Do it yourself upholstery?

[Machspeed 219]

After much reviewing, I've decided to go with TMI seat covers and ACI foam. I'm seriously considering installing those covers myself. Anybody here do this? If so, any advice would be appreciated? I was hoping to find a good video but I found nothing on our high back buckets for the Mach 1.

 

Thanks,

 

John

[jjstang 51]

I tried, failed miserably.  Ended up taking them to an upholstery shop.  $50 each.  I even bought the tools, watched the videos etc.  It's a skill....

[1969_Mach1 333]

These seat covers fit pretty well over new foam, so not much skill needed.  It takes a little time and patience, but it's simple to do.  Get some burlap to cover the springs on the seat bottoms and anchor it to the springs with a few hog rings.  This helps prevent the springs from cutting through the foam over time.  I installed a couple of layers of burlap on mine.  If you are like most of us and don't have access to a fabric steamer, install them on a warm day and set the material in the sun to warm up before you install it.  Also, Silicone spray helps the material slide over the foam when you are installing it.  Get the best hog ring pliers you can find.  They also now make new listing wires so you don't have to use the rusty ones from the old material or make them.  I've seen listing wire sets at NPD.  Good luck, take your time, it can be done.

[Machspeed 219]

These seat covers fit pretty well over new foam, so not much skill needed.  It takes a little time and patience, but it's simple to do.  Get some burlap to cover the springs on the seat bottoms and anchor it to the springs with a few hog rings.  This helps prevent the springs from cutting through the foam over time.  I installed a couple of layers of burlap on mine.  If you are like most of us and don't have access to a fabric steamer, install them on a warm day and set the material in the sun to warm up before you install it.  Also, Silicone spray helps the material slide over the foam when you are installing it.  Get the best hog ring pliers you can find.  They also now make new listing wires so you don't have to use the rusty ones from the old material or make them.  I've seen listing wire sets at NPD.  Good luck, take your time, it can be done.

Mike, PM'd ya. Thanks!

[Mike65 475]

I did a set of high back bucket seats many years ago & the first thing I did was lay them in the sun for a couple hours to soften them up a little bit it makes them easier to install. Installing the hog rings in the upper part of the seat back has to be done by feel only because from what I remember when I did them you can not see into the upper part of the seat back. Take your time & you should do fine. After you are done if there are any wrinkles in the upholstery let the seats sit in the sun a little while & you should be able to smooth them out.

[Caseyrhe 650]

I did mine, start with the back seats first, get your hand in shape along with an ideal how to work and stretch the covers. vinyl needs to be laid out in the sun so it becomes more pliable. Keep the frame and foam inside the house where is cool so foam contracts. I hog ringed the foam to the seat frame first so it easier just attaching to the wires in the foam. I used most of my old listing wires, sanding them with emery cloth to remove the rust, used heavier cloths hanger wire for the ones to far gone. I used cotton batting to fill in low spots on the rear bottom seat at the hump. I did both front seats in one weekend. only prior experience was the low back seats on a 68 Mustang.

 

both upholstery shops I went to in Fort Worth for the 68, wanted 450.00 to cover the seats with me supplying the foam and covers, so if you can get it done for 50.00 each, I'd got that route  

[tonyinsandiego 37]

I remember seeing an option with a vendor that had leather skins close to the original colors for the Mach 1.  Has anyone heard of a company offering the skins in leather with the original colors/design?  Just wondering about other options besides the vinyl.

[barnett468 418]

I remember seeing an option with a vendor that had leather skins close to the original colors for the Mach 1.  Has anyone heard of a company offering the skins in leather with the original colors/design?  Just wondering about other options besides the vinyl.

 

TMI used to do leather in stock colors.

[mustangmike6996 34]

I did mine.  You have to remove them from the box and let them sit in the heat for a while.  Pull all of the foam out as well.

 

Get a vacuum and clean the old seat frames, start with the back because its easier to stretch as mentioned above.  I picked up new steel rod from Lowes for a couple bucks to avoid a costly NPD parts run.  Hog rings are cheap if you buy in bulk online. 

[69volunteer 84]

rear seat top and bottom were pretty easy but I ended up handing the fronts off (particularly with the head rests). Found a shop in Arlington for $100 a seat.

[Caseyrhe 650]

10-4, I figure now if I can do Mach seats, anything else will be easy.

[Machspeed 219]

Thanks fellas! Sounds like this may be a real character builder. I've looked all over the web for a video of someone doing these high back buckets but can't find a thing. Seems every video I find is 67-68.

[1969_Mach1 333]

Just to add, when I used Silicone spray to help the seat cover slide over the foam, I sprayed it on the foam and not the material.  I don't know if that matters much.  That's just how i did it.

