Airtex seat recovering, any DIY installs?

[larryb]

My '84 J model interior is in good shape, except for the front seats. I fly almost exclusively with the rear seats removed, so I'm not worried about them. I'm considering getting the AirTex kit in leather for the front seats only. To minimize downtime I'm considering the DIY route. Has anybody else done the DIY Airtex seat recovering? My questions are:

1) How long did it take to install the front seat kits?

2) How was the final result?

3) Were you satisfied with the quality of materials?

4) Did they hold up over time?

I called AirTex this morning, they quoted $1160 for the front seats in leather, 8 to 9 week leadtime.

Thanks, Larry

[Scott Aviation]

My '84 J model interior is in good shape, except for the front seats. I fly almost exclusively with the rear seats removed, so I'm not worried about them. I'm considering getting the AirTex kit in leather for the front seats only. To minimize downtime I'm considering the DIY route. Has anybody else done the DIY Airtex seat recovering? My questions are:

1) How long did it take to install the front seat kits? It takes about an hour per seat +/- 30 minutes on your skill level

2) How was the final result? Very impressed with fit and finish, I went with leather seating surface vinyl sides and back

3) Were you satisfied with the quality of materials? Quality is excellent

4) Did they hold up over time? I have done our citabria in 05 with vinyl and they have held up fantastic, the leather seats have been in the mooney 5 months and 30 hours and are holding up well.. The foam is settling down a bit now which is actually good.. But the bolstering is comfortable. I am 5'10 280lbs and find the seats great and have support for a bigger guy like myself.

I called AirTex this morning, they quoted $1160 for the front seats in leather, 8 to 9 week leadtime. It will take 8-9 weeks...they are pretty accurate on their quotes.

Thanks, Larry

I am a big fan of airtex, second full interior with them and have been impressed with their customer service, quality and price.

I would order a quart of 3M 1300L high strength contact cement for the seat foam (aircraft spruce has in stock). and you will need to build aluminium 1/2 strips by about 18" long to insert/slide in the seat bottoms to screw into the seat frame for support so the vinyl/leather doesnt tear. They supply the crimping tool and clips to secure the front side of the seat material to the frame as well.

To be honest when I removed the old foam and cushions from my seats the seat pans and backs had some cracks and dents so I took my time to repair those before installing the new materials. I guess over time climbing over the seats or standing on them beats them up.

[carusoam]

I used airtex materials in the interior of my 65C. They were a vast improvement over the original materials.

This is an endorsement of the company, I'm not familiar with the J details that you are persueing...

Best regards,

-a-

[FloridaMan]

Not to hijack your thread, but how do you remove the rear seat and is it ok to fly with it out? Is there enough room to sleep in the plane with the seat out? I've always been concerned over these long cross country flights getting stuck at some airport at night in the rain and having to sleep in it like I'm trying to sleep in a VW Beetle.

[larryb]

S

Not to hijack your thread, but how do you remove the rear seat and is it ok to fly with it out? Is there enough room to sleep in the plane with the seat out? I've always been concerned over these long cross country flights getting stuck at some airport at night in the rain and having to sleep in it like I'm trying to sleep in a VW Beetle.

Sometime in the early 80's they added removable rear seats. Mine has that feature. The bottom's come right out, and the seat backs slide off of a board. That board then hinges forward and fills the hole left by the removed seat cushion. The result is a completely flat cargo area. I don't think it'd be comfortable to sleep in though. It just takes a few seconds to remove them. Most of the time my rear seats sit on a shelf in the hanger, since it's just my wife and myself flying.

Larry

[N601RX]

Some of the early models with split seats are also removable. On my 67F, you just pull a spring loaded pin and the seat back comes right out.

[carusoam]

There is an outback Mooney flyer who has detailed a folding rear seat modification for his particular old Mooney.

Best regards,

-a-

[larryb]

So how long should seats last? This is a pic of mine. It's 10 years and 900 hours old. It looks better in the photo than in person. My 10 year old ford explorer leather seats look much better after 3000 hours. The previous owner had these done at a local shop.

[FoxMike]

Larryb,

I put an Airtex interior in my first Mooney many years ago. The materials wore well for the 5 years I owned it after I did the interior. The seats, carpet and sidewalls fit well and doing the install was not too difficult. These days Airtex should furnish burn certificate with the materials. I did all the work myself. I did about 25 years ago so consider that my experience was quite a while ago. Good Luck.

[mooney389]

Mine came out nice. Took four full days. Airtex has great customer support.

[bnicolette]

Do they supply the new foam for that price as well?

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[larryb]

Do they supply the new foam for that price as well?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Yes, but they don't specify what type of foam.

[kmyfm20s]

I did the carpet, kick boards and back seats on my 82 M20J myself, and I felt like that was an easy DIY project. The trickier stuff, the front seats, panel inserts and the arm rest (materials) that I purchased from Airtex. I took thoose items to a local auto upolstery place to have done and then installed them myself. Everything turned out great, it looks updated and very happy with leather quality.