Installing Moss’ New BJ8 Seat Kits

For those of you who have waited for Moss Motors to produce an exact reproduction of Austin Healey BJ8 seat kits, your patience is being rewarded. The following article by John Sarena is a step-by-step guide to installing BJ8 seat covers. John, our upholstery division manager, has a tremendous wealth of experience in upholstery installation. Although there may be other ways of installing seat covers, we strongly recommend following his advice to produce the best possible finished appearance Take a look at the special introductory prices on BJ8 seat kits in our current sale, then let John help you install your new seat kit.

Moss Motors has just made the installation of our Austin Healey seat cover kits even easier with the availability of moulded reproduction seat foam. The cushion and back rest sets fit BN4 thru BJ8 cars, and with slight modification may be adapted to BNI/2 cars. The long awaited BJ8 original style seat covers are now in stock as well, which completes the Moss line of reproduction Austin Healey upholstery.

As with restoration of any area of your car, pay close attention to the method the factory used to cover your seats originally. If your seats are not an original example I suggest you borrow a seat from a friend or fellow club member to help guide you or the upholstery shop. If you plan on tackling this job yourself, other than normal hand tools, I recommend you use a sturdy picnic table for a work bench covered with a carpet remnant or heavy blanket. Warm air temperature and a hair dryer will also assist you in the installation of the of foam and covers.

Begin by removing all of the old covers and foam from the seat assemblies. I prefer to “restore” the back and bottom units by scraping off all rust scale and old glue. It is OK to chemically strip the metal backs and cushion bases but DO NOT SAND BLAST, as you will no doubt warp the sheet metal, making your seats unusable. Prime the raw steel with lacquer primer and seal with semi gloss black lacquer. If you use enamel, the solvents in the glue used to attach the foam will attack the finish and whatever you attempted to glue will not stick. Please take note of this, as it will save you much grief and aggravation. I advise the use of Moss neoprene adhesive, available under part #221-560. This is put up in quart cans which can be brushed or sprayed. Use proper ventilation with this product as it is flammable and does funny things to your system if inhaled.

Begin by gluing the moulded cushion to the appropriate seat bottom unit. I suggest gluing a 2″ wide muslin pull tab around the lower edge of the cushion and joining to the seat base. I also glue a 10″x16″ muslin piece into the insert area of the cushion. Next, turn the cover inside out and position it on the seat. While holding the insert area in place with one hand, pull cover back over foam and seat base, roughly check fit and position of cover. Turn cover back out and glue insert down to foam cushion, 1/2 side at a time. Let glue “tack up” for 3 or 4 minutes before joining to cushion for maximum adhesion. Set welt at edge of seat, making sure the tail faces down: while holding it in place with one hand at the top, pull the side skirt on over and temporarily hold it in place with seat clips. Follow the same procedure on the other side, re-adjust it if necessary and install all the clips. I prefer to use pop rivets on the back pull tab to hold it in place.

The backrest is a little more of a challenge, but can be done with patience and care. Align and center the backrest foam on the steel seat backrest. Fold back one half side at a time, apply glue, let “tack” and set in place. Finish off the other side in the same manner and then glue pull tab to the outer back. Pull the muslin taut and work out as many wrinkles as possible. Trim off any folds with a pair of scissors. I replace the jute outer back padding with 1/4″ scrim backed foam, applied scrim side out. Pull excess scrim back from outer edges of backrest trim the foam even with the seat edge and glue the “tail” of the scrim back over the muslin pull tab, extending into the backrest foam approximately 1″ past the pull tab. Apply a 9″ x 17″ piece of muslin to the insert areas as in the seat cushion. I duct tape 1 1/4 strips 2 to 3 layers thick on the bottom/front edge of the backrest that is covered by the sewn “boots” before installing 1/4″ foam to prevent chafing of the vinyl on the boots. Note how the factory padded this area and duplicate. Warm the boots with a hair dryer and pull in place, first gluing on the outer back and then to the front of cushion foam. When this is completed, warm the backrest cover and pull it down over the backrest unit, positioning it in place.The first priority is to get the top edge or welt line to be even with the top edge of the seat. A small piece of plastic approximately 10″ x 20″ such as used for dry cleaning bags lightly taped to the upper portion of the seat will allow the cover to slip in place easier. This will not show under the cover and may be left in place. Turn the tail of the welt towards the back of the seat check the position of the insert in relation to the indentation in the foam and while pulling the outer back cover down, install 3 or 4 seat clips at the lower back edge. Once you are satisfied with the fit, check the position of the insert; apply neoprene adhesive to the backside of the insert and indent in the foam. Let “tack” 3 to 4 minutes, warm up the outer cap of the cover with a hair dryer and starting at the top of the insert, work down pressing the insert in place with your hands pushing into the foam. Finish off the installation of the cover by applying seat clips to the bottom angle flange and re-adjust the outside back if necessary. Mate the backrest to the bottom unit after covering the outer flange of the seat cushion base with a vinyl band and install in the car.

By John Sarena