How-To Install New Seat Upholstery

The '69 standard interior covers for the front-seat bottoms and backs look like this when they arrive from National Parts Depot. Also shown here are new covers for behind the seatbacks, and new headrest covers, which are at the top.

The complete kit also includes new covers for the rear seat. In the foreground is the cover for the seat bottom, and in the background is the cover for the seatback. Although the rear seat has virtually no wear, we elected to re-cover it anyway to make the interior look uniform. The procedure for redoing the back seat is similar to that for the fronts.

NPD also offers new seat buns. If you're unsure whether you need new ones, remove the covers on your seats to examine the buns so you can make a decision.

First, the seats need to come out of the car. The four nuts that hold the seat in place are accessible from underneath the car. Lift carefully when you pull the seats out--they're heavy.

Before removing the upholstery, the seats need to be disassembled. There are many bits and pieces to remove, most of which we don't have room to cover in this article. Removing the seat tracks is a good place to start. Be sure you release the slide mechanism on the seat track before removal, when the seat is all the way forward in the car. If it snaps back, you could cause considerable discomfort to your hands.

The seat bottom and back need to be separated. This cotter key at the seat hinge is removed to facilitate separation. Once the key is out, pry the upper seat arm off the hinge pin to separate the two halves of the seat.

Here are the two halves separated. The seatback and bottom are now easier to handle due to less weight.

This striker plate that locks the seat in place (not present on '65-'67 cars) is one of several pieces that need to come off before removing the old upholstery.

Much of the seat cover is held in place with hog rings, which are pried out along the perimeter of each part of the seat. To be clear, this is the driver-side seat bottom. Each of the four (the two bottoms and two backs) parts of the front seats are redone in much the same fashion as the piece shown here.

Once the covers are off, the seat buns lift off the seat frame. They're already gone here. Clearly, the burlap on the seat frame is toast. Mike Ambrose installed new burlap, shown in a following caption. The piece being removed here is known as listing wire. It's reused to help shape the new upholstery and the seat buns when it all goes back together.

Here's the bare seat frame stripped of everything, including the old burlap. It's the starting point at which you build an entire new seat when you have new upholstery and seat buns. If you're doing a full restoration on a car, you might elect to refinish the frame. But since this car was somewhat of a restified daily driver, we commenced with reassembly as it was. Structurally, the frame was sound.

Mike Ambrose supplied the new burlap for the job. It needs to be cut to size, using double thickness for added durability. The burlap is then fastened around the frame with hog rings. Then, the listing wire is installed and fastened over the burlap, as shown.

Before the seat buns are set, upholstery adhesive is applied to help keep them in place.

After the seat bun is installed over the burlap, the original listing wire is reinstalled in the new bun.

Here, installation of the new cover begins with the first of many hog rings. The covers also use listing wire (again original pieces) to help them maintain their shape.