Dave999's Aussie Charger

[Dave999]

well rather than messing with engineering tasks that test my competence I thought i'd have a go at something that can't be that hard...can it?

I purchased a set of seat skins, and a full set of foams for the front seats about 5 years ago?. Well, before covid anyway. Waited until the AUD/GBP exchange rate fitted my needs and got in touch with Richard and Ying at https://hotrodtrim.co.nz/ At the time they lived in Oz. They now operate out of NZ. Got the lot crushed down and vacuum sealed in rolls of polythene and sent over in a box that complied with standard shipping dimensions.

This box sat in my loft. It moved house with me and sat in my loft....and then was opened to expand, and air-out a few weeks before christmas.

and an update of the seats commenced

Notes
1) tomb stone/semi bucket recliners from US and Aus use the same spring set. Seat base and back. $150 per seat I didn't bother and pieced mine together from 3 seats.
2) listing wire....yeah... metal rods in your seat ( 3 in the foam of the base, 2 in the skirt Then 5 or 2 and one 2 foot long arched one in foam of the back, the kinked originals work best use them in the seat foam and make up new ones for the edges of the covers
3) hand/manual hog ring pliers and a side application auto hog ring stapler are handy
4) if you have not done it before a seat takes 10+ hours of work. much quicker second time
5) hog ring holes and sheet metal cuts all over you fingers really hurt
6) seat bases are handed, the stubs for the seat back latch on either side are different lengths, the one with the roller on for the latch is longer so you can't without reengineering use a passenger base on a driver seat.
7) set rail floor mounts can go either way round L L, L J, JJ, JL, (you will know when you see it) take note when you take out.
8) you will have to cut holes for seat latch hook and pull wire, seat back mount bolt, seat back mount stop, recline lever, seat back latch button.
9) seat back latch button only works if it sits flat on the seat skin which is flat on the metal frame. cut hole in seat foam.
10) self adhesive 3 mm foam over the front corners of the seat base....
11) Heavy duty gardening wire and mole grips very handy
12) 6 fat cable ties very handy
13) the only bit of the seat reclining piston you should oil is the actuating lever on the side of it, if you knacker these there are no more, friction based flat slideing plates and a lot of springs inside.....
14) you will need to weld something at some point recline levers inside the seat, snap on the back of the D shaped hole, and the c clip groove snaps off the shaft. The captive nuts for the seat back mounting or the seat rail mounting studs come out of the seat base pan
15) self tapping, raised counter sunk head screws were good on day 1, the holes they go into are now too big, buy some slightly bigger ones www.accu.co.uk
16) drivers seat will be way worse than passenger seat, in respect to rust, spring damage, frame damage, years of use, abuse, hot bum cold garage condensation, spillage, sweat, rain.... will have absolutely taken its toll.


Method...what i did, apologies to all upholsterers in advance i probably did it wrong but i'm happy with results
seat base

1) remove seat. 4 bolts 4 spacers
2) dismantle back from base and remove seat back card/plastic in an aussie car these are held on with Auveco #12134 trim clips, https://www.auveco.com/trim-panel-faste ... sler-12134 or "work of the devil" as i now call them.
3) base upside down, photograph to get the order of the layers of seat skin onto the frame and the position the parts are stapled, in some cases the seat foam "light cotton" calico cloth backing, and the skin are hog ringed to the same rail in other areas they are not.
4) remove hog rings around skirt
5) remove and label the listing wires from skirt
6) turn it over and fold up skirt to expose bolster foam around seat
7) note the deep listing wire tunnels sewed to the seams for each seat base contour and the way they are pinned via hog ring into canyons in the seat foam and through the hessian backing onto the springs of the seat.
6) from underneath remove the hog rings for the listing wires around the springs
7) take off cover
8) repeat exercise for foam
9) check every thread nut and spring
10) weld up busted bits or buy new.
11) wire brush, passivate, whack on some paint in the areas that can't be seen, restore if you wish, those areas that can be seen with some nice gloss.
12) The seat base springs have "stays" this is stiff wire in a Z shape wrapped in hessian or paper crimped on to [provide a link from the side springs to the left and right spring no.2. Reclamp all the clamps with your mole grips or crimp tool. Or make up new parts using coat hanger or similar.


