I am the original owner of my 1980 SA series LS with the original leather seats. After 45 years and "gallons" of leather care products the driver's side seat is starting to crack and come apart. The passenger side leather is still in good shape but some of the stitching is starting to come apart. I was looking into replacing the original leather with new material (I know they're only original once) working with a local upholstery shop. I know there are replacement "skins" out there but none I have found match the design of the seats in my car. So, the local shop can cut and sew new leather based on using the existing seat for the pattern. But before going this route, I did some research and found that the seat cushion, back and head rest are the same in the 1980 LS and the 1981 and 82 GSL with leather seats. I'm basing this on pictures of interiors and the information in the parts book. The only difference is in the hinge and position adjustment mechanism. What I want to confirm is if this assumption is correct. If this is a correct assumption it may open up some other options to address this situation. I am aware I'll never find leather material that will exactly match the original and both seats will need to be redone. I would apprecviate it if anyone could confirm my assumption or offer any othe advise on repairing the seats.

 

So the SA (79/80) seats are basically the same seats up through 1983. When my SA seats started to rip and crumble and generally look like crap, I was able to go to a junkyard and grab some 83 seats to get better foam to replace my very worn out foam. I then sourced a reupholstery kit from RacingBeat to recover the seats. So if you need better foam thats one way to get it. I'm not sure about the seat adustment as I reused my frame and such when I did this. I wrote it up here https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...ght=seat+cover

 

Hello from a fellow 1980 original owner. 45 years and counting!

Can you post some pictures of your seats so we can get an idea of the seat style and the extent of the cracked and damaged areas?

 

T G; thanks for the response. Your seats are a different design than mine but the information is still applicable and thanks for the video and links.

Renesis; Congrats on your 1980 ownership, is it an LS version? Attached is a picture of the seats in question.

 

Ed, these are excellent questions, as I need to do the same to my seats and had considered sourcing some S2 foam. I also was thinking of calling and asking around to find a very reputable upholstery shop that could cut and install new foam where its needed and cover the seats in leather that's nearly identical in color and design as the original.

 

I forgot the LS seats were low backs that are similar to the 84/85 seats. If you are dead set on leather I think you will have to find a good upholstery shop. If you can stamach vinyl you might want to talk to RacingBeat. They have great vinyl covers for all the various seats. There are no suppliers for ready to install new foam. I'm sure a competent shop can reproduce with the right foam.

https://www.racingbeat.com/RX7-1975-...37051-48V.html

 

My 83 GSL has the low back seats. Reading this thread that seems unusual, maybe? I can't imagine anyone swapped them.

I have seen mentioned here that Mazda mixed up parts as models transitioned.

 

It's just my opinion but if you're used to leather seats you won't be happy with vinyl seats. I had my 85 GSL-SE seats recovered in 2007, the driver's seat bolster was cracking as it was my daily driver, the passenger seat was in pristine condition. It was impossible to find leather sourced in 2007 that matches what Mazda used back in 1985 (and it was beautiful leather), so that's why I had both seats done. The 2007 costs was $450.00 each and I never regretted spending the money to have it done right and that's been my approach for the RX7 I've had for thirty years now. I would think that in the PA area you would still be able to find small shops that still do auto upholstery, and if you car means as much to as mine does to me that's the way to go (just my two-cents.)

 

Ed, I believe you are correct, the GSL seats from 81/82 are the same basic seat in construction and design as what came in your 80 LS. Same seats were available in 78 / 79 in JDM cars as well. Mazda was just borrowing from the spare parts bin and the US got features / styles after Japan did.

Not sure what "other" opportunities this may open for you as finding any of these seats now-a-days in excellent condition and not already in a vehicle is fairly rare. I suppose you could buy a pair in decent condition and have them re-covered in the material of your choice, while saving your originals in un-altered condition. You may need to mount your current seat rails up to the bottom of the later seats.

Shipping seats is kind of a killer. I had a pair shipped years ago and they disassembled the backs from the bottoms, wrapped them up so that the faces laid flat against each other. This reduced the size of the whole thing and the shipping wasn't too bad.

 

If you live near water, theres usually good options to find a nice place to do the seats. They may say they do boat seats but that can do cars seats too. Ask around at shows and see what others have used too (like custom hotrodders and muscle car customs).

 

I have about 5 or 6 seats from 1984/1985 that aren't ripped but I'd consider needing recovering for a decent looking car. Great for a daily driver as is. I'd sell for $25 each but like Banzai said, shipping is a not easy. I won't ship them because they are a pain to ship.

Here are the seats I have. Nothing special.