seat recover have a few questions

I am in the process of recovering my seats and I have a few questions. I bought the seat kit from TMI and it looks like the fit is not quite right. I bought foam as well and the seat feels pretty firm now but you would not want to race with these because you would slide yourself out the door at some point. My questions

1. everything on the bottom lined up on the edges but the seat bottom is wider than the pattern on the back. Is this right, why isn't it centered or am I a dumbass. Could not find a side so I just grabbed one bottom and put it on.

2. looking at the driver seat, is this a seat from a different year and that is why my stuff does not seem to fit quite right?

3. How much can I expect to pay at a shop if I decide I don't like the end product when I am finished. The passenger seat is really firm now and springs are no longer felt.

4. What after market seats fit these cars that still look period correct?

5. Who has used dynamat under the carpit and how much does it quiet down the inside?

6. How is the dash board attached to the car. Mine is loose and rattles a lot. P.O. was not a very good mechanic from all the little problems I have found. Every thing he touched I get to retouch and do right.

That's interesting, I used the same kit and even though the upholstery fit was very tight everything lined up good. All I can answer for you is the last question; if you are talking about the dash pad and the metal dashboard there are some screws on the front edge of the dash that you take out; with those out, you give the dash a good yank towards you and then it lifts out. If you are talking about the 3 piece dash, you should get a shop manual and it will have all the screw locations.

TMI makes good stuff. Wrap some Saran wrap on the cushion and sprsy a little WD-40 on it to make the seat cover slide on easier. It also makes it easier to manhsndle the covers and foam around a bit to get a good fit. Once installed, just cut off the visible Saran wrap from under the sest cushion with a razor blade and no one will be none the wiser.

Kit's right - but I used plastic bags from a convenience store - and didn't need the WD40 (learned that trick from a recent article in Mustang Monthly, actually.

Mine fit pretty good, but have some slight wrinkles in similar places. I went with the Sport Seat kit for mine, so the foam was a little thicker (and probably a little less forgiving).

Yours still turned out nice! ::thumb:: Give 'em a little time in the sun, they should relax a bit.

You should post a picture of the foam if you still have not installed the other seat. The back is so thought, I'm thinking it's the sport seat back on standard upholstery. The bottom seems to lack definition. I'd consider removing the passenger seat and reinstalling the cover. Also it helps if everything is warm. Put it in the sun for a half hour prior.

Here is a picture of the seat foam. The rear was a royal pain in the butt to get on, The seating area for my bottom not so much.

there should be 2 rods that run along the seam for the center area, looking at the seat left to right over the lower cushion, you have the left side template that is smooth, the center section that runs left to right and the right smooth template. 2 rods go right at the joint between the sections, these rods tuck down into the foam which has cut outs for the same area, that pulls the material into the foam. doing so will shrink the total width of the lower cushion and make it match the upper section. with the rods going deep into those areas you tightly hog ring them to the seat frame through the foam.

Having never used the TMI covers, I don't know how they're cut, but is the pattern characteristically off as in Ralph's photo? The pattern is cut too high by an inch or so, but it looks as if the cover is too short by an inch too, in comparison to an original:



It almost seems as if that missing inch is what's preventing the seat from wrapping around the bottom correctly.

-Kurt

Seat frame and not the springs. I put everything back the way I remember it a month or so ago. I will take the other one out and compare. I am reasonably sure the H shaped piece on the seat bottom is in correct and hog ringed down tight. They are anchored to the springs and not the frame. Will see tomorrow. This is another job that goes in the I will pay to have it done next time categories. I can say the foam is very firm and the seat is considerably more comfy.

Where is the best place to buy a bottom seat base. I went out and compared the seats and the excess of loose metal at the back makes me think it is cracked and broken. At a glance it looks trashed. The passenger had 5 cracks to weld up, the drivers seat looks a whole lot worse. May go mount passenger seat on drivers side so I can deliver to shop tomorrow for engine troubleshooting and repair. Anyone have pictures of where the vin numbers are found on engine and tranny.

I once put TMI standard seat covers in my 73 hardtop, and the seams running across the bottom cushion were indeed not in the right place. However, the covers fit perfectly otherwise.

Driver seat frame is as bad as I expected. The mount for the seat back was not there so it was rigged to stay in place. Frame rail was bolted on inside on one side. Cracks are real bad in the rear and I am pretty sure a new base is better than making this one work. Checked out CJponys and can't seem to fin a base only. I can move the springs over with a new base. On a side note, the seat cover is mounted like I did the other side and it was doe the same way so oaybe I just need to sit on it for a while. It is on the driver side right now and you can tell it is on the wrong side but it will get me to the shop while I sort out the other side. Nice new sport seats might be another good choice. Looks like seat frames with springs are quite expensive. I may hit 20 grand in a hurry at this rate on my 8500 dollar car.

Ouch. IIRC, one of our members had a few project seats for sale in the FS forum with good pricing.

-Kurt

I will check him out. I found one on ebay with cracks on both sides in back. Wants 150 bucks with cracks. Not so sure a trip to the local junkyards might be in order. Cougar seat frames are the same so I have a few vehicles to look for. I can't find any new ones on the Mustang sites because they stop at 70 for bases. I will go search IIRC now and see if I can find him.

I would think Don of OMS would have many seat frames available for sale or rent. Give him a call.

Don at Ohio Mustang hooked me up with some really nice quality parts. His service, packaging and pricing was excellent. Great vendor. Will buy from him the next time I am in need. Thanks Don.

I fixed mine although they were not quite as bad as yours. I massaged the metal back into shape and added a sheet metal "doubler" over the broken area. It's held up over 10 years so far.

Don sold me a perfectly serviceable seat base to start with. They all have more rust than I would expect from a part on the inside of the car. Who would have thunk it?

the factory paint on those frames is really thin, foam holds water so they are all pretty rusty.

the constant movement on the seats also cracks the paint as the metal flexes.

mine were cracked, and the seat springs all broken.

i banged my frames back into shape then sanded the crack area, Braze welded the cracks, painted with rustoleum, and then replaced the springs with new from a sofa place that carried parts, i managed to find the correct diameter spring and then re-assembled the seats.

now the Foam has more to it before you can just install it.

there is Burlap with wire loomed through it and that sits on top of the springs. it keeps the foam from pushing through the spring and self destructing. the Sides of the upper foam get Muslin fabric with Jutting glued to it, the muslin is glued to the sides of the foam and you pull it around to the back to hold the foam to the frame. all this extra padding is what fills out the seat covers.

I used to have some good pictures on my old computer, but the best is when you have a set of junk original seats and slowly remove the layers and document what you find this is how i rebuilt my seats.