New foam and cover for seat base

1) take the foam in hand, and clear every listing wire channel out down to the hessian, if the channel is stuck together with contact adhesive cut through.
2) fold each foam at the channel in the foam, and draw a line on the hessian on the other side to show where it is.
3) clean and fit listing wires into seam tunnels on cover
4) mark the centre of the front and rear of the seat frame and the seat skin , centre dictated by the pattern of contours in the seat as well as the shape of the skin. Do the same on the foam.
5) on a listing tunnel that is 8 inches or more use a skewer to pierce through the channel over the listing wire in 3 places on each listing tunnel and stuff through a 4 inch length of garden wire, a shorter listing you could use 2. one front one back.. longer need 3 or more
6) bend the garden wire into tight U shape around the listing wire in the tunnel, so it can be pushed through the hessian on the seat foam
7) spend time to mount the center of the cover onto the foam. centre it push the listing wires into the contours and push the garden wire "Us" through the hessian to the other side two holes about 1/8 inch apart. get the seat skin centred and leave it loosly attached.
8) replace or check that the front corners of the seat base pan are covered in 2-3mm adhesive backed foam. 2-3 inches round the corner and a fold over of 1 inch into the pan.
9) put the new foam on the seat base and centre it. do front and back hog ringing first. check centering, check front to back positioning and then hog ring the sides.
10) turn over, make sure your wire "Us" are not twisted and put 1 leg either side of the nearest spring. Grab the ends with the mole grips and twist to slowly draw the listing wires down hard against the hessian and the springs of the seat base, in a side to side pattern.
11) now you need to do a "James Herriot". Stripping to the waist, and asking a rosy cheeked farmers wife for buckets of hot water and towels is optional, full arm under the cover from the front, pulling up the hard edges of the foam around sides of the listing tunnel seams, make the contoured section look as good as it can, and it won't if the edge of the foam is trapped under the listing tunnel or pulled down on just one side of the contoured section. you are centering the contour section foam, under the seat base middle section.
11) use your manual hog ring pliers to hog ring around the springs through the hessian through the listing tunnel and around the listing wire, do this in 3 or 4 places, for each listing, near your twisted wire U makes sense.
12) make a decision about removing your gardening wires... i didn't but hey i'm lazy
13) the foam is about 2 inches too big in every direction, get ready for pain and frustration.
14) put listing wires into sides of skirt, if missing, make a new one:- clip the hook section out of a coat hanger, straighten whats left, fold exactly in half, put 1 end in vice other end in hammer drill chuck, apply power and twist up a new one, bend over sharp ends in a tight U and push the other smooth end forward into the skirt listing tunnel in the inner of the side skirt of the seat, do not put the sharp end forward....! . the twist stops it working its way out of the hog rings in use, and working the metal wire with the drill makes the wire stiff.
15) Now a big fight, stretch the cover round the bolsters, hog ring middle of each side skirt, check it is all centred, then the front and back then fill in the gaps so that the bolster sections are smooth and the skirt has no ripples. if need be get you hands in to pull the foams into place outside of the contoured area
16) cut holes based on old seat covers once seams that should be on hard corners are checked for correct positioning

do a couple of hours at a time and walk away when frustrated

job done or should i say 1/4 of the job done

[Stu]

That looks good, Mate!

Would you do it again, knowing what you know now, or would you ask an upholsterer?