[LoneWolf2U 136]

Start by rolling the cover inside out to about 1/3 way to the top of the head area.

Us a simple hair dryer to heat the cover as this will make it much more pliable to work with.

Slide the cover over the seat back and pull it completely down forming it to headrest area.

work the remainder down while gently heating it for ease of install.

Pull tight and smooth out all of the slack before hog ringing it.

[Caseyrhe 650]

Will need to hog ring it as you work it down, first at horizontal wire at red stripe, then verticle wires starting at top.

Bottoms are easy, except for unfolding over corners. Just remember to take a break if you get frustrated. Worse case, stop and take to upholstery shop before tearing covers

[Machspeed 219]

Will need to hog ring it as you work it down, first at horizontal wire at red stripe, then verticle wires starting at top.

Bottoms are easy, except for unfolding over corners. Just remember to take a break if you get frustrated. Worse case, stop and take to upholstery shop before tearing covers

Irritates the crap out of me that I can't find a dang video on instillation of these high back buckets....lol! Casey, will the new covers go on just like the OEM? What I mean is are the areas for tying down the covers with hog rings the same on the reproduction as the OEM covers? I guess I'm going to have to study the placement of those things when I take off the old covers.  

[1969_Mach1 333]

The new covers attach the same as the originals.  Just pay attention when you remove the old covers.  Not that difficult.

[Caseyrhe 650]

Yes, they go on the same. Rings attach in the same general area. Main thing when removing the old, take pictures of each seat as to how they wrap around to the back and what they attach. I also found when removing the old, was to cut the wire sleeves loose from the vinyl covers to see where the rings where attached. If you look at the back sides of the frames, you will see a larger paper wrapped wire, this is where the foam attaches to. To be honest, it's scarier looking and thinking about it than it actually is doing it. The videos of the low back are very informative and very close in comparison to the high backs. The key is the vinyl,needs to be laid out in the sun/heat so it easily worked and stretchable when putting over the top of the backs, yes the hair dryer works good too. Once you get those on and worked down evenly, you start connecting the new wire/ sleeves to the foam wires. Make sure to check the vinyls appearence as you work to the bottom, if it's loose or off kilter, cut the last ring out, stretch and reattach. I used the pliers and rings from CJ's with no issues. On the 68, I ran short on rings, went to a upholstery shop and he just gave me a handful. A good pair of dikes is a must when removing the old rings to make it easier and faster. I would be more than happy to answer any more questions or take phone calls with questions when your working on them to help out.

[Machspeed 219]

Wow, those look nice! TMI covers? What foam did you go with? You got a build thread going here?

 

Yes, I'll be taking lots of pictures. I learned early how important a few pictures can be. I'll keep you posted. Thanks!!!

 

And, thanks to everyone for their contribution on this and so many other things.

[1969_Mach1 333]

I got my hog rings and hog ring pliers from a hardware store.  That stuff is not hard to find.  They're not specific to upholstery.

[Caseyrhe 650]

yes, TMI covers and foam

 

Build thread...69 Black Jade Rebirth

[mustangmike6996 34]

I redid my interior with TMI covers and foam, lo-back front seats.

 

I have been considering converting the fronts to the tall buckets.  I have 2 front 1970 seats, are they the same/similar to the 1969?  Can I buy 69 foam and cushion for them?

[stangs-R-me 120]

I redid my interior with TMI covers and foam, lo-back front seats.

 

I have been considering converting the fronts to the tall buckets.  I have 2 front 1970 seats, are they the same/similar to the 1969?  Can I buy 69 foam and cushion for them?

 

'70 Mach Seat Frames & OE '70 Seat foam worked with '69 Mach Upholstery for me.   I even swapped in the '69 low-back seat back latch mechanisms into the '70 seat backs so they appear to be correct '69 seats.   Just used the low back seat frames as a reference as to where to drill and what size holes.

 

I'm 99% sure std. '70 non-Mach high-backs frames are the same as Mach frames ... foam may be different though.  

 

also, Ford had problems with '69 seat frames breaking (both lo & hi back) so '70 frames got upgraded with some extra reinforcement done to them ... makes them a better starting point especially if you already have them !!

 

Doug

[mustangmike6996 34]

Awesome! Thanks for the info.

[Dave R. 85]

I bought the TMI set-up for my '69 Mach 1 with the intention of installing it myself. That was until I saw a video on CJP's website. That showed the install of a TMI set-up on I believe a '66. One misplaced hog ring and the vinyl would be ruined. Some things are better left to the professionals.   Dave R.