The Skinny on Fat Foam
We've since talked with TMI Products and Virginia Classic Mustang and the companies state that the upholstery was designed to be used on original seat foam and when using any new foam under new upholstery, you will encounter a snug fit. If we had been covering original Pony seats with TMI's products, we were told we wouldn't have had such a tough time. Nevertheless, with some tips from Virginia Classic Mustang and the professional installation performed by our friends at Mr. Autocraft, all worked out well.
10 The many hands in this...
10 The many hands in this photo show you how much pulling and tugging went on to get the seatbase covers into place. Secure the corners with new hog rings, and then slowly work around the base, checking to make sure you are working the wrinkles out as you go.
11 These little fiber washers...
11 These little fiber washers are usually missing or damaged, so be sure to replace them because they have the important job of preventing the pivot arm from damaging the seat covers. The small seam you see here was a small repair made when the cover split during installation--another warning to go slow and use patience.
12 A new cotter pin is used...
12 A new cotter pin is used on each side as well. The old pins were bent. Some were missing or replaced by bent-over nails. Do it correctly while you have the seats apart.
13 We finished off the seat...
13 We finished off the seat buckets with new side-seat trim and pivot covers. The pivot covers come only in black...
...which saved us the hassle...
...which saved us the hassle of painting them, but you will have to finish them in your interior color if you have any other color.
14 Moving on to the back-seat...
14 Moving on to the back-seat base, the hog rings were cut off and the old seat cover was easily removed. Since our seat padding was in excellent shape, it didn't need any extra padding.
15 We carefully removed the...
15 We carefully removed the old padding, and then cleaned and painted our seatbase frame to protect it.
16 The rear seatbase is probably...
16 The rear seatbase is probably the easiest of any of the seats to recover. The one-piece cover easily slips on, and you simply hog-ring the outer perimeter, checking every few hog rings to make sure you are pulling the wrinkles out, and you're done.
17 The rear seatbase is complete...
17 The rear seatbase is complete and ready for storage, as we plan on installing the interior later in the calendar year, provided that our paint and bodywork stay on schedule.