[Blue]

Much easier in hot weather when you can lay out the covers in the sun to get hot and stretchy. Whenever I’ve done stuff like this, you need to pull and drag the covers to the point you think you’ll rip them…

[Dave999]

Stu I've done all of both of them now...
i set aside a week per seat and did about 2-3 hours a day first one done in 4 days the second in 3

afterwards took about 2 weeks before i could button my shirt without wincing. my hands were a mess. tips of fingers were like a pin cushion and i still can't use fingerprint to open my phone....
when you are doing the job you don't notice. its afterwards that the pickled onion jar highlights just how many holes you have in your hands,
every hole carries its bruise. Just picking hog rings out of the box, the ends are raggy with swarf, pick one up and stick it in the pliers only to find often a good few minutes later that you have another embedded in your little finger.... and these didn't come from china. I do not have the hands of a lady washed in mild green fairy liquid etc

i'll post up some notes on doing a seat back which is horrible in comparison to the base

yes i'd do it again. need to consider the rear
gets easier each time
BUT it is a pig of a job the first time...
especially if you are working out a way to do it as you go along, i'm a stubborn old mug, when it comes to walking into the house and looking it up or asking the supplier....

notes and method above worked out by making mistakes and having to re do things, and standing around looking at it for ages working out the next plan of attack. hence i knew what to do on the second seat
voyage of discovery for me... some of my dodgy ideas may help...


Blue. yeah the second seat was done mainly inside the house.... too bloody cold outside.

Dave

[Dave999]

Notes on seat back

1) heavy
2) the rear of the head rest area is plated over, making access very awkward.
3) sort out the seat back, button area in the foam before putting the skin on
4) you need cable ties
5) you will need to cut a hole for the seat back catch at the door side bottom of the skin, don't just hack right through cut a slit and pass the catch and its cable through, you will need to remove the mounting for the seat back catch cable to pass the lot through the hole and the latch is held on with a circlip.
6) having the seat semi reclined before removal makes more space for wrapping the bottom corners properly during installation
7) The seat recline pull lever is on a shaft with a welded on lever or e-clipped lever on the inner end. These break when the outer lever gets stepped on or someone pushes it rather than pulls it. weld it back on, bend the hog ring rail nearby to refit the assembly, then bend it back. Do not get weld in the lever "stop" area. Reset length of pull wire so that the lever is taught but not partially activating the recline mechanism.
8) the bottom flaps at the back of the seat go around the outside of the recline frame. there should just be 1- 2 inches of the cross bar and the mounting arms sitting in view when done.
9) my seat skins used rip stop style tarpaulin like the bottom of a vango tent from the 70s, for the listing wire tunnels. robust as hell. the originals used cotton/calico.... not robust as hell.


method,
1) pull off the back...if it uses the auveco trim panel fasteners some will die in the process, or you will destroy the masonite board
2) start removing all skin edge hog rings
3) remove all listing wire hog rings
4) you'd expect to be able to remove the skin...But you can't... turn over to the frontside, pull skin up to the top of the tombstone contour below the headrest area. the listing wire here is hog ringed from the front side to pressed loops in a welded in section in the inside of the head rest area. go digging, there are 3 hog rings in the base of the listing channel near the top of the tombstone shape.
5) remove skin and crack on with removal of the foam


new stuff
1) Repair the seat back, sort out the cable for the seat mechanism and fix the recliner levers.
You also have seat spring stay chains from the hog ring rail to the outer most springs at mid point up the back. if missing make some coat hanger loops that are not in tension when nobody is sitting on the seat.
2) Remove nasty degraded horrible foam around the pressed loops in the front of the head rest section.
3) use same technique as previously, clear out the listing channels in the foam, fold and mark with on the hessian side where the channels are.
4) appraise your listing wire situation
5) mark centre on top and bottom of frame, skin and foam

The tombstone profile in the seat back that maintains the semi bucket shape of the seat is created with either of the following
* a 2 foot long curved listing wire that fits into a listing tunnel right around the section in the cover..
* 3 shorter listing wires, one across the top and longer ones up either side

how you prepare is dictated by your listing wire configuration

long curved wire
straighten it, clean it up as smooth as possible and manipulate it up one side through the curve and down the other side, leaving about 1 inch sticking out at the bottom end of each side..... this is not an easy task.

