1.10.21 THE OG RATIKI BUILD --SEATS

[WHILE THE FIRST COAT OF UNDERCOATING DRIES ON, I'VE DECIDED TO TAKE A TRIP BACK TO SHOW RATIKI'S ORIGINAL INTERIOR COMING TOGETHER.] 

It's easy to lose sight of how much work went into a project once a couple of decades have passed. 

Today, I downloaded as many of the OG build shots of Ratiki as I could find.

So, in no particular order, I thought I'd share the story of the original seats and the silver 

insert material that broke my heart. 

This headliner is the only remaining shred of the silver insert material that remains. I discovered after choosing the residential furnishing material that residential upholstery material isn't used to being sat on by builders in greasy jeans, myself included.

Here's a back shot of the passenger seat which began its life as a retractable Honda bucket. 

Mario's, who did the original upholstery, chopped the seats to look more like low-profile

sixties style seats per my request. 

Note the welds.

Note the pink foam. We added bolsters to make the seatback more "huggy". 

Here's the headliner. The only remaining artifact from the silver-insert debacle. 

Live and learn. 

The pink is foam added and beginning to be contoured. 

The rear benches were also bolstered to add support and comfort. 

Note how the pink foam has been shaped and contoured.  

The center bench waiting for pickup. 

The OG front seats. 

Once I discovered how easily the silver material stained, I hired Sean Johnstun, AKA Fat Lucky's

to replace the inserts with real vinyl. I will always go to him first. 

The man is a total badass. 

The front seats have plates attached which aided in the installation and allowed me to stealthily mount stereo amps and air ride controls. 

The finished buckets had the functionality of modern seats ( retractable) with the look of the sixties. 

This is a swivel base I rescued from an early-seventies Chevy. Both front seats swivel 90-degrees.

Fancy, no?

Here's the stripped Honda bucket pre-chopped. Too tall. The rest is history.

More bench seat bolstering pre-sculpt. The tool of choice for sculpting foam. An electric carving knife. 

Why should Thanksgiving get all the carving love?

Shaved and contoured. 

One of Mario's employees

Here it is coming together.  Thanks for joining me for this little trip down interior memory lane. Onward.