I reupholstered my bench seat with a Mid Fifty vinyl reproduction cover. They recommended 3" of foam as the popularly favored cushion depth. So I did that. The bench and back were so puffy that I could not tilt the seat back forward. And, the vinyl was stretched very tight. So, I have cut the hog rings and removed the covers and intend to reinstall them using 2" of foam, which, as I understand it, is the factory foam thickness. Just wondering what others who have done their own reupholstery have done. Any tips? I'm surprised that there no YouTube clips looking at this subject in detail.

 

There are some vids there but maybe not regarding bench seats? Foam cushions are normally shaped to fit. Installing a slab and not tapering the edges will cause issues. An electric kitchen knife and/or a small sander (think die grinder with a 2" sanding disc) will make short work of contouring the foam. This should head you in the right direction (a lot of spin-off vids to be found):

 

[QUOTE=CBeav;16435607]There are some vids there but maybe not regarding bench seats? Foam cushions are normally shaped to fit. Installing a slab and not tapering the edges will cause issues. An electric kitchen knife and/or a small sander (think die grinder with a 2" sanding disc) will make short work of contouring the foam. /QUOTE]

Thanks. I like the idea of using an electric kitchen knife for cutting.

 

Sorry, if this is a hijack, but I'm thinking of reupholstering my seats, and I was planning to use original materials i.e. burlap and a cotton like filler--instead of modern foam. Has anyone gone this route? If so were you satisfied with the result? The upholsterer who looked at my seats thought something pretty close to original materials would be available. I have original panel truck seats and they do not have any foam. The original cotton filler is maybe like a half inch thick at the most. Adding 2 or 3 inches of foam above the springs would almost certainly change my seat height.

 

I was able to reuse most of my original seat materials. While I bought a replacement kit from Cartouche, the foam was just too thick. Staying with original-ish materials keeps the profile right for both the bench seats and the driver.

While panel seats are different, the build up sounds similar. You'll be pleased with the result going the path you indicated..

 

Thanks FortyNiner. Reupholstering will probably be a winter project, but I will be sure to comment on the work as it is being done and the results when finished. My seats seem plenty high now--almost a little 'tippy"--adding any extra height, as you suggest, would probably not be helpful.

 

Go with the 2" foam. I got the foam from Mid Fifty. I got the 2" foam because Kevin (BigWin) recommended it. My upholsterer said the seat back, which was tapered was too small. It didn't cover the whole seat back width wise. I sent it back. My upholsterer used some foam he had. I do not know how thick it was. But I have the same problem as you. It is difficult to bring my seat back forward. I sit a lot higher and almost too far forward since the seat back is thicker. It is comfortable however.

 

Here are copies of the 55 and 56 Full Color Dealer Brochures showing cutaways of the seats, both Custom Cab and standard cab. The 55 brochure says the Custom Cab seats had 5" in the seat and 3" in the back.

I am hoping my foam compresses a bit. I remember by brother had a Deluxe Cab 53 F600 dump truck that I drove while I worked for him. The seat was thick and cushy.

 

Interesting information, Abe. I see that at least by 1955 our truck seats included foam in their construction. Not the case, however, for my 52. Maybe the switch to foam occurred in 1953 along with other design and style changes.

 

Here is the 53 catalog. The Deluxe Cab has foam but not as much as 55 and 56.

 

Interesting. The Bonus Built seat build: metal spring, burlap, coarse fiber matting, fiber (cotton, I believe) batting, covered by the heavy vinyl seat cover. Not a bit of foam to be found. It does, however, retain the cab smells nicely: oil, sweat, smoke, and wet dog.

 

Also notice the difference in the seat frames between the standard and deluxe/custom. The difference allows for the extra thickness of the foam.

 

Good point Beav. The OP has a 53, and even Abe's 55 brochure doesn't seem to show a lot of foam in the standard cab seat. The thick foam appears to be a deluxe cab upgrade first offered in 55. As you mention, the 53 brochure doesn't really call attention to foam as a standard cab feature.

 

There's a lot if information in those photos. For the '53, I see that the foam wraps around the top front edge of the spring frame. There is no way that I can do that with the foam that I have found available. In all the poking around online that I have done looking for foam, I have not found any foam with those holes that would allow it to bend decently over the front edge of the seat as shown. I suppose that I might be able to somehow cut out some of the underside of a piece of 2-inch high density foam so that it could make that tight bend.

 

That custom seat spring frame has a reduced spring height above the frame as opposed to the standard seat allowing for the large foam slab. Also the rear of the seat frame is significantly different - made much lower with two horizontal bars to retain the foam slab. The standard seat has a high arc, front and rear, to compensate for the thinner padding. The seat back in my '55 (back in '71 with what I assumed was the original seat) never fully tipped forward nor did any of my grandfather's trucks. Some were a bit better than others but I don't think they ever engineered them to fold over like a 'flat floor' type seat. My experience, fwiw, has been you'd be lucky to get one to go much past 12-14" forward, at the top.