2 long and 1 short

place onto back of skin following the listing tunnel
cut listing tunnel so you can fit 2 long sides and 1 short cross listing

Both cases

Cut a V in the listing tunnel so you can see the wire in the exact middle of the top
place this V on the centre pressed hog ring mount on the frame and cut a V in the listing tunnel so you can see the wire adjacent to the outer pressing/hog ring mount at either side. do this without the foam in place.

press the listing into the foam and centre it
Cut a 1.5 inch hole in the hessian backing of the foam next to where each of the V sections in the listing tunnel is across the top of the contour, so that you can see the pressed section loop in the pressed steel section of the back of the seat


5) you should have your listing wires in the cover, you should have v section cut in the top of the listing tunnel
6) do the skewer and garden wire routine on the rest of the listing tunnels from top to bottom, where is dictated by 1 long or 3 separate listing wires
7) assembly routine changes here from what you did with the seat base
8) put 3 cable ties around the 3 pressings for hog rings in the seat back head rest area
9) loop up ends and tape together to make an easy to grasp pigs tail so you can use the cable tie later
10) put foam onto seat back and pull the rear down until the hood of foam covers the steel backing of the head of the seat, it should reach the edge of the steel at the back.
11) moved no. 11 to later but called it 11 to confuse people
12) check base of bolsters near the bottom of the seat back are not hung up on hog ring rails, the sides should reach the bottom of the frame sides
13) pull each cable tie up through the holes in the hessian to the front side in the listing valley in the foam and then hog ring the foams calico top and bottom. to maintain its position. then do the sides.
14) force the top listing into the channel in the foam
15) centre it and cable tie though your listing tunnel V cuts in 3 places
16) with the skin centred manhandle the seat back with foam on and cover flapping around, to stick you garden wire through the hessian and around seat back springs.
17) use wires and mole grips to draw the listings down tight
18) use the cable ties at the top to do the same. swap 16) and 17) order if necessary
19) from the front side use your manual hog ring pliers to clamp through the listing tunnel V cut, around the listing wire which you can see in the V cut, through the hole in the hessian to the pressed loop in the seat upper head rest area. really awkward to do. check it is all centred. Middle one first. Kneel on the Bananarama! if you need to. approach from top side or lower side whatever is easier.
20) draw the listings down tighter with your wire twists and hog ring them in multiple places to the seat springs through the hessian backing and listing wire tunnel
21) get you arm in up from the bottom to pull up the edges of the contour foam in the middle to make it look even and nice, especially over the curve of the tombstone section.. same routine as seat base for exactly the same reasons
22) you should have a seat back with a perfect centre contour, in the centre of the back and the bolster /head rest /bottom flapping .
11) cut hole in foam for the seat back push switch. use nail or screw driver into actuator in seat to centre then push button base as template to cut, note the strange angle of its mounting holes and make you foam hole align. while you have the stanley knife and scissors out, cut away foam near the recline lever.
23) Hog ring the rest of the seat skin, pull the head rest sides in and hog ring to top bar 1-2 inches between at the bar, not so tight as to cause a dent in the top of the seat. get hand in to pull the foam.
24) hog ring the center top flap over the 2 side flaps previously hog ringed get about 1/4 -1/2 inch wrapped round bar and hog ring through the wrap. 2 or 3 rings middle and sides
25) check that you have no pleat and that the head of the seat aint lumpy
26) do the bottom. centre flap up to bar going around the frame so you can not see the cross bar
27) do the pleated side pulls around the recline hinges.
28) pull the side on where the seat back latch catch hook is, check skin seams line up with the hard corners, cut if you have not already, a slit for the catch, and push the catch its cable and cable mount through.
29) hog ring the sides alternating from the top down until you have a decent wrap around the hog ring rails on both sides right to the bottom, adjust as you go pulling mainly in a downward direction to remove any creasing in the bolsters
30) refit seat catch (circlip/snap ring) and re mount the seat catch cable bracket
31) cut hole for recline lever
32) pierce hole for seat back button, you are clamping the skin to the frame via the seat button bezel, so the hole just needs to be big enough for the plunger provided you sorted the foam beneath when you have the chance before. if not you are snipping foam through a keyhole in the skin. possible but not fun.

re mount seat back on seat base.


