How-To Install New Seat Upholstery

As with the seat bottom, the seatback uses the listing wire from its old covers.

Installing the seatback cover involves similar procedures used for the seat bottom.

Once the cover is on, holes need to be punctured in the new cover's material to accept the clips for the new seatback panel. The panel snaps into place once its clips are installed.

Next, re-cover the headrests, since the NPD kit includes new covers for them. Begin by removing the plastic trim piece that exposes the staples, and pull the staples out as shown.

Once the staples are out, pull the old cover off the headrest. It can be cut or ripped apart to get the cover off. There's no need to worry about damaging the headrest since it's made of a hard Styrofoam-like material that's gotten stiffer over three decades.

We stretched the new cover over the headrest and manipulated it into place, as shown.

Finally, the cover is stapled closed onto the headrest, and the plastic trim cover can be reinstalled. When the seatback is assembled, the headrest and its sleeve can be placed back into the seatback.

After the covers are installed, it's time for the final task--reassembly of the seats. Reinstall all the parts that came off before removing the old covers. Some parts of the covers will need holes placed in them to facilitate reinstallation. With a hammer, tap around the circumference of the seatback lock pin that sticks out of the seatback to make a clean hole in the cover, as shown. Reinstall the knob that allows the front seatback to be unlocked to gain access to the rear seats.

Among many other bits, the seat tracks are reinstalled on the seat bottoms.

Some holes in the new covers must be made with scissors. Note the pin already protruding through the new cover. This is the hinge pin, where the seatback and bottom join together.

Final reassembly comes when the seatback and bottom are rejoined. The seats can now be reinstalled into the car. Refer to the beginning of the article to see what a finished front seat looks like.

The rear seats are re-covered in much the same manner as the fronts. Here, the rear seatback is already reinstalled in the car, and the rear-seat bottom is being rejoined in its home to make up its half of a freshly re-covered rear seat.