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Uncle Buck

Value of NOS WH seat?

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TDF5G
12 minutes ago, RedRanger said:

I'm sure winter temperatures cause damage to the vinyl seats, but age in general has to be their enemy.  The plastics just plain dry out and crack.

 

That may have contributed to my seats splitting open.  My B-80 lives in the shed, get's purty hot in there.

 

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Uncle Buck

Great, so now I am back on the fence. Some guys here say the seat is worth no more than any other high back vinyl seat while others say what I read in threads here in the past, that these seats are selling for what I would say is high dollars, north of $100 etc. I guess for now I will just leave it setting in the shop and buy a cheap Northern seat to stick on it.

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DennisThornton
12 hours ago, Uncle Buck said:

I am not so sure about that. I think if you keep the machine in an enclosed garage even if unheated the vinyl will not necessarily crack simply because it gets cold. Now if you go and sit on the cold seat I think you will crack it for sure. I say that because my dad kept his old WH in a small shed with no climate control year round and only used the machine to mow in the summer. So he never used it at all in the cold months. His seat never cracked and it sat there for most of 20 years.

 

Exposed to elements all bets are off that is very punishing.

I never thought about that being misunderstood but there it is clear as day! Sorry.

Meant to say using it, sitting on it, when it's subzero cracks it.  Not just the cold but asking it to flex when I plop my toush on it when it's Not ready to flex cracks it.  Using it when it's cold cracks it.  Not just the cold cracks it. 

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Ken B
18 hours ago, Uncle Buck said:

I am not so sure about that. I think if you keep the machine in an enclosed garage even if unheated the vinyl will not necessarily crack simply because it gets cold. Now if you go and sit on the cold seat I think you will crack it for sure. I say that because my dad kept his old WH in a small shed with no climate control year round and only used the machine to mow in the summer. So he never used it at all in the cold months. His seat never cracked and it sat there for most of 20 years.

 

Exposed to elements all bets are off that is very punishing.

That is what I meant. You can take a stiff dried out seat that has no cracks in it yet and put it out in the hot sun and it will soften up some. Take that same dried out stiff un-cracked seat and sit on it when its cold and watch what happens.. Been there.

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TDF5G
21 hours ago, Uncle Buck said:

Great, so now I am back on the fence. Some guys here say the seat is worth no more than any other high back vinyl seat while others say what I read in threads here in the past, that these seats are selling for what I would say is high dollars, north of $100 etc. I guess for now I will just leave it setting in the shop and buy a cheap Northern seat to stick on it.

That's what I would do.  Oh, wait, I did do that! :D

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Uncle Buck
10 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

I never thought about that being misunderstood but there it is clear as day! Sorry.

Meant to say using it, sitting on it, when it's subzero cracks it.  Not just the cold but asking it to flex when I plop my toush on it when it's Not ready to flex cracks it.  Using it when it's cold cracks it.  Not just the cold cracks it. 

Use in winter to me would all but assure seat cracks. I totally agree!

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c-series don

I've often wondered if Michigan seat would make another run of those seats with permission from Toro. I wonder how many they would have to make to make it worth it for them? 

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DennisThornton

I wonder if folks "down south" buy fewer seats? Most of my seats crack in similar places indicating where they would have to flex the most and they split during the winter. 

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JPWH

I'm down south in GA and I have never bought a new seat. I just find seats that need less duct tape. :handgestures-thumbupright:

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RedRanger

Plastics dry out folks.  It's an age thing.  Not a North vs South thing.

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AMC RULES

:text-yeahthat: ...hence the post #21 above.  :text-+1:

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Sarge

Aerospace 303 is about the only protectant I've seen that can preserve vinyl and works just as well on black plastic ABS parts . I've used it for years on expensive tonneau covers and tractor seats , have yet to have one crack if it's cleaned and treated a few times a year depending upon how dirty it gets . I work my tractors hard and this stuff protects the covers very well without making them slippery or dangerous . Same with the steering wheels , it protects them from the sun damage and keeps them from splitting . The stuff was designed for marine and aviation use , that intended market doesn't tolerate products that do not work as advertised .

