Seat back leaning

[Bruno 11]

Hello, all.  Hopefully you gave give me some help on a problem.  I purchased a set of high back bucket seats out of a 1970 mustang to be installed in my 69.  The upholstery and foam on these seats were pretty trashed but the frame appeared to be in good shape.  I took the frame apart, removed all of the old upholstery and the frame looked to be in good shape (no obvious damage, bends, etc).  I installed my new TMI Sport R foam and upholstery which went on pretty straight forward.  The problem is that when I reattached the seat back to the bottom, the seat back is leaning to one side.  Everything went on the exact same way it came off so I'm not sure what the problem is.  Has anyone had this same issue with their seats?  Any help is greatly appreciated.  Unfortunately I have already installed the new upholstery so it would be a drag to do it all over again.

[MikeStang 247]

There is a little tound plastic seat stop on the lower cushion located to the rear just under the seat back near the seat hinge on both sides if I recall.

If you didnt reinstall one of these the seat will lean to one side.

A lot of times ppl remove them or cut them to allow the seat to have a more leaned back position

[Bruno 11]

I purchased all new hardware and the little seat stops were installed.  I'm thinking that maybe the hinges that connect to the seat bottom are bent from years of someone getting in and out of the car the seat came out of?  Here's a couple pics of the seats.  For the record, I did the TMI upholstery myself without ever having any upholstery experience.  I think they came out good considering I'm not a professional.

 

[1969_Mach1 334]

Do you have the seat back's and bottom's mixed up?  For example a left side seat bottom and a right side seat back.

[Bruno 11]

I have only done the passenger seat. The driver seat is still intact in the original upholstery. Do you think the brackets on the seat back are twisted?

[1969_Mach1 334]

Was the seat straight before you disassembled it?  Does the seat back flip forward and toward the inside like it's supposed to and then rest correctly on the plastic stops when upright like in your pictures?  If all that looks okay, I would suspect something is bent on the seat back.  On my 69 Mach, I had to use shims, 1/8 to 3/16 thick, between the floor and seat tracks on the back inside bolt on both sides because over years of people in the seats the floor pan had drooped a little in that area.  Without the shims the seats would not slide forward or back.

[Bruno 11]

I didn't notice but the original upholstery on this seat was pretty trashed so it may have been crooked already. I just checked the drivers seat and it is straight. I think I'm going to take the seat back off from the bottom and use a BFH to adjust the brackets and see if that fixes it.

[1969_Mach1 334]

It sounds like something is bent or a weld broke somewhere.

[Bruno 11]

It would have to be bent, that's why I'm going to try to adjust the brackets. I looked at the frames pretty thoroughly and there were no broken welds.

[MikeStang 247]

Man those look Great.

I just finished my Fiero Seats up and drove the car with them in for the 1st time today, they are awesome.

If ya don't mind me asking what was the total cost of the upholstery plus the foam inserts?

I would just shim up under one side to compensate for the lean

[MikeStang 247]

You can see the lines in the upholstery don't line up, either you got it on a little crooked or the seat back is twisted a bit.

[1969_Mach1 334]

MikeStang, it's hard to tell, but from the top view photo it looks like something is bent on the seat back.  He mentioned he is going to try to adjust the brackets.

 

Yeah, he did a nice job fitting the upholstery.

[Bruno 11]

MikeStang, I got them on sale from CJ Pony Parts but I can't remember exactly what I paid.  I know that it was cheapest price I could find anywhere.  The seat back is what is crooked, I can definitely feel it when I sit in the seat.  The upholstery actually goes in pretty easy and it is kinda hard to put it on crooked if you install the listing wires into the seat foam pretty tight.  I can say that the foam is very comfortable but I am only 5'9", I could see how someone over 6' would like to be a little lower seeing as how headroom is always a concern in these fastbacks.  Again, I have never attempted upholstery before so if I can do it, anyone can.  Just ready to have sore hands and forearms.

[det0326 192]

Bruno

 

There is a member over on the VMF that had the same exact problem as you except his is the pony interior and it was his driver seat twisted in the other direction. I tried doing a search to find it with no luck. Its weird that he was having the same problem maybe there is a common denominator. Can't remember the the solution but I will keep looking to see if I can find it.

 

Dave

[det0326 192]

Found it. You may want to read through this but I don't think that he ever found a solution except others has this problem too with some seats and not much you can do short of relocating the pin or maybe bending the arm.

Dave

 

 

http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/vintage-mustang-forum/851825-got-drivers-seat-upholster-but-somethings-off.html

[Bruno 11]

Thanks det0326. Looks like I'm not the only one with this problem. I guess I'm just gonna have to throw some shade tree mechanic engineering at it. I'll update when I either fix it or damage it beyond repair.

[Rsmach1 71]

Nice job on the upholstery, like the look of the Sport R.

[X69Mach1X 0]

Hello. Did you ever find a solution? Just got mine back from the upholstery shop and one seat is exactly the same as you show. Twisted. I think I’m gonna drill a new hole to move the too rear side forward. That will either work or just be a small hole in the arm and I can go back to the original hole and try something new. Please update what you’ve done. Thanks

[EastYorkStang 68]

Maybe send him a direct message. They might not see it here.

[BobW70Mach1 29]

I don’t have TMI covers so I am no expert.  Just throwing this out there, but could it be that they were designed that way?  Those TMI covers and foam really stick out on the sides.  That gives a really snug fit, but would make it just a little more difficult to slide in and out of the seat.  Maybe they designed them to allow easier access when getting in and out.  I would put them in the car and see if it feels off when you sit in the seat.  If it feels right, I would just leave it.  Because I have to be honest, I would not notice they were off kilter unless you pointed it out to me.