attaching upholstery

[30dodgeboy]

OK, so we have been making pretty good progress at my FED project lately.  Fiberglass seat is nearly finished and ready to trim to fit the contour of the shoulder hoop, but wait.  How is the upholstery going to attach??? I am hesitant to use the approach most used - drill the hoop and screw the snaps directly to the frame.  I am concerned first about an opening & corrosion and second to a lesser degree about the strength.  I purchased a crashed car for its parts and the upholstery holes certainly were stress risers.

A friend suggested gluing the upholstery to the fiberglass seat... but I like the idea of separating the upholstery in case it ever got rained on.

Any other suggestions?

By the way my build is a 144" car, and want it to look like they did in 1964:

[dreracecar]

Way way overthinking "what could be" problems

As long as you dont have a 1000 snap holes there should be no "stress risers" with haveing snaps every 4 to 5 inches and how is enough moisture going to enter the frame with a plugged and covered hole? are you planning on leaving the car outside when it rains or snows? even then.

[Zooman]

Why cant the male part of the snap buttons go directly onto the fiberglass seat?
Cool looking chassis

[30dodgeboy]

We don't have bakersfield weather around here in the rust belt, LOL.  The humidity here can be crazy at times and we all know bare steel items corrode.  While I obviously won't be keeping this car outside in the rain or snow, I know it is possible to be caught by an unexpected downpour.  What if I wanted to wash it?  Screw threads don't seal against water wicking in.  Not trying to start an argument, just looking for some alternatives.

[30dodgeboy]

Why cant the male part of the snap buttons go directly onto the fiberglass seat?
Cool looking chassis

Thanks for the compliment. 

I thought about putting the snaps onto the seat, but am looking for other alternatives.  I am not experienced at upholstery...

[BK]

I had a RED where they used adhesive backed Velcro all around the perimeter of the fiberglass seat. But I cant remember if there was Velcro on the seat pad. The back of the material was kind of fuzzy and that may be all there was holding the pad to the Velcro.

[rooman]

BK has the solution--Velcro is what the big show guys use. It also has the added benefit of stopping the upholstery from puckering between the attachment points which quite often happens with snaps.

Roo

[dreracecar]

You can buy just the male half of the snap without the screw and use a sealing type pop rivet to install---done it hundreds of times.

I have done plenty of retorations on 40/50 year old dragsters and on some of those I have had to replace the shoulder hoop because the attachment of another cage had damaged the tubeing surface enough to the point of needing replacment. I have rarely seen the corrosion problem you are alludeing to. Some cars I get have been sitting outside the barn in the snow for 20 years and those are problems. New tubing or a car that has been stored inside  not so much of a problem.
Hey this is your car and you must do what feels right to you

[30dodgeboy]

Thanks guys for the replies, and I think velcro will be the answer.   I appreciate the other options as well as a backup.  Progress continues.... got the steering crossmember made and tacked in tonight.

[GlennLever]

My only comment on Velcro is that it is not a sure thing. The carpet in my CJ-7 is Velcroed in place (from the factory). I am constantly pulling it apart, pulling it back in place and sticking it back down (the carpet wanted to move out of place)/ The soft top is snapped in place and once snapped stays in place even when driven 60 MPH down the road.

I think this might become a problem when you slide down into the seat.

[30dodgeboy]

Glenn, I agree with you. 

My plan was to make the upholstery cover fold over the top of the seat (velcro on the outside of the seat) and then go between the outside of the seat and the shoulder hoop.  The upholstery will then be trapped so it can't unfold when sliding into the seat.  We'll see if this plan works...

[BK]

 I never had any issues with mine. In fact it was almost difficult to pull the cover out. The Velcro was about 11/2" wide. The seat pad did fit really nice where there wasn't any pockets or hollows where your weight would pull on it.