post up any questions that you have and I will get back to you with the answers - from my prospective its fairly straight forward providing you approach the task with a practical & methodical mindset - but that is very easy for me to state having been restoring vehicles for the last 40 + years

[David Morris]

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for your post. What we are most concerned about is that, during removing the covers, we may inadvertently cause more damage than necessary. Clearly, the main steel structure is robust ( and heavy) and we are unlikely to damage that. You say 'once you have removed the face covers' and then discuss the various types of seat material. But do you have any advice on the best way to actually get the face covers off, so that we can lift off the top seat jackets. Should we start by removing the cords and stitching under the edges of the seat, to loosen the face covers? Any advice would be very valuable, as you have just done this job yourself?

Many thanks,

David

[Chris Spencer]

David - Apologies for the slow response - I have been away on family business - I will take some pics whilst in the workshop today and then talk you through the process - Chris

[David Morris]

Hi Chris,

Many thanks and will look forward to hearing from you.

David

[Chris Spencer]

David apologies for the delay - pics below

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Remove the tacked strip around the seat base sides - this with a little care will release the seat base which is simply placed on top of the seat frame springing

[Chris Spencer]

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On the back you have to carefully remove this tacked in bead which retains the upholstery to the seat frame - the bead rarely comes away in one piece and is unavailable but there is a suitable alternative

I have just done the leather refurb / recolouring on a set of Javelin seats - covered on another forum - link below

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/21 ... le?page=37

Page 37 onwards - although there are neigh on 40 pages of reading on the rolling restoration of a Javelin if you get bored - Chris

[David Morris]

Hi Chris,

Thanks very much for the helpful photos and tips. We shall remove the cover as you suggest. By the way, your seat looks great! Nice and soft with good padding.

Many thanks,

David