Masonite seat back boards
1) strip off vinyl and manky old foam
2) buy some 3.6 mm ply from wickes
3) used old board as template
5) stick 2-3 mm thick foam to board (peal off pre glued stuff is easiest)
6) lay board on new vinyl
7) add heavy books to squash foam
8) spray edge of board and vinyl with contact adhesive
7) wait 5-10 minutes
8) fold over and glue edges, with a little bit of tension applied
9) fit stupid auveco trim panel fasteners
10 swear a lot while fitting to seat, you have six of the fasteners to fit into hand drilled randomly placed holes, where the positioning is dependent on the size of the bit of scrap welded to the frame.... and the tim clips do not like to be undone once applied

Done

do it all again for seat no. 2


I Have to say, once done the seats are firm, in an almost modern car sense
i had to remove some spacers so my head didn't get too close to the roof
driver fatigue greatly reduced
i'm higher so i can drive with my elbow on the window sill
i no longer have to learn how to walk again after driving.
i have much better angle into the clutch and i'm not fighting the edge of the seat, i was basically sitting in a bucket previously. so i don't get shaky leg when stuck in traffic.

the seat base on the drivers seat was just held together by the skin the spring steel spring support was snapped....its so much better now.

well worth doing

Believe a proper trimmer and upholster has things a bit like small anvils or shoe lasts on their bench so that can apply force in appropriate places to push listing wires down to springs and avoiding the need for garden wire in many of the areas i used it. i.e probably many better ways to do this.... rather than what i made up as i went along.

if your seats are knackered give it a go...


Dave

[Stu]

They look great, Mate.

[Blue]

Top work Dave, bet you’re glad that’s done!

[Derek]

Very nice indeed, but this time of year you must be mad, summer job only or a well heated garage, or in the lounge maybe.

[MattH]

Superb work, you are clearly very talented and clever. I laughed at your comments about the fingers in pickled onions and no fingerprints etc. I suffered the same as few weeks back after tiling a bathroom with no rubber gloves on. I had a week of wearing protective gloves afterwards as it was too painful to touch anything. Still have some sore bits now!

[Dave999]

too kind fine sir

another project completed more by luck than judgement
i'm not a tidy worker and i'm not a completer finisher.... if i can get a reasonably presentable outcome...anyone can...

its definitely gone into the list of great things to have done to make the car better, if its horrible to sit in, its going to tiant the experience more than you think..... sitting on the seat rail mechanism for 10 + years gets to you eventually

upgrade sits quite nicely in a list of good things.... along with LSD, chassis connectors and reconnecting the vacuum advance...

Dave

[Dom66]

Seats look fantastic ! Good job

[cadboy]

Looks real good Dave

[Dave999]

last yer my faithful old original alternator failed on the way to a show
one from my shelf of bits, ex breakers yard, seized, horrible and encrusted was steeped in WD 40 and pressed into service, and yes i got there....

its done a thousand or so miles since...but i'm not comfortable with what is basically an alternator shaped hand grenade sitting there up front
it looked awful and although it works it probably sat festering since 1980....

