joshkeady
New member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2018
Apparently I haven't ever posted here so hello... I've owned a couple of 240s over the years and have certainly spent a lot of time reading this and other Volvo forums.
I'm currently in possession of a nice '84 245 and I'm in the process of performing a mild restoration and engine swap.
My question is about upholstery, specifically sourcing. This is kind of a meandering tale so thanks for sticking with me. I've tried to read up on the subject as much as possible but confusion abounds.
My front seat upholstery on both sides has come apart at the seams in a couple of places and has cracks throughout (this is 5307 beige). They also both need lower foam, at least, and I would think it would be a good idea to just replace all of the foam since I'm planning on really using this car regularly once it's back on the road. The lumbar supports work, adjuster mechanisms work, etc., but I'm prepared to fix what needs fixing (and add heaters).
Before I started seriously looking for new upholstery, I wrongly assumed that 240 seat shapes were the same for all years. I know now that the '85 and down are different than the '86 and up. The problem is, everyone seems to have leather upholstery kits for the '86 and up cars, no one has leather upholstery for the '85 and down cars. (No one that I can find, that is.)
Plan B was talk to a reputable upholstery shop nearby and see what they said. I sent them pictures of my seats, asking what I could expect to pay for new leather surfaces. The confident reply: "those aren't leather, they're vinyl, and we could do both in vinyl for $2,000."
Well I *can* find vinyl upholstery online for my year for a fraction of that cost (granted, a big chunk of that $2k is installation labor), so I'm hesitant to shell out that kind of coin for something that will be very similar to what I could have done on my own with just a kit from eBay. And everyone says it, but, it's not the money so much, I just want to end up with something that matches my interior AND feels good. I have even considered ditching the perfectly good material on my back seat for a complimentary tweed or plaid fabric on all the seating surfaces.
Which gets me to the questions:
I'm currently in possession of a nice '84 245 and I'm in the process of performing a mild restoration and engine swap.
My question is about upholstery, specifically sourcing. This is kind of a meandering tale so thanks for sticking with me. I've tried to read up on the subject as much as possible but confusion abounds.
My front seat upholstery on both sides has come apart at the seams in a couple of places and has cracks throughout (this is 5307 beige). They also both need lower foam, at least, and I would think it would be a good idea to just replace all of the foam since I'm planning on really using this car regularly once it's back on the road. The lumbar supports work, adjuster mechanisms work, etc., but I'm prepared to fix what needs fixing (and add heaters).
Before I started seriously looking for new upholstery, I wrongly assumed that 240 seat shapes were the same for all years. I know now that the '85 and down are different than the '86 and up. The problem is, everyone seems to have leather upholstery kits for the '86 and up cars, no one has leather upholstery for the '85 and down cars. (No one that I can find, that is.)
Plan B was talk to a reputable upholstery shop nearby and see what they said. I sent them pictures of my seats, asking what I could expect to pay for new leather surfaces. The confident reply: "those aren't leather, they're vinyl, and we could do both in vinyl for $2,000."
Well I *can* find vinyl upholstery online for my year for a fraction of that cost (granted, a big chunk of that $2k is installation labor), so I'm hesitant to shell out that kind of coin for something that will be very similar to what I could have done on my own with just a kit from eBay. And everyone says it, but, it's not the money so much, I just want to end up with something that matches my interior AND feels good. I have even considered ditching the perfectly good material on my back seat for a complimentary tweed or plaid fabric on all the seating surfaces.
Which gets me to the questions:
- Can someone please confirm for me (and I know the answer but humor me): are '86 and up seats so different that you can't use upholstery for those years on the '85 and down models?
- Did my '84 come from the factory with leather seat faces or vinyl? (And yes, I can go out to the shop and touch it but don't know how to really tell.)
- Is there a good source for replacement leather upholstery for the older style of seats? And if they *were* vinyl from the factory, who is the best supplier of those?
- Is it better to just go find some junkyard '86+ seats and start with those?
