[billycalexander]

My seat on my 550 is in need of restoration/rebuilding, so I’m trying to see if anybody else has rebuilt theirs to see what all I need to do to my cushion. As you can see in the pictures, there’s a piece of cushion that was glued on to the main body of the cushion but I can’t tell if it’s something that was done by a previous repair job or part of the original construction. it appears to be part of the original construction, but it’s unusual in its placement, maybe it is there to help angle the cushion so that you have a better access to the emergency brake. Wondering if anybody else has taken their seat apart to recover it and if so, did you have this piece glued on?

 

[Mule055]

i've got a 550
My seat is flat across the bottom, i recovered mine last year. the foam was still in good condition.
However i'm with you that it does look original. I'll double check on mine to be sure.

 

[billycalexander]

Thanks a ton, would you mind measuring your plywood bottom at its widest point left to right I know it angles back on the driver side to give better access to the E brake . Right now I have mine at 38 1/2 inches and then angle back. The problem is my Current plywood is rotten on that front corner so I can’t be for sure what that distance was.

 

[billycalexander]

Thanks a ton, would you mind measuring your plywood bottom at its widest point left to right I know it angles back on the driver side to give better access to the E brake . Right now I have mine at 38 1/2 inches and then angle back. The problem is my Current plywood is rotten on that front corner so I can’t be for sure what that distance was.

On second thought, that’s gonna be really hard for you to do because every corner is rounded

 

[billycalexander]

yea its weird but if its not original whoever put it on found a foam that feels to have the exact same density and firmness as the original

 

[Mule055]

i tell you what, i'll just measure from corner corner, and get the dimensions all the way around for you,

 

[Mule055]

my plywood is the exact dimension of the foam, But with about a 5/16" difference all the way around,.

 

[billycalexander]

There is a seller on eBay that has a picture of the 550’s plywood dimensions and my plywood is intact enough that I know my depth is 15 3/4” and I think width is 38 these are close to his dimensions

 

[billycalexander]

 

[Mule055]

View attachment 78308

that's what i measured as well.

 

[billycalexander]

Mule055
when you recovered did you sew the ends of the vinyl like the original or just fold the corners or gather the corners etc?

 

[Mule055]

i gathered the corners, and used a staple gun to attach it to the plywood.

 

[billycalexander]

Yes that’s what I plan to do too thanks

 

[billycalexander]

i rebuilt my foam and got it recovered, its not the prettiest but it functions just fine

 

[laurencenoon]

I rebuilt the seat as my foam was worn bad from having the cover missing in parts, used closed cell foam the piece on the end is original and required, I cut it half inch larger than the wood, sewn a new cover took 2 tries but looks great now, rounded corners are easy the second time, then pulled ome compression in the foam and stapled it on, corners gather before stapling

next time Im out at the lake will take a few pictures

 

[billycalexander]

I rebuilt the seat as my foam was worn bad from having the cover missing in parts, used closed cell foam the piece on the end is original and required, I cut it half inch larger than the wood, sewn a new cover took 2 tries but looks great now, rounded corners are easy the second time, then pulled ome compression in the foam and stapled it on, corners gather before stapling

next time Im out at the lake will take a few pictures

sounds great I’d like to see your sewn corners

billy

 

[laurencenoon]

this is the seat on the 610 I redid last summer, not the best picture but worked out great

 

[laurencenoon]

a bit more info, this machine was a wreck, the seat was totally shot even the plywood was rotten, used 3/4 pressure treated plywood, cut the shape then used 2 inch foam 2 deep, glued them with contact adhesive, trimmed around with a fillet knife about half inch larger than the wood

after sewing the material, fitted it and looked great issue was never drilled holes in the plywood to allow air to escape so removed the material and drilled half dozen 2 inch holes in the plywood

foam is a closed cell and went for the hard density, its stiffer than factory but nice and firm, will be doing the backrest this spring