New seat bottom foam vs re-building existing?

[Grit dog]

I’m about to take the seat for the ole 86 in to be re-done. Trusted upholstery guy, have seen his work and he does a great job re-building or repairing not so perfect seat foam.
That said, super soft old seat foam, only so much you can do and it’s still much softer than a “new” seat.
Anyone bought a new seat bottom replacement for these trucks and how did it compare for support or stiffness?
New foam = $200+. Guy will probably charge half that much or less to bolster up what I have. (The foam is in “good” condition, it’s just 36 years old and the drivers side is perceptibly softer than the passenger side.)
Money really isn’t the issue, although my intention is for this to be a frugal rebuild, as I spent good money on a good truck that doesn’t need a lot of things.
Not like I’m keeping score, but I’ll still be well ahead $ invested vs value once I turn it blue again.
Question is, are the replacement new seat bottoms very noticeably more supportive, or will I get one and my fat @ss sink just as far into it as the original seat, even the “good” side?

 

[DanMcG]

I can't answer what the new foam is like, but I just wanted to mention a lot of times a soft sinking seat is due to broken springs and other seat frame items.

 

[Grit dog]

^Yes thank you. That could be part of it as well. But looks like all the wires and springs are still doing their thing.

 

[Tank6x2]

I’m about to take the seat for the ole 86 in to be re-done. Trusted upholstery guy, have seen his work and he does a great job re-building or repairing not so perfect seat foam.
That said, super soft old seat foam, only so much you can do and it’s still much softer than a “new” seat.
Anyone bought a new seat bottom replacement for these trucks and how did it compare for support or stiffness?
New foam = $200+. Guy will probably charge half that much or less to bolster up what I have. (The foam is in “good” condition, it’s just 36 years old and the drivers side is perceptibly softer than the passenger side.)
Money really isn’t the issue, although my intention is for this to be a frugal rebuild, as I spent good money on a good truck that doesn’t need a lot of things.
Not like I’m keeping score, but I’ll still be well ahead $ invested vs value once I turn it blue again.
Question is, are the replacement new seat bottoms very noticeably more supportive, or will I get one and my fat @ss sink just as far into it as the original seat, even the “good” side?

Take one out of a 2012-14 rear seat and modify the brackets - near perfect fit, it’s on my agenda

 

[WesN]

When I went to put a new cover on I found the frame to be broken in one spot and cracked in another that allowed the seat to sag on the drivers side when you sat on it. Welded it up and is good now. Pic shows the break repaired and the crack which received a weld.

 

[RecklessWOT]

Take one out of a 2012-14 rear seat and modify the brackets - near perfect fit, it’s on my agenda

I get the impression that this guy's truck is done right and he's going for more of a "restoration" rather than just throwing random new parts from different trucks in. To each their own, I know it's becoming a popular swap, and in some cases I'm sure it's better than nothing, but I really doubt that's the direction he wants to go in.

That's about as helpful as responding to a post about a guy having carb troubles and saying "why don't you just LS swap it?". Putting new stuff in trucks that it doesn't belong in isn't for everyone. Especially something like a seat that is in plain view and not hidden under the hood, I personally feel like that would ruin the look/feel of the rig, I don't care how cheap/easy/comfy it is, it just isn't right IMO...

 

[Tank6x2]

I get the impression that this guy's truck is done right and he's going for more of a "restoration" rather than just throwing random new parts from different trucks in. To each their own, I know it's becoming a popular swap, and in some cases I'm sure it's better than nothing, but I really doubt that's the direction he wants to go in.

That's about as helpful as responding to a post about a guy having carb troubles and saying "why don't you just LS swap it?". Putting new stuff in trucks that it doesn't belong in isn't for everyone. Especially something like a seat that is in plain view and not hidden under the hood, I personally feel like that would ruin the look/feel of the rig, I don't care how cheap/easy/comfy it is, it just isn't right IMO...

Agreed each to their own, I’m all for what what a guy want to do, quite sure a person who’s posting on forum can be open to ideas maybe they have thought of… but maybe more right I should just keep my lower lip closed to upper and not be part of any conversation on here lol

 

[RecklessWOT]

Agreed each to their own, I’m all for what what a guy want to do, quite sure a person who’s posting on forum can be open to ideas maybe they have thought of… but maybe more right I should just keep my lower lip closed to upper and not be part of any conversation on here lol

Oh now we're being dramatic. I wasn't trying to tell you to shut up and you know it.

