Reupholstering VX Recaros

[anotherdeadhero]

The drivers seat of my VX coupe needs rupholstering, and the doorcards need sorting.

rossocorsa put me on to a source of the (rare) original cloth (thanks!), and I have a reupholsterer lined up to do the job.

However, I'm prevaricating. I'm torn between putting it all back as original, or getting the reupholstery done in leather.

Leather isn't original, but reading the sales brochure it was an option on the betas back then. It is what I'd prefer in one way. Another part of me would like to put it all back exactly as it came out of the factory, so far as possible.

It isn't a job I need to do straight away, but if I'm going cloth I want to buy some now while I can get it!

Opinions? As original or something fancier and potentially better wearing?

[rossocorsa]

Afaik Leather wasn't an option on the recaros, the parts microfiche certainly doesn't show any leather covers for the recaro option which incidentally is extremely rare except in the UK where it was standard spec. If you went non original I would be tempted to go for leather bolsters and original cloth centres. My car has leather on the seat backs where someone has nicked the fabric to cover sections of the front seats, I have enough cloth to have these re done but I will probably leave it as they look really good and if you manage to squeeze in any rear passengers are quite practical.....still a good few years before there's any chance it'll be finished though.
As regards wear I don't think the original cloth is too bad if only used in a sunny day car with limited mileage and the cloth is by zegna so is quite designer posh really!

[Hawk]

Is the rest of the car completely original?  Do you give a toss if it's not?

Ultimately it is your choice but if leather was not a factory option, i would go cloth - as RC says, wear is unlikley to be an issue. 

[anotherdeadhero]

Is the rest of the car completely original?  Do you give a toss if it's not?

Pretty much yes. I'm intending to keep it all completely standard. I guess I'm being seduced by the idea of a little luxury.

Thats two votes for cloth so far - ta!

[peteracs]

Hi

My 2 penny worth on leather/cloth

Leather benefits/downsides

1) Easy to keep clean
2) Easy to get in and out of car as leather is 'slippy' compared to cloth, the reason we have leather seats due to my wife not walking well, so in and out of cars can be hard work with cloth for her.
3) Wide choice of colours and easy to find, but can be expensive. Fitting should be same price as cloth.
4) Should look good for a long time and last a very long time
5) Not sure on recaros if getting a good fit on the front bolster may be issue, have not looked at them close enough.
6) Non original. may look odd?
7) Cold on wintery days and no seat warmers available

Cloth

1) Original look
2) Side bolsters will wear eventually, but maybe not in your lifetime if not used that often.
3) Suggest a set of covers for when working on car as cloth and oil do not mix that well.....
4) It was mentioned somewhere that the original cloth used on the recurs was not that hard wearing, so maybe look at alternative if so.

Given if it is pretty original spec car still, then I would go for cloth and get some covers to use when working on it etc.

Peter

[anotherdeadhero]

That is a great summary peter, thanks.

The leather option (albeit not originally available on the Recaros) does look good though:




Planning to pitch up to the Lancia Motor Club regional meeting later this month, so I'll get their take on it as well.

I have some seat covers. Pretty much the first thing I bought!

[HFStuart]

5) Not sure on recaros if getting a good fit on the front bolster may be issue, have not looked at them close enough.

I'm pretty sure the Recaros were available with leather as an option on Delta HFies and 8/16V Integrales. As near as I can tell the seats are identical so this shouldn't be a problem. You might even get lucky and find a set of covers. God knows how much they'd cost though!

[anotherdeadhero]

There were some leather front Recaros and rear seats from a Delta on ebay a couple of months back. There is a cloth set on there now. I didn't bother becuase I didn't have the car at the time and it isn't really a high priority job right now.

I think the front Recaros are identical, save the seat rails being narrower on the Deltas, so take some adjustment to fit.

[rossocorsa]

Not sure if they are identical or not but very similar, tbh I think normal beta seats give a better and more comfy driving position I had to put packers under the front of mine to improve the support to stop terminal leg ache

[Hawk]

That is a great summary peter, thanks.

The leather option (albeit not originally available on the Recaros) does look good though:




Planning to pitch up to the Lancia Motor Club regional meeting later this month, so I'll get their take on it as well.

I have some seat covers. Pretty much the first thing I bought!

Are the seats in that pic leather?  Looks a lot like my vinyl seats

[abgwin]

The leather on my US spec coupe looks just like that. Hard to tell it from vinyl; I'm still unsure whether the door card inserts are leather or vinyl, but the seats are definitely leather.

[anotherdeadhero]

Well. I've hedged my bets and undertaken to buy enough cloth to reupholster the lot. I can revisit the question in about a year once all the important work has been done.