new made sense
denso was purchased, nice little unit for not a lotta cash £65 came with connector and £80 racing pulley from some US aftermarket Mob who specialise in things other than muscle cars
and i also accidently won a hitachi LT150-188 off a 1970s nissan, £30 new old stock unipart rebuild i think, but had been handled/packaged badly and returned with a snapped off the B+ stud making it utterly useless...oh clumsy....
150 quid of new alternator for £30 on ebay, hence accidental win sling in a bid on the off chance, as you do... etc

denso has wrong pulley, it might have been fancy high sided race one, but the v belt ran in the base of the V not on the sides, pulley V way too wide... another 40 quid for a kubota one, should have just purchased a new alternator in the first place.....
hitachi needed a new stud or a whole new rectifier, 16 quid
denso needs idiot light wiring. i have no idiot light and don't need it with an ammeter
hitachi works with standard mopar regulator....

hitachi it is, cheap easy straight bracket made from 3 mm bar, and some heavy weight soldering of a new rectifier done, meant Hitachi won.

built a bracket and bodged it on, with a bit of Mk2 transit bracket to cater for the 12 o' clock top mount i really need a 2 O'clock top mount like the orginal.
hemi 6 has a mounting lug on the block that does not match any other mopar engine, in respect to width, fore/aft positioning and its strangely metric 50mm width. Also the pressed side of the timing cover means anything mounted needs to be spaced forward on a 1/4 inch washer in order to be positioned without hitting the cover... A hemi 6 standard alternator is unique and has its front mount kicked forward 1/4 inch to allow for this spacer which is necessary to allow the alternator to swivel on its mount for belt tensioning.

No other mopar alternator has this kicked forward mount. (or indeed any other alternator that i can find)
the denso has a double thickness front mount which means it is too far forward
or 1/2 inch too far back on a straight steel mount mounted on the block
and can't be mounted directly anyway, only 2mm too far forward but it can't swivel for belt tensioning

hitachi it is, i will get a curved top mount bracket at some point to make it look a little more professional...

works good, gauges all rock steady
first time in years my car has the right amount of electricity flowing through its veins....


HORNS

Aussie Charger RT has a unique set of horns, just like the beepbeep horn on the Road Runner these things are cheap crap, but rarity means anyone selling seems to think they are selling gold.... $1000 is not a uncommon asking price, or $300 for a new plastic end set

years ago the end of my horn was chopped off by my fan
since then i have felt vaguely inadequate whenever I let anyone look under the hood..

i can't do CAD very well, so i asked my son to adjust the trumptey end bit off a 3d printable actual trumpet into a new end for my horn. He didn't see merit in that idea, and just designed a new one.
we managed to get everything right apart from the rim around the end which is a bit fat...
stuck it in the lathe and took a smidge off.

printed it out and found it was too small. adjusted it by a few % in all directions, printed it and my horn trumpet part was way too big....


adjusted it by 0.1% and printed again, Just perfect, everything fitted correctly and the bit inside to stop it going on too far worked as well

sanded it
painted it
glued it on

horn restored.
both horns gripped around the bracket and man handled away from the fan so i don't get the end chopped off again.

its been a journey....I can tell ya...

ha..... got all the way through that without saying anything inappropriate


Hitachi alternators if anyone has an interest in such things
(Nissan/datsun/toyota/isuzu/chevrolet/mitsubishi) come with delco remy part numbers, mitsubishi part numbers and bosch part numbers as well
LT-150-188
LT (external regulator)
150 (50 Amp)-188 version i.e this is version 188 of an alternator used from 1970 until the late 80s
F N and B F= field, N= centre point on stator, (test only or for complicated original regulator do not use, fords use it for a complicated idiot light) B+ obvious, its the fat charge wire

LR 150-
LR internal regulator
150 50 amp
etc LRs replaced LTs in later years
S and F, F is switched 12 volt power i.e the feed that used to go to your regulator S is 12 volt battery charge sensing, fused wire to Battery +.
B+ obvious, that's your fat charge wire

Dave

[Blue]

Those are some mad looking horns, bet they scare the ‘Roos! Can’t beat a modern alternator on these old cars, gives ‘em a proper shot in the arm.

[Blue]

A viscous fan would free up a few HP if there’s something that would adapt.