Seat Rebuild - To reuse or not reuse padding. And fixed to folding?

[Chris64]

I just broke down the disgusting seat/mouse house on my 1974 K20. I'm pretty sure this was the original seat/cover. If you leaned on it your hand would go through it.

The frame was in spectacular shape so that's great.

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First question. Is it worth reusing this foam (back only, bottom was beyond repair)? It doesn't seem like it's in bad shape but the parts that were exposed are prone to flaking if you poke at them (that area low center in the pic).

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I've been looking for foam and a common complaint is it's too stiff or sits you up higher. Any recommendations? Cheap is always good too.

Also is there a conversion kit to make the fixed seat foldable? I've looked around for a donor seat and they're hard to find in my area (all SB parts are).

I found this and it seems like a pretty good idea. If I went this route, I'd probably reinforce the area that was cut away and put in a stud on the lower screw to make it stronger (and a locking mechanism so it doesn't fall forward. I'd really like to get the stock plastic side covers so it looks stock so I was hoping there might be a weld-in kit. How could this not exist?

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[Chris64]

After watching this:

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I feel inspired to try and repair the foam I have. Everything that was covered and protected feels fresh, just the areas exposed to sunlight are flaky and brittle. I like the idea of stock foam and saving $300 and two weeks for delivery. Time to shop for some foam scraps and contact cement.

Am I making a mistake?

 

[Chris64]

Update - My garage now smells like mouse urine from just storing the seat cushions for 30 minutes.

I'm buying new padding.

 

[Bennyt]

I always do new padding. Figure a 30-50 yo truck has been farted on 10-15k times and probably a good handful of sharts.

I also add seat heaters everytime I reupholster a seat. $100 on Amazon and easy to wire/ install

 

[Bennyt]

Also, I think I might have an extra folding seat frame. San Diego isn't that far. Are you coming to Phoenix for Dino's?

 

[Bennyt]

Lastly, if you buy the upholstery covers from Raybuck, it's priced well and they have a large assortment of materials, patterns, and colors to choose from at no extra cost and only takes an extra week.

 

[Grit dog]

I always do new padding. Figure a 30-50 yo truck has been farted on 10-15k times and probably a good handful of sharts.

I also add seat heaters everytime I reupholster a seat. $100 on Amazon and easy to wire/ install

All wise words here….
I did none of that when I had the seat redone on the 86. Foam was not tore up or crunchy at all.
But the drivers side bottom is notably softer a bit too soft and the drivers seat back has a bow in it, a bit compressed.
As to the aforementioned sharts, I recovered with vinyl so there’s a shart proof barrier between the old foam and my @ss!
It’s hard to justify an extra $300-500 in new foam if the original stuff will last a while.
If it was a daily driver I’d have likely replaced at least the bottom.

 

[donnieray]

I used the old padding in my first seat rebuild and still regret it. It's softer than a grandmas couch. I recently did another with new foam. Firm and well worth the extra cost. The old foam in the first one looked fine btw.