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Car Seat Cover & Auto Upholstery Restoration - Mustang Car SeatsMany vintage Mustang seats are totally worn out. Here's how to rebuild one. From the October, 2006 issue of Mustang Monthly By Miles Cook Photography by Miles Cook
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Last month, we began restoring the interior in Ed Zoellner's '72 Mustang convertible, a car that's a father/son project with his son, Kaleb. Those of you who remember that first story may recall that we began with an interior that was as worn out as one can get. Everything needed replacement or refurbishment, and we're continuing on that path here. In this second installment (the third and final story will show the interior being reassembled), we're focusing entirely on the rebuilding and reupholstering of one seat. Both front seats in the car were in rough shape, and the driver seat being redone here was about the worst we've ever seen. Upon removal of the completely toasted original upholstery, the expert interior-restoration crew at Mustang Country International discovered the seat-bottom frame was completely rusted and broken in several places. In short, we thought the bottom frame was a hopeless case. But not Mustang Country. The guys there took on this project and welded the seat-bottom frame back together to perfect repair; repainted the seat tracks, bottom frame, and seatback frame; and finished the process by re-covering the seat with handsome new upholstery from CJ Pony Parts (CJPP). In between, Mustang Country installed new seat buns, also from CJPP, put new burlap over the seat springs, and reused the original seat cover's listing wire in the new upholstery. Be advised that this isn't an easy project. It took several hours to redo this one seat, and we don't have room to detail every step. If the seat frames in your car are in better shape, then figure a day's work for doing two front seats and the rear. Fixing the rat's nest that Mustang Country started with took nearly two days of work to rebuild and re-cover both seats and re-cover the rear seat. If you're good at automotive interior work, then more power to you. Otherwise, you'll need to find a good upholstery shop near you.  New seat covers from CJ Pony...  New seat covers from CJ Pony Parts make this driver seat for our '72 convertible project look, well, new. After a full day's work taking the seat apart, welding the frame, cleaning and painting parts, re-covering the seat, and putting it all back together, we were rewarded with this impressive result.  Not much to say here. This...  Not much to say here. This driver seat is absolutely worn out and needs everything. The broken frame was so useless that it had been swapped to the passenger side so the car could be driven using the only slightly less, but still totally worn-out passenger seat. It takes some real effort to go from junk to jewel, and as these first two photos show, the effort was clearly worth it.  CJ Pony Parts stocks complete...  CJ Pony Parts stocks complete upholstery kits for all vintage Mustangs. These are the covers for one front seat. Of course, complete kits include covers for both front bucket seats and the rear seat.  New seat buns are a must for...  New seat buns are a must for any seat-restoration project, and as you'll see, the old buns are definitely ready for the dumpster.  1 Disassembly begins by separating...  1 Disassembly begins by separating the seat back and bottom.  2 Next, the seat tracks are...  2 Next, the seat tracks are removed from the seat bottom.  3 A razorblade makes short...  3 A razorblade makes short work of cutting the old upholstery off the seat bottom.  4 Before the top of the cover...  4 Before the top of the cover is removed, the bracket for the seatback latch is removed.  5 A big pair of scissors...  5 A big pair of scissors also helps to remove the old upholstery quickly. We couldn't wait to get the old covers off so we could toss them into the dumpster.  6 As we said, the seat buns...  6 As we said, the seat buns are also junk. The hog rings are pulled with a pair of side cutters, and the buns quickly followed the covers into the dumpster.  7 With the upholstery and...  7 With the upholstery and seat buns removed from the seat bottom, we are greeted with a badly rusted and broken frame. Mustang Country offers used replacement frames if you want or need one, but we decided to repair this one, which, as it turned out, was possible.  8 This is the broken corner...  8 This is the broken corner of the frame and also the reason the seatback would no longer stay up, preventing anyone from driving the car.  9 While repair work began...  