Top of rear shocks on convertible?

[boxgranch]

Are the tops of the rear shocks on the convertible under the rear seat or in the area the top folds into? My search abilities failed to find anything on this, so apologies if it has been covered before. The 1972 Ford manual does not show anything specific to the Mustang and the parts book isn't much help either. The reason I ask is that the seat is being extraordinarily stubborn about coming out and it turns out the aren't accessible via the seat there will be grave angst and a disturbance of the force.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sheriff41]

Access in the trunk under the convertible well liner.

 

[RIBS]

Easiest access from inside car with seats removed. They are under the black oval plugs, next to pump. There is a slight angle to them pointing into the seating area….

 

[Johnny57]

Here is a vid I did.

 

[boxgranch]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL! Especially for the video. We will resume bludgeoning the rear seat and have already started praying we won't need to drill holes!

 

[Hemikiller]

Push the front seats all the way forward, sit facing rearward on the tunnel and push back on the seat bottom with your feet. It should pop out with a little effort.

 

[boxgranch]

I have tried and tried, just got back from your suggestion. The seats were obviously reupholstered at some point and I wonder if they did something to make the installation permanent. You can push down, though not as much as I think they need to clear and they simply won't move back. I am debating on cutting out some of the upholstery so I can see what is going on and hope I can get someone to repair it afterwards. We have been going back and forth on this for a while which is why I wanted to confirm we would really find the shocks back under the seat. Pulling a back seat is usually pretty easy!

 

[boxgranch]

Forgot to ask, can you actually replace the convertible pump through there or is is a cunning Ford trap? Just in case that comes up someday!

 

[boxgranch]

And by the way Johnny, our car is almost a clone of yours, not a Mach 1, but they added the spoilers and stripes. We just had the 302 redone with Edelbrock heads and a Holley 4v with a street cam and have a few things to do before putting it back in. We have gone through the front suspension, putting the brakes back together and converting to a T5 from the FMX. It will be my son's daily driver. Parts are here for the rear suspension, but the main problem there are the shocks, so it is getting frustrating being thwarted by the seat.

 

[lovingcreek]

I have a 72 Convertible, the top portion of the rear seat has 2 machine screws at the bottom that need to be removed to lift out that section of the seat. You also have to remove the chrome trim strip that covers the top of the seat and covers where the seat clips at the top.

 

[RIBS]

Forgot to ask, can you actually replace the convertible pump through there or is is a cunning Ford trap? Just in case that comes up someday!

You should be able to replace the pump through the access in my picture, it will be a slight PIA. There are 2 bolts holding it down, two hydraulic lines, one on front, one on rear of pump, and one wiring harness with 3 wires, 2 wires unplug, one ground is attached to car with bolt. It’s easier with access from all sides…

by the way, I did my entire system for under $300. 2 lift cylinders, new lines, and a pump rebuild kit…generally easy with full access, my car is mostly stripped for rebuild.

 

[RIBS]

Here’s a few more pics, my lower seat clip might be original, might be backwards, I dunno. There’s also line clips holding lines to seat support area….

 

[boxgranch]

Thanks all, I finally got the bloody thing (literally) out. I used a wide pry bar and smacked the seat frame with a rubber mallet. When they reupholstered, they put the new on top of the old, so that may have made it a lot harder to push back. There is also a sort of double fish hook shape to the part it engages on the body unlike anything I've seen before, but this is the first ford of this vintage I've worked on.

Thanks for the tips on the chrome strip and screws as well.

Thanks for the pump info!

The DeWalt impact wrench got the nuts on the top of the shocks off OK. A regular socket just spun the shaft.