My drivers side seat developed a diagonal wrinkle in the butt part of the seat. When i press it down it looks a lot better but as soon as i let go it goes back to the indented wrinkle that bothers that crap otta me. Is there a way to fix this or make it look better?

Well, that'* really what leather does as it ages. If the surface coloring has cracked off, leaving a dark colored crack on a light colored seat, go to your local shoe repair shop and ask them about leather color sprays for shoes. Test it for color against your seat. I used "taupe" on my 92 seat when I replaced the torn outside bolster last summer with a piece of yellow leather from a buick in a junkyard. I sprayed the yellow piece twice and let it dry, then sewed it in.



It is better to spray a whole piece because the spray has a little different sheen than the original leather. This helped hide some scratches on my seats, but they don't look as good as new - cause they are 14 years old!

If the cracks really bug you, you can get some newer seats from a junkyard.

Wait a minute. Maybe I didn't understand your question. If you have a wrinkle, not a crack, maybe you just need to re-stretch the leather cover over the frame. You will need to remove the seat from the car. Examine where the cover attaches for places where the hog rings that are used to attach the cover to the frame, have torn through the naugahyde edges of your leather seat, or are otherwise missing. You may just have to add a couple of hog rings to restore the tension and get rid of the wrinkle.

If the foam under the cover is causing the wrinkle, you will need to clip all the hog rings and remove the cover to get to the problem.

[edit] The methods of attachment on these covers get pretty sophisticated. If you start cutting the rings, you might want to take pictures or make drawings as you go so you can assemble it correctly later. The problem could also be that one side or the other of various velcro fastenings between the cover and ther frame has come undone. The cover will most likely have to come off to fix these, also.

[edit again] There are also plastic clip rails on the edges of the frame that provide tension and can come undone that might be causing the problem.


A hog ring tool costs about $10, and a bag of hog rings that will last a lifetime costs about $5 from any upholstery supply house.

damn, thanks.
It does seem to have more slack than the passenger seat.
Do you think i may need new foam under the leather?

I too, have that fold in mine. You must remove the cover, and replace the foam underneath. The cheap way is to duct tape build up... but uh.. that isn't the way i'd suggest. Go to the local Fabric Store [or Wal-mart], and pick up some foam and carve away. With all that extensive valvetrain work you have.. I am sure you can figure out that stuff .


-justin

You may not be able to find foam of the proper density at Wal Mart. But you can get a big chunk from a junkyard. Maybe even from another Bonneville. If you cut and piece the foam, use an electric knife. Works great.