if it helps, I had both seats and carpet out of my HHR a few weeks ago, and took step-by-step photos to help people.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-tutorial-library-21/seat-removal-carpet-install-13261/

as for adding an arm rest, they are only held on with one bolt, but the arm rests have a pin that travels 90 degrees in a slot on the seat frame that prevents over-rotating(so it stops both in the verticle and horizontal positions)...I am sure you could fabricate something, but the seat cover itself wont have a whole in it. You'ld either have to remove the cover and have an upholstery shop cut, and stitch a hole for you, or buy a seat cover for a A/T that already has the arm rest hole...then find a way to modify the seat frame to bolt the arm rest with guide pin ON.

honestly...all said and done...I'd shop around for an aftermarket arm rest/console assembly unit that you could modify and install...I have factory arm rests, and I am still looking for something better...

 

Actually my wife and I prefer the heaters in the back not the butt, so that is another project for later. Good thought though for others about to do this.

 

Finally got the foam seat base. Although the seat removal is straightforward, here is the process. 1) Slide seat all the way forward. 2) remove 2 bolts (18mm socket) 3) tilt seat forward and remove 2 electrical connectors, the large clip has a tab release to squeeze on the rt, the small one has a tab underneath. 4) fold seat all the way down if you have not already done that. 5) carefully remove through the door opening. NOTE: there are all kinds of sharp edges, so be very careful of your interior panels and lower body work and sills. 6) set seat assembly upside down on carpeted surface 7) remove seat belt nut (14mm socket). 8) Remove 2 phillip head screws at back of side plastic covers. pull covers away at back, slide the outside one fwd off the clip (careful). 9) remove the 2 clip rings and disconnect the 2 elastic bands 10) unclip all the plastic extrusions that join the seat cover to the sheet metal (these are a bear to remove, and very easy to install) you kind of have to roll, pry them off, I did it by hand, but a tool might help. Installation of the performance covers is a breeze, as all the clips line up just fine. Here are photos of the cover install with descriptions:



There are 3 retainer wire rods that need to be tied to the foam. I used zip ties as shown. Don't need to pull them tight, just snug. after you cut the ends, rotate the end down so it imbeds in the foam and can't poke into the seat cover.



Move this "skirt piece" to the side shown (use a seam ripper or (carefully) a razor blade to remove the stitches. Main thing is to cover the (unused) hole for the seat switch, the rest of the rail you can't really see anyway, but it duplicates the stock setup.



There is extra material at the 2 back corners, Better to leave too much and stuff it into the plastic covers, rather than cut away too much.



If you look carefully, you can see that the seat at the junction to the back is raised up slightly compared to the driver seat. This is because you need to carry it over the bar that is part of the "fold-flat" seat configuration. There is a foam piece that covers this bar that you will need to cut away from the stock passenger seat foam and install with the new cover. I contact bonded it to the foam and cover so it would not move out of place, but that might not be necessary. There is no "comfort issue" with the slight tilt to the back of the seat. Going back and forth between the two seats, I cannot feel a difference.



Complete and comfy and matched!

 

Looks great The way Chevrolet should have offered it.

 

Looks good C2. Do you have the part number for the cushion? Where did you get the cushion and cover from? I went to the dearlership to see if they had info on the performace seat which he could not find (I think he was new). I would like toc change my drivers seat to the performace seat mine is ebony.

 

The foam cushion part number is 25872634. List price is $110.00, so over-the-counter should be less, depending on your typical deal with your parts guy. Cover part number depends on color of course. They should be able to get that if they call in with your VIN and the AE5 option code. Don't mention passenger seat, since that will just confuse the issue. Cover list price is about $210.00, so this isn't cheap, but is still the right way to do it, as an aftermarket seat brings up probable safety and airbag sensor issues. Unfortunately if you are changing the driver's seat you are looking at $320.00 retail for what would have been a $95.00 order option. (update on prices, full list is $250.78 for the cover and $137.90 for the seat foam, next level down is "net", then your price if you can get a better deal).

 

Thanks for the info C2. Yeah, whenI got my SS I was not planning on buying just wwent for sevice on my 2LT and the SS was sitting by service dept. Drove home in the SS NO SELF CONTROL !!

 

Based on PM's, this is still of interest to few folks, so her is a "revival"

 

I wondered if it was still there. It worked for me.

 

Thanks C2. This gives me another mod plan!

probablecause