upper back seat problem

[eventhorizon]

Hi
my new mustang upholstery doesn't fit. i took the upper back seat all apart and went to put the new one on. the new one is too short length-wise. it is about 4 inches too short. is it actually supposed to stretch that far? the box says 71-73, the pattern is correct.
did NPD screw up.

help please.

Thomas Hanson

 

[Steve McMahan]

Can you give us more info, the NPD part number, pics of your seat, etc? I suspect Rick from NPD might chime in.

 

[Kilgon]

Hi
my new mustang upholstery doesn't fit. i took the upper back seat all apart and went to put the new one on. the new one is too short length-wise. it is about 4 inches too short. is it actually supposed to stretch that far? the box says 71-73, the pattern is correct.
did NPD screw up.

help please.

Thomas Hanson

I re-upholstered mine and yes, they do seem short, but they will fit if you have the right ones. A couple of tips to help get them on - use some baby powder and sprinkle the inside of the upholstery and on the foam. This will help them go on easier. Make sure you pull hard as you are covering them while using your hog rings to get them attached to the listing rods. At the bottom pull as much as you can and then take the flap and stretch it under to the back, this is where it gets hard. Kind of hard to explain but I took a couple of pieces of wood and sandwich the flap in between them using vice grips to clamp the boards. I was able to get a good amount of tension that way and then I clamped that to the frame and let it sit for a few days readjusting the tension to get the material pulled far enough to hog ring. I then used some nylon thread to sew around the post to close the gaps there. You can use a heat gun to help relax the material but be careful that you don't scorch or burn them. Vinyl really doesn't stretch much due to the cloth layers use in it. Repeated the process as needed to finish the job. Here are a couple of pictures before and after I stitched around the frame. Hope this helps.

 

[tony-muscle]

Another old trick is to place a couple of thin trash plastic bags over the foam to work as a lubricant to allow for the cover to slide. You can also use the power of the sun in lieu of the heat gun. Leave the covers outside on a sunny day and then install while warm.

 

[Sheriff41]

Guys, I think Thomas is asking about the upper back seat, not the front seat back.

 

[eventhorizon]

Ok, part no is US-13-63-A, which is correct, attached is picture of top, bottom seat looks like that will fit ok

 

[Kilgon]

Guys, I think Thomas is asking about the upper back seat, not the front seat back.

Oops! Thanks for pointing that out. I know that it was a tight fit when I did mine. Once again, had to pull and work the material to get it to fit.

 

[eventhorizon]

Kilgon and tony-muscle got me on the right track, never did upholstery before, you have to REALLY stretch that stuff, I though it was going to slide right on without any problems
Thanks

 

[Kilgon]

Kilgon and tony-muscle got me on the right track, never did upholstery before, you have to REALLY stretch that stuff, I though it was going to slide right on without any problems
Thanks

First time for everything - that's how you learn. As Tony mentioned - leaving it out in the sun on a hot day does help a lot. I sat mine on top of the garbage cans and let them bake in the sun for a few hours. You be surprised just how hot that black vinyl can get. Glad to see you getting it done. Post a few pics when you are finish.