 

As to those high dollar seats - the market is a bit nuts in my opinion . Yes , they were nice but prices approaching what a modern and more comfortable suspension seat costs just doesn't make much sense , other than them being original equipment parts and having the WH logo embossed into them .

 

As to getting reproductions made - there are stamping presses now used to embossed logos onto heavy duck fabrics for jackets , ect ...I'd suspect that same process could be used to make reproduction seats , although the cost of the die is going to hurt a lot . Just like some other production startups , the first one costs well north of reality , after that the price comes down significantly .

 

Sarge

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DennisThornton
12 hours ago, Sarge said:

Aerospace 303 is about the only protectant I've seen that can preserve vinyl and works just as well on black plastic ABS parts . I've used it for years on expensive tonneau covers and tractor seats , have yet to have one crack if it's cleaned and treated a few times a year depending upon how dirty it gets . I work my tractors hard and this stuff protects the covers very well without making them slippery or dangerous . Same with the steering wheels , it protects them from the sun damage and keeps them from splitting . The stuff was designed for marine and aviation use , that intended market doesn't tolerate products that do not work as advertised .

 

As to those high dollar seats - the market is a bit nuts in my opinion . Yes , they were nice but prices approaching what a modern and more comfortable suspension seat costs just doesn't make much sense , other than them being original equipment parts and having the WH logo embossed into them .

 

As to getting reproductions made - there are stamping presses now used to embossed logos onto heavy duck fabrics for jackets , ect ...I'd suspect that same process could be used to make reproduction seats , although the cost of the die is going to hurt a lot . Just like some other production startups , the first one costs well north of reality , after that the price comes down significantly .

 

Sarge

I've got "Aerospace 303" in my Amazon cart.

 

Thanks!

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Sarge

BTW- I think JC Whitney also stocks the stuff on the shelf , in the RV section . I have a local warehouse nearby in LaSalle/Utica here in Illinois that I frequent . For those that order online , your stuff generally comes out of this warehouse .

 

Just an fyi - the modern cars/trucks use a matte finished plastic on a lot of stuff like mirrors , door handles , ect....try that 303 on it - you'll be pleased . It leaves the surface with a slight shine , doesn't build up and does not attract dirt or run off like most of the treatments out there . Last time I let a detail shop touch one of my trucks they used some stuff that seemed like vegetable oil , which by the following day had started to run and streak - never been back there since ....

 

Sarge

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TDF5G
On 6/22/2017 at 8:06 AM, Sarge said:

BTW- I think JC Whitney also stocks the stuff on the shelf , in the RV section . I have a local warehouse nearby in LaSalle/Utica here in Illinois that I frequent . For those that order online , your stuff generally comes out of this warehouse .

 

Just an fyi - the modern cars/trucks use a matte finished plastic on a lot of stuff like mirrors , door handles , ect....try that 303 on it - you'll be pleased . It leaves the surface with a slight shine , doesn't build up and does not attract dirt or run off like most of the treatments out there . Last time I let a detail shop touch one of my trucks they used some stuff that seemed like vegetable oil , which by the following day had started to run and streak - never been back there since ....

 

Sarge

I bought a used truck at a dealership once that had been to the detail shop and they used some kind of junk just like you described.  I had to mop it up out of the console, dash, cup-holders, etc.  Yucky stuff.

Edited by TDF5G

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Sarge

I don't understand the current mindset of detailers - they seem to think shining and dripping are a good thing . The stuff they use just attracts dust and dirt and acts like glue - which is worse than if they'd just left that area alone . Aerospace 303 doesn't do that and leaves the dash and any other vinyl/plastic parts looking new without a nasty residue . The biggest advantage to using it over other products is it's UV resistance - that is what kills vinyl and plastic the most . When I traded my Tacoma the dealership thought the tonneau cover on it was new - no , it was 7yrs old and had spent 6 of those years sitting outside with no garage , still soft and pliable as new .

 

There are few things I trust in a bottle - this is one of them hands down .

 

Sarge

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