The part's store seat covers...
The part's store seat covers did the trick for a while, but c'mon, there is a better option.
Well, it's finally happened-you've been driving your daily-commuter Mopar for a few years now, and the last time you got in, you noticed the tell-tale sign of wear-yep, your seat's skin has started to tear. It's bound to happen, as many times as we slide in and out of our seats, a tear or wear spot is inevitable. It may even happen sooner that you think, if your late model Mopar came with the very basic of interiors.
There's another possible reason for the upgrade we're talking about-re-skinning your late model Mopar's seats. What if you bought your Mopar and want to add a little style to the basic interior? Katzkin to the rescue.
Katzkin leather was a small leather-supply company to trim shops, when Mitch Katz came upon the idea of reverse-engineering cloth seat skins of cars to give car owners an upgrade option of adding leather to their rides. That was in 1986, and the idea worked like gangbusters.
Removing the seats is straightforward,...
Removing the seats is straightforward, so we won't waste your time, but with the seat out, the wear tear is really noticeable.
So that brings us to the vehicle in our tech article. Our 2003 Ram's seats had a severe problem-the material simply came apart. For some reason, a clean separation just appeared one day, and each day it got larger. One year for Christmas, we were fortunate enough to get a set of parts store seat covers, and sure, they worked fine, and it definitely beat getting a tie for Christmas, but we always felt there was a better option
By contacting Katzkin and ordering up a set of covers, we had found that option. When we contacted Katzkin, we found out that there are a myriad of choices available in regards to styles and colors, so the best option for you is to go to the Katzkin website and decide for yourself.
We did learn that replacing the skins was actually easier than getting the seats out of the truck-and that wasn't that hard. The entire job took about six hours, and the only tools we needed were a couple of hand wrenches, a razor blade, and some pliers. So as we said earlier, this is a job that anyone can do, and get good results. So, let's get to it.
Unlike a vintage car's hog...
Unlike a vintage car's hog rings that hold the skin in place, late model vehicles use a plastic length of "hook" to keep the skin in place. This "hook" is simply unhooked to remove the skin.
Before you can remove the...
Before you can remove the bottom skin, you need to remove the seat-back adjuster and the "hooks" holding the skin in place.
With the edges of the skin...
With the edges of the skin unhooked, you'll come to the center of the seat where the skin is held in place by Velcro. Remember the old days when recovering a seat meant pulling the center tight through the bottom and back of the seat and hog ringing it to give the seat "depth" when it was done.
Removing the back skin is...
Removing the back skin is easiest if you simply start from the bottom and pull the skin up over itself. Installing the new skin is as easy as doing the reverse.
The new seat back skin is...
The new seat back skin is turned inside out and slid over the frame work. It also has these flaps that get tucked under the skin before the bottom edge of the seat skin is simply zippered shut.
Before you can remove the...
Before you can remove the seat back skin, you need to remove the head rest tubes. This is done by giving them a quarter turn and lifting them out.
The seat bottom skin is simply...
The seat bottom skin is simply put into position, and the "hooks" attached underneath the framework.
By "working" the material...
By "working" the material down over the seat, you can get rid of the wrinkles. Don't forget to pull the skin down tight before the Velcro bites fast.
Don't forget to make a small...
Don't forget to make a small slit in the side of the seat so you can put the back rest handle in place.
Reinstalling the headrest...
Reinstalling the headrest tubes is as easy as marking the location, making a small "X" slit in the skin, and pushing the tubes back in place.
The console kit also comes...
The console kit also comes with the seats, so we tackled that next. First remove the hinge arms, and then simply pull the cover off.
We got a pleasant surprise...
We got a pleasant surprise when we removed the cover and found out that our armrest was actually a console that had been covered with a single piece of material to make the armrest. The Katzkin kit gives you the material to make it somewhat functional. We say somewhat because you will need a couple vehicle specific items to make it work-unless you're like us and improvise.
The top can be a little trickier...
The top can be a little trickier if your console was not originally a console. The top-from the factory-folds under and is attached by a lid bottom that snaps to the console lid.
With the seats back in the...
With the seats back in the Ram, the difference is outstanding. Not only do we now have leather seats, the tear is gone!
Installing the skin on the...
Installing the skin on the console bottom is done by placing the console on the skin, pulling the edges up over the console, and tucking them in the groove around the console's edge.
In our case, we didn't have...
In our case, we didn't have the factory console option, so we had to make a lid bottom. We used some 1/8-inch luan veneer and some nice material to cover the luan as our lid bottom.