After removing the straps I cleaned the adhesive off using brake cleaner and acetone. Next I sanded and roughed up the existing paint using steel wool. I used a wire brush wheel on a power drill to start then moved to Emory cloth and finally steel wool. It worked great. For the heavy rust I used a rust preventer spray ( turns rust black). For the passenger side I spray it with Black enamel with zinc. The Driver side I did better by first spraying rust preventing primer then the black enamel. They came out pretty nice.
When I called to order replacement straps Spitbits only had one set. No problem I thought take webbing and per Tommy's suggestion I would pop rivet to the frame with screw savers. I tried it on a old chair. Worked well but I could not get it as tight as I would like. The Driver seat needed some welding. A local shop did it for $10. When the strap kit came in I used it on the Drivers seat. Now I knew how tight it should be. After some more tries using the hooks from the original straps I ordered another set from Rimmer in England. They said 3-4 days shipping.
More to come. Waiting on straps.
After Straps arrived. Notice the white fabric strap I made using the original hooks. I was concerned they would stretch and I could not fit them as tight as I wanted. Therefore, I reverted to using replacement rubber straps. Notice only a single hook versus the two hooks on the original per side.
With the baskets I thought reinforcing them with these upholstery straps I found on the net would help support the cardboard supports for the foam. These have a strap sandwiched between two cloth straps. These seem very sturdy. If I had them when I started, I might have used them instead of ordering the new rubber straps. I used rivets on one basket and electric wire anchors (big staples with plastic backing). Neither were all that I wanted, but I asked the upholstery shop to sew them as well If they interfere I told them to remove them.
Finally received my completed seats from the upholstery shop. They seem a bit uneven and asymmetrical. The guy at the shop said they will break in with use, but I'm concerned that the shop I picked was not that skilled or not as concerned about a premium result as I was.
Not installed yet. I'm ready to rebuild the slave cylinder and brake system this winter and will need access to the transmission tunnel. Notice the blue piping matches the car color.