9 While repair work began on the seat bottom, we continue the disassembly process by removing the old upholstery from the seatback, which begins with the plastic seatback cover, as shown here.  10 The plastic grommets that...  10 The plastic grommets that locate the seatback to the seat bottom are then removed.  11 With the old upholstery...  11 With the old upholstery on its way to coming off, more hog rings are removed to allow removal of the old seatback bun.  12 Before tossing the old...  12 Before tossing the old upholstery, the listing wires are removed. They will be reused with the new upholstery.  13 While checking progress...  13 While checking progress on the repair of the seat bottom, we found welding work had commenced. It is extensive repair surgery, but the results are good.  14 The repair welds shown...  14 The repair welds shown here are good enough for at least another 35 years of service, maybe more if water is kept out to prevent rust. Other welding patches are done to the bottom, and when complete, the bottom is cleaned and painted with rust-inhibiting flat-black paint.  15 The seatback is thoroughly...  15 The seatback is thoroughly cleaned with a wire brush...  16 ...and repainted flat...  16 ...and repainted flat black.  17 New burlap is cut to size...  17 New burlap is cut to size and installed, along with the new covers and seat buns.  18 Insulation material, used...  18 Insulation material, used to slightly firm up the seat buns, is placed around the edge of the freshly repainted seat-bottom frame.  19 After it's cut to size,...  19 After it's cut to size, the burlap is secured to the bottom of the seat bun with spray adhesive.  20 The seat bun is then secured...  20 The seat bun is then secured to the frame with a series of new hog rings clamped over the rod in the center of the frame.  21 With the new bun in place,...  21 With the new bun in place, fitment of the new upholstery commences. As shown here, it's first turned inside out to facilitate fitting it over the bun.  22 The listing wire from...  22 The listing wire from the old covers is reused in the new ones. Keep track of the wires so they can be installed in the new covers in the same locations as the old ones.  23 Hog rings are used to...  23 Hog rings are used to secure the covers in place. The rings are clamped over the excess cover material and onto the rod in the frame.  24 With the upholstery secured...  24 With the upholstery secured in the center, it's then fitted over the bun at the edges.  25 Upholstery fitment continues...  25 Upholstery fitment continues at the edges of the seat. It's a tight fit, but you want it that way for a clean appearance and an original look. Once the upholstery is fitted tightly over the bun, a series of hog rings holds the cover in place at the bottom of the frame. The rings go through the cover and around the frame to complete the installation of the cover.  26 Once the upholstery is...  26 Once the upholstery is installed, small holes need to be made in the covers in different places to allow the installation of various components, such as the seat tracks. These holes, carefully punctured with the end of a pair of scissors, are for the seat tracks.  27 The seat tracks are reusable...  27 The seat tracks are reusable but still need some attention. They are first cleaned by removing surface rust with a wire-brush wheel on a bench-mounted motor.  28 After thoroughly cleaning...  28 After thoroughly cleaning the tracks, they are treated to a fresh coat of flat-black paint.  29 After time to dry, the...  29 After time to dry, the seat tracks are reinstalled on the seat bottom using the original hardware, which is also cleaned with solvent and the brush wheel. Note also the original factory spacer between the tracks and seat-bottom frame.  30 Once the tracks are installed,...  30 Once the tracks are installed, they're treated to a little lithium grease, which will make them work like new once again.  31 Rejoining the rebuilt...  31 Rejoining the rebuilt seat bottom and seatback means we're almost done with the restoration of one seat. Although we don't detail the seatback, the reupholstery is basically the same as the bottom. Re-covering the rear-seat bottom and rear-seat back are also similar, though somewhat easier since the back seat in most Mustangs is used little and therefore the frames are usually in much better condition.  32 The original Torx-head...  32 The original Torx-head hardware is used to rejoin the seatback and bottom. From here, the seat is completed by reinstalling the plastic trim pieces that cover the hinges, as well as a few other small items.
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