Seat Cover Replacement

[mrandig]

Hi All:

I decided to replace the driver's seat in M1123, and while I was at it, also replace the seat cover on the passenger side. Nothing fancy, just direct replacements.


Replacing the lower cover was easy-peasy, as it was just putting on the new cover and installing some c-clips.


The upper cover however isn't quite so simple.


Not that it's a particularly hard job to do, but I'm having trouble sourcing the correct hog rings for the upper.


I've ordered a few different ones but end up having with issues either with their size, their shape, or both.




I'm sure that I'm not the first one to do this. Would anybody here with past experience care to share some pointers?

Thanks in advance.

M

 

[mrandig]

Seriously, I'm the first one here to recover a seat?

Even the local upholstery shop won't look at it until 2026, so I guess I'm back to researching my DIY on the interwebs...

It's crazy how something so simple can chew up so much time.

 

[DREDnot]

A buddy of mine sews his own replacement covers made from original material in the OD or now coyote color. Looks factory. He just uses the commercially available hog rings on his. Whats the issue with what you are using? Fit or function? Or just looks different?

 

[mrandig]

A buddy of mine sews his own replacement covers made from original material in the OD or now coyote color. Looks factory. He just uses the commercially available hog rings on his. Whats the issue with what you are using? Fit or function? Or just looks different?

View attachment 958449

Nice looking interior!

My problem is my lack of experience using hog rings for anything besides building actual hog fences and tomato cages.

From left to right: stock/OEM oval; 3/4" D-ring; and 3/4" C-ring.


The 3/4" D-ring in the center is the closest in size to the original. The 3/4" C-Ring on the left is a definite NO, as it compresses down to less than half its original size (7mm).


The D-ring is a decent fit, but being a D-ring, it creates a tooth. My concern is, beside the ugly aesthetics, the top cover tearing into the bottom cover once the seat is assembled (or some other unexpected consequence).


I'm doing this testing with the old cover installed, until I can find a solution I'm comfortable with. I'd rather not poke a bunch of holes in the new cover playing trial-and-error.

I suspect that the originals were installed with a pneumatic gun, rather than a simple hand tool. The hand plier seems to have fewer options, and nothing jumps out that will create the same shape as the factory.

 

[DREDnot]

He uses the D rings.
Saw a few laying on the work bench the other day.
Unfortunately none of his trucks are around to get new pics of the rings for you to see how they look.

 

[mrandig]

I gave up on this futile endeavor and just used 3/4" D-rings. I went as far as contacting the distributor and was told the same thing. There's no direct replacement available, but I could try re-using the old ones, which I'm not.

Turned out fine, and there's really no way to tell unless you're looking.


Problem solved.