I'm having one H3LL of a time getting the seat back cover over this oversized foam! Has anyone had any success with these OPG bucket seat foams? I've tried the plastic bag trick with no luck. I was able to squeezr the bottom cover on and it looks "OK" but the back just doesn't want to go on.

Thanks in advance for any tips!!!

I had a set of 69 buckets done with the opg stuff (covers and foam) and the foam was so thick, after the covers were on there were no bucket contours to the seats, just over stuffed crappy looking.

My recomendation would be to try and trim the foam down. Shape them.

Good luck!

I had all my opg parts put together by an upholstry shop and they look great. higher but real nice

THanks - I did start trimming them down but not sure where and how much more - I guess I'll need to spend some more time wrestling with them.

In case I toss these - who sells the good seat foams at the best price?

They say put your seat covers in the sun for a while before putting them on? Makes sense it would soften them up I think.

I was using a razor blade to trim the top edge of the foam. Does anyone have any other suggestions on what to use to shape/trim this foam down some?

Thanks!

I got mine from NPD and they were perfect. Before you start trimming them you might want to spend the extra coin $ and have a pro do it. Thats what I did and they came out perfect.
JMO

I had all my opg parts put together by an upholstry shop and they look great. higher but real nice

Thats exactly what I did too and got the same results. Cant complain and the seats look factory. I do wonder how much difficulty it may have been though. OPG probably didnt make them anyways, so it might not be OPG's fault. Probably a mass produced item that all vendors carry.

I actually have two sets of bucket seats and seat covers and did one so far using the old foam (it was in decent shape) with some carpet padding between it and the frame - came out looking perfect. It's really not that difficult doing it with decent foam.

I lined up the OPG foam with the other decent foam from one of the old seats and there is A LOT that needs to be trimmed! What a PITA!

By the way - there is more than one manufacturer for the seat foams (and I know OPG doesn't make it). I guess they didn't do their homework on quality and fitment......

I'll post pics when I'm done!

I was using a razor blade to trim the top edge of the foam. Does anyone have any other suggestions on what to use to shape/trim this foam down some?

Thanks!

I was once told I could trim foam with an electric knife or an electric fishing knife. Never had to do it yet though...let us know how you come out.

Take some 36 grit paper to it to smooth it out after cutting.

LK

Strangely enough, I have had good luck with a 6" disk grinder. Just be careful! Make light passes so you don't take off too much.

Then, after you scuff it up using the above techniques, spray the foam and inside of the cover (turned inside out) with silicone so it'll slip on smoothly.

It could also be that the buns actually are correct, but the old ones have shrunk. If you look at old buns, you will see that any places that have been pinched or had pressure on them are more or less permanently deformed and I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing will shrink a bit after 35 years under a tight vinyl cover. I reused the old foam on my -69 bench, and even if I couldn't see any signs of shrinkage or deformation, I still I had to add a layer of foam to fill the covers.

I have recovered a few seats, and I think it's easier to get good results if the covers are tight. A lawn bag over the bun will make the cover slide on easily. Letting the cover sit in the sun for a while helps too, as it makes it more flexible.

We tied the sons seat foam to the seat frames with cheapo (ACE Hardware) ratcheting straps. The ratched was placed near the bottom so that when the seat cover was pulled over it, we could release the ratchet and remove the strap and do the next seat... We only needed this technique for the front seat backs on the 66 Nova's split front bench seat.

National Parts Depot sells bucket seat foam made by American Cushions Inc.. This is much better seat foam than what is sold by others and is about the same price. I tried using that oversized stuff and ended up tearing the stitching on my cover.

This has been a topic of discussion many times and the consensus was that the American Cushions were the best. In addition to being harder to install, a lot of folks said that didn't give much and therefore they were sitting too high, and in some cases hitting the headliner.

It could also be that the buns actually are correct, but the old ones have shrunk. If you look at old buns, you will see that any places that have been pinched or had pressure on them are more or less permanently deformed and I wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing will shrink a bit after 35 years under a tight vinyl cover. I reused the old foam on my -69 bench, and even if I couldn't see any signs of shrinkage or deformation, I still I had to add a layer of foam to fill the covers.

I have recovered a few seats, and I think it's easier to get good results if the covers are tight. A lawn bag over the bun will make the cover slide on easily. Letting the cover sit in the sun for a while helps too, as it makes it more flexible.


I don't need to know anything about your seat buns, Olle :p

I don't need to know anything about your seat buns, Olle :p

I'm just warming up, getting ready to post about a rear end problem. :D

An old trick my dad, rest his soul, turned me onto many years ago. He was a design engineer and was always inventing things.
First you take a lawn and leaf bag or some plastic you can use to make into an air tight bag. Then slide the foam into the bag. Take your shop vac hose and attach it to the open end of the bag. Turn the shop vac on to the vacuum position. The shop vac will remove the atmosphere in the bag and you end up with a flattened out foam seat cushion. Secure the opening around the bag well enough and long enough to slip the foam cushion into the cover. Once it's inside then you can release it and the foam will automatically expand to it's original size and shape. You see, the foam, like all plastics have memory.
Piece of cake.
Try it.

You guys actually got your parts from OPGI ? Dang that in itself is a WIN! 80% of the stuff I try to order is out of stock lol Been waiting on some seat adj knobs for 5 months!

You guys actually got your parts from OPGI ? Dang that in itself is a WIN! 80% of the stuff I try to order is out of stock lol Been waiting on some seat adj knobs for 5 months!

For a part like that. I would have cancelled my order months ago and went elsewhere.

This has been a topic of discussion many times and the consensus was that the American Cushions were the best. In addition to being harder to install, a lot of folks said that didn't give much and therefore they were sitting too high, and in some cases hitting the headliner.

That's exactly what happened to me. I had mine done at a shop with new foam and springs and they looked pregnant when done and sat horribly.
I redid them myself using parts of the old foam. Had to buy new covers cause they were stretched out from the foam.
Total waste of money thanks to **** poor aftermarket garbage. That's my rant.

the people who make the Buns are out here in Marana Az. I went down there to the shop (in the middle of the desert) and had them help me install the buns. Yes they are too big and were supposed to crush down over time, but since my 442 is hardly driven I couldn't stand bouncing my head off the headliner till they did.
I found a set of orignal foams and used them instead.
If you dont or cant get a set of originals. Your going to have to shave down the whole foam by at least 1.5" in the centers you can either shave about another.5" out, or do like the originals are and cut about 8x8 rows of 1 inch circular holes about .5 deep to soften the center.
On my seats I have
1. had them done professionally.
2. Had the seat bun Mfg help me do them
3. Finnally did them myself with origanl foams.
I'm finally happy with result 3.
When doing my next set I will build my own foams