What makes a good old truck a good old truck? Its natural good looks? How much stuff you've been able to haul in it over the years? Maybe you've won a mantle full of trophies with it? Or is it because you keep flogging on it and it just keeps going-a good workhorse, as it were? Many of us have, have had, or look forward to having another truck like this, but even workhorses have their limits!
My '72 C-10 gets the farthest thing from preferential treatment. It looks good from afar, but is far from good looking cosmeticly, even though I've been trying to change that as of late. One of the most used parts of any truck is the seat, namely the driver side. My '94 Chevy 1500 has over 250,000 miles on it and is in decent shape considering, but I've had to fix the seat back more times than I can count. I get no relief when I drive the '72 either; it has a nice big crater where the seat foam once was right where I park my rear end. I'll say this was not caused by me, but I've dealt with it for far, far too long.
The C-10 was reupholstered many years ago in a saddle or brown color and the seat and carpet were especially heinous at this point in time. So I figured I'd do a little stock-style interior redo by myself since it's all basic stuff, right? I opened up my Classic Industries catalog and started jotting down what I needed-seat foam, seat upholstery, carpet, a dash pad, door panels, armrests, and sunvisors. My ulterior motive for doing this was to also switch the interior color to black from the previous brown and white since I want to paint the truck Hugger Orange at some point. But for now, this interior makeover will be much cheaper and easier than bodywork and paint and yield much needed great results.
We know not everyone will want to undertake something like this themselves, but we also know there are more than a few who would, and maybe this will light a fire for them. I did everything myself, but I did take the seat to Auto Upholstery of Orange in Orange, California, just for tips and guidance to pass on while I did the work, since I'd never recovered a seat before. It wound up honestly being a two-person job in many areas and I was glad to have the watchful eye of the shop owner, Rudy, and an extra set of hands at many times. So call your friend who has a nagging attention to detail when it's your turn.
Classic Industries also has a good selection of interior dyes/paints if some of your pieces are in good enough shape to save, but you'd like to change colors. So make a list and call Classic Industries and save yourself some money by redoing the interior of your truck yourself. Of course if you get in a jam or over your head, take it to someone like Rudy and sit back and relax!
 The first thing that needs...  The first thing that needs to come out is the ratty old seat. There are four bolts on each seat track bracket holding it to the floor. Sliding the seat forward on the tracks helps give room to get to the bolts in the rear. |  I knew I'd be reusing the...  I knew I'd be reusing the stock seat brackets, despite being covered in dirt and surface rust and showed no sign of lubrication. So, I wire-wheeled and sanded them down before hitting them with semigloss black rattlecan paint. Once dry, I shot some white lithium grease on the tracks. |  I just took a trip to hog...  I just took a trip to hog ring city here. There was probably a couple hundred hog rings holding the old upholstery tight to the seat frames, and each one had to come off with the twist of the pliers. Once all the upholstery, foam, and misc. covers are stripped off the top and bottom seat frames, give them a good cleaning. The back bolts to the bottom frame via the hinge arms, which may or may not actually hinge. |
 Here's the new stock-style...  Here's the new stock-style scroll pattern Elk grain vinyl upholstery from Classic Industries. It's a good idea to stick 'em out in the sun for a while to make them nice and supple. I chose black since the truck is going to wind up Hugger Orange eventually, but Classic Industries carries many other colors and patterns, as well. |  This is my first upholstery...  This is my first upholstery job like this, so I headed over to Auto Upholstery of Orange to have the owner, Rudy, watch over me. He said it was a good idea to cover the springs with any durable material before installing the new foam and upholstery to help it all last longer. So I carefully stretched and hog-ringed the perimeter of this additional piece of vinyl, starting at the corners and skipping around. |  Here is the Deluxe Upholstery...  Here is the Deluxe Upholstery Installation Kit from Classic Industries. These professional grade hog ring pliers are a must over the cheaper variety. You'll need about four or five extra bags of hog rings as well-you don't wanna skimp here. |