With so many modern aftermarket upgrades and potential junkyard seat swaps, it's hard to imagine saving your tattered old early CJ seats. But many of these upgrades and swaps just don't look right in an early Jeep, especially if you are restoring the Jeep in question. Simply slapping leather electric seats in an otherwise stock-looking CJ is like building a mansion in the middle of a trailer park.
Over the past 60-some years our '49 CJ-2A seats had been worn out and recovered at least three times, as evidenced by the multiple layers of decaying fabric and padding left behind. It was time to tear all that off and start fresh. We found that even the seat springs were rusty and broken. However, our seat frames were in completely useable condition.
If you're looking for seat covers, canvas tops, and other factory-like soft parts for your early Jeep, you need to check out Beachwood Canvas. Among other things, the company specializes in military canvas and original equipment interior fabrics for the early Jeeps. Following the included detailed Beachwood Canvas instructions-our seat overhaul took less than an hour.
If your seat springs and bottom...
If your seat springs and bottom pans are in good shape (they most likely won't be), then you can reuse them. Ours were shot, so we stripped the seats to the frames. The seat frames had a little rust but they were still useable, so we gave 'em a quick cleaning and coat of paint.
You can order your Beachwood...
You can order your Beachwood Canvas covers and padding pre-mounted to new seat pans. Several different fabrics and colors are available. Our new pans feature the threaded inserts needed to hold them to the seat frames.
Pulling the seat frames out...
Pulling the seat frames out of the Jeep makes installation of the seat pans a little easier. The new upholstered pans fit like a glove and are held in with four 1/4-inch bolts using the factory seat-frame mounting holes.
The upper covers and new padding...
The upper covers and new padding are centered, smoothed, and pulled tight over the seat frames. They are held in place with several spring-loaded clips which can be found at most hardware stores.
Once you've massaged out the...
Once you've massaged out the creases and wrinkles you can use an awl to punch holes in the cover using the original seat frame screw holes as a guide. The included instructions are very helpful and provide several tips for getting the best fit. Beachwood Canvas also offers all the hardware to mount the new covers to the frames.
Work your way along the top...
Work your way along the top first and then down the sides. The covers and cushions are manipulated for fitment while punching holes one at a time and installing the retaining screws and finishing washers.