But if you're familiar with the OP's truck from previous posts, and even just the language in this thread where he's talking about how he wants to bring in the original seat to be reupholstered even though it's not that bad because he wants it to be as nice as the rest of the truck. He wasn't saying "hey my seat is shot, what are my options", he was asking a pretty specific question about replacing the cushion in his current seat and you come back with "hey why don't you throw this funny looking newer rear seat in there instead, that's what I'm doing".

As I just said, I wasn't trying to tell you to stay out of all future conversations, but try to read your audience before responding. If a guy says "I really like my stock rallye wheels and want to have them restored" I can guarantee he doesn't want to hear about some chrome 20" wheels that just went on sale. If a guy says he's looking at some aftermarket 17s and you jump in with 20s, sure. If this guy said he was looking to upgrade his seat to something more modern, sure. But the fact that he's going through the effort of fixing his stock seat up, well that's all you need to know. Obviously there are easier and cheaper options, but clearly not what he wanted. Nobody's telling you to butt out, don't be so touchy. I didn't even say anything "mean" to you all I did is say that I doubt that's what the guy is looking to do, and here you go saying "Oh I guess my opinion isn't valued here I should just leave". Grow some thicker skin, men hang out here.

 

[Ken B]

following this to see if an answer about new foam is given.....

 

[Bennyt]

I'm kind of in the same boat. I did not want to reuse any of the original foam as no idea how many thousands of farts, spilled Big Gulps, etc have soaked in over the years and it is virtually impossible to clean and sanitize the foam itself.

Most of the upholstery shops have quoted me a $1000 to redo the bench to stock. I've already replaced a couple springs and welded up the one or two that weren't replaceable and then had the frame powdercoated. I still need to blast and paint the sliders/ tracks. The shops all want to make their own foam to save costs but I am trying to handle the seat myself to save some money if possible. For both the top and back foam it is $300 at Jegs/ Summit with oversize shipping. Supposedly there is another company that has a higher quality foam that has metal reinforcement that's closer to $400 sold by H&H classic.

Putting the replacement cover on myself, i'll still be into it for $700-800 saving me a $200 or so. Wasn't that long ago that it wasn't but $400-500 to get a bench seat done. Really shocked at how expensive foam is more than anything.

 

[Tank6x2]

Oh now we're being dramatic. I wasn't trying to tell you to shut up and you know it.

But if you're familiar with the OP's truck from previous posts, and even just the language in this thread where he's talking about how he wants to bring in the original seat to be reupholstered even though it's not that bad because he wants it to be as nice as the rest of the truck. He wasn't saying "hey my seat is shot, what are my options", he was asking a pretty specific question about replacing the cushion in his current seat and you come back with "hey why don't you throw this funny looking newer rear seat in there instead, that's what I'm doing".

As I just said, I wasn't trying to tell you to stay out of all future conversations, but try to read your audience before responding. If a guy says "I really like my stock rallye wheels and want to have them restored" I can guarantee he doesn't want to hear about some chrome 20" wheels that just went on sale. If a guy says he's looking at some aftermarket 17s and you jump in with 20s, sure. If this guy said he was looking to upgrade his seat to something more modern, sure. But the fact that he's going through the effort of fixing his stock seat up, well that's all you need to know. Obviously there are easier and cheaper options, but clearly not what he wanted. Nobody's telling you to butt out, don't be so touchy. I didn't even say anything "mean" to you all I did is say that I doubt that's what the guy is looking to do, and here you go saying "Oh I guess my opinion isn't valued here I should just leave". Grow some thicker skin, men hang out here.

Jaysus Christmas bubba, I was trying make light of the situation and in a round bout way just make an off comment that I skimmed and gave an opinion, should of actually read like I normally do, no I’m not familiar but if you want dramatics this long winded love note sums it up for me bud, my feelers aren’t hurt bud, still think your a bit of Can’t Understand Normal Thinking kinda guy but let’s drop it here and just say Your Right, ok - ok

 

[waterpirate]

I regret re covering my old foam last time around. I will be getting new foam this time.
Eric

 

[FireTruck1984]

Definitely use new foam, on a recent interior restoration, I kept the existing foam because it appeared in good condition. I regret that decision.
I did bolster the old foam but it still doesn’t have the firm comfortable feel of the new seats in my other trucks. I plan to redo this seat with the new foam.

 

[Grit dog]

^ That’s the feedback I was looking for to decide whether to pull the trigger on a new seat bottom or not! And was my feeling all along. I’m just cheap, lol. And one of the main reasons why chose this truck in the first place is it didn’t need new “everything”. But this seems like it would be a couple hundo well spent.

 

[Grit dog]

@Bennyt
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll look at H&H as well as a package deal for both pieces.