SAAB c900 Seat Bottom Repair Completed

I finished sewing the rod/frame and its new fabric cover to the seat.  I did it section by section over several nights so as to keep my sanity. 

It seems to be attached tightly to the seat cover.

Now to attach it to the seat.

I punched holes through the new material in the locations where the clips will attach.  I did double check the locations prior to making the holes.

Here's the seat cover with the clips attached to the rod.

I had to do this twice.  The first time I found that one of the clips pulled up off the rod, so I went back and squeezed the the ends tighter around the rod so they'd stay in place.

Now to attach the clips and see if all this work was worth it.

This is one of the clips (there are 7 total) poking up through the seat foam.  There were slits cut in the foam to allow the clips to pass through.

What we need to do is just pull the clip up and attach it over the seat frame.

Easy to say, not quite so easy to do.

The two rear clips were easy, as were two of the side clips.  I just pulled the clip up with pliers while pushing the frame down, and hooked the clip on the frame.

Whoo hoo!

The arrows in this picture point to two of the clips, just in case you didn't believe I actually did this!

Note all the obstructions in the way...and hold that thought.

I'm sure this was originally done before the motors, wiring and seat bottom frame that bolts to the car floor were on the seat.

The three clips on the semi-circular part of the rod were difficult to attach.

I tried pulling them up with pliers, but I couldn't keep enough of a hold on them - they kept slipping off the pliers.

I pondered this for a day or so, then I got an idea.  I put the top of the clips around a piece of small chain.  I could then really get good leverage on the chain (and the clips) and pull them up.

I also used a block of wood wedged between the seat frame and the cushion to push the cushion down for more clearance.  See the arrows in the picture above for the chain and wood block.

Here's one of the clips after attaching it.  I used a relatively thin chain, so I could just clip it with nippers after the clip was attached.

The center clip is under the seat tilt motor bracket, so it's virtually impossible to get to from above.  I slipped my hand under the seat cover from the front, clipped on the chain, and then passed the chain through the slit in the foam.  It worked!

I reattached the side clip rods (previous post), as well as the clips holding the back and front of the cover over the cushion.

Turns out I lost a clip somewhere, so I just used some 18 gauge picture frame wire as a substitute.  It's not like it will be visible when the seat is in the car.

You may also recall the two cable ties that held the cover onto the front corners of the seat.  I had cut those off during removal, and left the cut ends on the cover to use as a guide.

Now I was able to replace those ties with new ones (red arrow).

You may also recall my grousing when taking the seat tilt motor mounting bolts off.  I needed a ratcheting box end wrench for that job, so I got one - actually 3: 8mm, 10mm, and 13mm.  Probably the three most common sizes on a Saab 900.

The wrench was great to have and made the job of remounting the motor go much faster.  Here's the whole assembly back together with the replaced drive cables.

Now for the moment of truth.  Let's turn this puppy over and see how it looks!

Ta-da!

Much much better.  The center part of the seat bottom now follows the contour of the foam.  The seat's still pretty dirty, but I'll clean it up shortly.

Those creases and wrinkles in the material from sitting flat for years which you see in the picture have already beginning to relax more than the picture shows.  It looks pretty good.

Too bad I have another seat to do...sigh.  But now I know what I'm dealing with, so it will go much faster.