Modified Kirkey Vintage Buckets (Low Back)

[Gumball]

I trimmed the side bolster areas of my Kirkey vintage low back seats to make them a little easier for the upholsterer to make leather covers and to give them a less severe "race car" look. The end result is subtle, but noticeable.

Compare the top sides and the height of the thigh bolsters:

Before:

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/DriverSideKirkey_zps3c403fbd.jpg

After:

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/ModifiedKirkeyLowBack3_zps9b01c602.jpg

[AZPete]

Huh? Are you sure that wasn't done by Kirkey? It looks too good! Perhaps Photoshop? The beaded edge is all smooth without ripples or weld/grind marks and welds are perfect. You are talented!
Pete

[Gumball]

Thanks for the nice words... Kirkey cooperated by providing me with the beading. For anyone interested in doing this, Kirkey sells it by the foot for around $5 per. I have a few feet left, too, in case anyone is thinking about tackling this mod.

[CraigS]

Good job! I did similiar to my Ultrashield.

[dallas_]

Nice work Chris! That looks real nice.
I've been thinking of trimming mine and was just going to carefully cut the welds and pull the beading back, then reinstalling it.
Now I know if I screw it up I can get more.

[Gumball]

A little more detail for a member who was recently asking about my seats.

The amount of material I removed from the sides was actually pretty minimal - about an inch at the deepest part of the bolsters. The goal wasn't so much to remove much of the bolster, but rather to just smooth the look - especially at the top of the side bolsters. Kirkey sold me a few 3' lengths of the edge beading that they use, and if you look closely at the before and after comparisons above, you'll see where we did a little extra welding. Access in and out is fine, since these cars are so low. As with any seat in these cars, you really step in and down, then lift yourself to get out.

One thing to watch out for with these is that the backs are very flexible, but Kirkey sells a back brace that will work with these with just a few modifications. I detailed how I did that on a thread on ffcars that is here: http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/315905-back-braces-kirkey-low-back-vintage-seats.html

The final touch was to have a local hot rod upholsterer cover them with leather. I bought three hides, but the seats only took one and a half, so I used the rest for the dash, glovebox, and various exposed chassis parts in the cockpit and trunk. The seats are covered on all sides and the lower cushions are removable for mounting. The cushioning is provided by a couple different closed-cell foam densities to make them comfortable for the long haul. While he was at, the upholsterer added seat heaters and inflatable lumbar bladders - both of which were sourced through Forte (vendor at this site).