66 Mustang bucket seats restoration

Well, most of you know the story about my 67 Mustang being a submarine during Harvey.  It was a sad thing removing the aftermarket bucket seats and tossing them into the mounding piles of trash~ Goodbye expensive seats!:( You know, at that time, I didn’t know if I was going to re-restore the car or not, of course I did or am doing;)

Oh, how rude of me! It’s me, Dne’;)  Welcome to Classic Cars and Tools!!!

Hey, I’m Dne’ and this is what I say!;)

Well, Craigslist, my go to source for local stuff,  a set of earlier Mustang seats popped up for a 100 bucks~ and yeah, they were in pretty sad shape, but I did buy them with the intent of restoring them. Another learning thing you know! Learn, do, post it;)

These seats I picked up for 100 bucks less than 10 minutes from me. These are 65-66 Mustang seats, non-locking.

Below link: a set of Pro-car seats installed several years ago:

http://axd.qfc.mybluehost.me/2012/12/15/67-mustang-seats-alternative-seats/

Looks kind of terrible:(

Hey, I know this looks bad, but it will clean up just fine;)

After removing all the old worn out upholstery, it’s amazing how much room all this stuff takes up!

One of the seat backs was in pretty good condition and that burlap with the stays imbedded in it is almost impossible to find, it was re-usable. I did replace most of the hog rings, cause it made me feel better.

For the outer edge, I used some Jute padding I had laying around the shop, don’t use this as it’s too thick, but I made it work and should hold up forever and ever;)

I bought the seat upholstery, foam padding, and new hardware from CJ pony, about the best prices. The seat foam I bought had the stays in place, but unfortunately, one of the seat backs did not have the stays, and a lower seat had only 2 stays. argh! I went ahead and made them work~ troubleshooting!

The stay wire/rod you see here is from ACE hardware, it’s 1/8″ rod and shapes nicely.

After a ridiculous amount of work and money, and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, I’d say the seats came out rather nicely;)

I bought 5 gallons of Evaporust and a large container, could only soak them in halves at a time, so it took some time, but the rust vanished and I was pretty happy! I like being happy;)

Seat frame were in pretty sad shape, but restorable and usable. However, seat frames and half frames are available if rusted beyond repair.

The lower seats get most of the wear and deterioration, and this thing here along with the burlap just decinigrates

https://www.npdlink.com/product/seat-spring-bucket-seat-pair-under-seat-16-34/196412?backurl=search%2Fproducts%3Fsearch_terms%3DSeat%252BSpring%252BBucket%252BSeat%252BPair%252BUnder%252BSeat%252B16-3%25252F4%252B%26top_parent%3D0%26year%3D

You can just make out the seat spring being hog ringed into place, it fits perfectly! A pair of these go for 49.95

Below: I placed new Burlap over the seat springs held in by, what else, Hog rings.  I did use jute padding around the edge, but I don’t recommend it, use something strong, like doubled over burlap. The funny rod thing is for the seat foam to be held in place by hog rings. It’s just 1/8″ steel rod wrapped with paper tape. At this point, it’s ready for the foam padding to be hogged into place followed by the new upholstery;)

The long link below this is where I purchased the burlap, from NPD, National parts depot

https://www.npdlink.com/product/burlap-bench-seat-underlayment-enough-for-all-bench/144571?backurl=search%2Fproducts%3Fsearch_terms%3DBURLAP%252BBENCH%252BSEAT%252BUNDERLAYMENT%252BENOUGH%252BFOR%252BALL%252BBENCH%252B%26top_parent%3D0%26year%3D

Where my finger is with the broken finger nail, I cut some of the thread back to allow the upholstery to go under the seat frame tube. may not be the preferred way, but made sense to me.

Ultimatley should look like this;)

Doing upholstery is rough on the finger nails and hands, however where my, what’s left of my finger nail is pointing at, the seat stop plate goes there.

https://www.amazon.com/Capri-Tools-CP40209-40209-Klinge/dp/B01018D2CS/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=9KDWKKR2PNBV&keywords=mini+bolt+cutter&qid=1554254268&s=gateway&sprefix=mini+bolt+%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

I used three different sized hog rings. They are cheap so have plenty on hand.

These mini 8″ mini-bolt cutters from Amazon work great for cutting/removing old hog rings! When one removes a bunch of hog rings, you can really aggravate hand/wrist problems!

I used an assortment of hog rings, mainly used the 7/8, but found the larger one to work over larger rods. The smaller one on the left, I did use on rare occasion. Be sure to order a bunch, they’re cheap; have plenty on hand.

With the expensive hog ring pliers on the left, notice the hog ring sitting too deep? and the cheapy pair on the right, the hog ring is allowed to have the teeth out further. This is important when fastening a hog ring deep in a recess! Also the cheapy ones have a spring to keep the hog ring in its jaws! That’s important too! Only problem with the cheapy ones, the rubber grips kept slipping off, or turning~ argh!

So, if anyone reading this has recommendations for REALLY GOOD hog ring pliers, chime in!;)

C.S. Osborne Hog ring pliers: I spent a great deal of money on these overrated hog ring pliers. They are a good looking set! But found the cheaper set to do much better. If one was doing fencing, these may work well.

Lastly, I set up 4 folding tables to work, I don’t do floor! Make your work area fun, accessible, organized and some good music, you’ll get through this just fine, but if you like your fingernails, hahahahaha, you can say goodbye to them!:(

Still waiting on the side trim, but good enough to post this blog! I’ll post more pics when done and installed;)

Well, back to the shop, I’ve blogged enough for this morning. I’m re-upholstering 3 sets of Miata seats~ uh~ things I get myself into!

Have a great day cause we are given another day on Earth to play, have fun and enjoy life, so turn the music up and be happy!;)

dne’