Some cush for your tush. Modifying a MV seat for comfort

[Kaiserjeeps]

I have been staring at a spring ride seat for my duece for a while now. It did not come with cushions. Since I had gutted my interior on the 2.5 ton I decided it was time to try my hand at making a car seat from scratch and get that more comfortable seat installed instead of the old box seat. Anything would be an improvement over that. Everyone knows more than an hour in an MV seat can leave a mark.

I had a pretty good idea on what to do. I was limited by the steering wheel for height. Only one direction to go from there. Down... I knew I wanted a webbing base. Not plywood. That spreads out the load under your butt. Time to dust off the sewing machine.

Come to find out Hammer is about to make a long trip up here in the 5 ton. So the push to get the first cushion done was on. He leaves friday and could really benefit from a better cushion due to some old back injuries. What a great R+D test also. Real time use. Ed also added a ton of great input in the construction process. We are going to have the most comfortable seats in the USA!

I started with this. Mapping out a typical butt print. Don't worry, I made it bigger later.





A little sewing time. The next straps will have a box stitch for more strength.
All metal hardware is SS. No rust ever.



The base with NO cushion is more comfortable than the old box seat WITH a cushion! I threw a cheap cushion on the new base and could not believe the difference! Like a sports car seat! Ed sat down and his eyes got big. I want some of these. Now we are starting to get excited about the thought of having such a comfortable seat in a MV truck. More time and thought and discussion go into the seat. I wanted a sculpted paneled seat with camo pack cloth covers. That can come later. Ed offered up a used tarp for fabric for a original look. So for now it was try and make a seat that looks original, but is very different in comfort. Besides, it will install right away in his 5 ton for the trip.

I went and sourced high quality auto upholstery cushions. Hai Karumba they are expensive! I made a high density bottom and surround. The gray is medium density for less support. I skinned it over with a waterproof 1/4 cover to make it mostly water proof and add some surface tension.
The best way to sculpt a custom cushion is with a electric carving knife of all things.



Establish the reveal or oversize..



Start carving...



The cushions are glued together with 3M quality glue. The skin is cut to shape and glued on. Low tack tape holds it's shape till it is dry. About 30 minutes.



Continued....