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How to Subdue a Deadly Aqua Seat Back

Mosesatm

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Jan 18, 2005
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9,009
Arlie and Bill fighting mightily to tag a rare and deadly aqua seat back with a slab of foam. Unfortunately the seat back won the battle after drawing blood and is now locked in the Mustang parts storage room until next week, for round 2 of the battle. Bill and Arlie underestimated the cunning and determination of their foe but they have learned their lesson and will be prepared next time.

Their wives found the whole event quite amusing but the valiant combatants failed to see the humor.
 
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68gt390

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Feb 22, 2004
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Columbus, Ohio
Ah, the joy's of redoing your upholstrey. Let me see if I can remember how many holes I punched in myself versus the seat upholstrey and foam. :mad: Answer: Too many. Hog rings and plier's are not my main area of expertise.
Although I did finally get the job done, I don't think I will try it again in the near future. Good luck fella's.

Don
 

case12

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Oct 8, 2004
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Crystal Lake, IL
Arlie, I know how it feels. I finally slayed a 66 blue seat after 3 attempts.

I gave up on hog ring pliers (I tried several to no avail) and used a good set of needle noose pliers instead. I can almost guarantee sore fingers when you are done.

Once the beast was slain, I had mine mounted.

Casey
 

joedls

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Mar 12, 2005
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Lake Forest, CA
I did all the seats in my 65 convertible. First time I had ever done it. I did it over several months while my car was having paint and body work done. I will never do that again. The few hundred it costs to have someone else do it is cheap in my book.
 

nfrntau

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Rosharon, Texas
I am happy to announce that all blood seen that day was not my own. Arlie unfortunately didn't come out quite so lucky although it is expected he will have a quick recovery and no stitches were neccessary.

So tell me guys, what is the secret of connecting the wire on top of the batting to the wire run through the fabric loop on the apolstery when the seat bun is in between? It seemed as though the hog rings weren't quite long enough to make the required journey.
 

case12

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I had to push my fingers way down in there, and then that is why I used a good set of needle noose pliers instead of hog ring pliers. And I still missed getting the ring around both wires and through everything occasionally. Also be careful to get the seams lined up. I redid one of my seats 3 times because I kept getting the center section crooked.

It was hard, but I would do it again. Casey
 

joedls

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Mar 12, 2005
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Lake Forest, CA
nfrntau said:
I am happy to announce that all blood seen that day was not my own. Arlie unfortunately didn't come out quite so lucky although it is expected he will have a quick recovery and no stitches were neccessary.

So tell me guys, what is the secret of connecting the wire on top of the batting to the wire run through the fabric loop on the apolstery when the seat bun is in between? It seemed as though the hog rings weren't quite long enough to make the required journey.

I put a hog ring thru the wire running thru the fabric loop. Then from the frame side, I used a hook I devised from some clothes hanger wire and pulled it thru the foam.Then I would attach it to the wire on top of the batting. Of course, this was after I had cut slits in the batting and the foam for access. Don't know if I did it right, but it seemed to work.
 

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Mosesatm

Mosesatm

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Both are great ideas. One problem we have that I created is that I added an inch of batting material under the foam. I'm going to try running a wire tie through and cinching everything tight that way, then attach the hog wires beside the wire ties. Hopefully a sharpened finger nail file, or something similar, should be able to cut through the foam and batting. This whole process wouldn't be bad if we had better tools. I can envision using something like a valve spring compressor, with a long arm on the bottom and a power hog ring gun on the other side. Where's Tim Taylor when he's really needed?!!!!
 

jk89cat

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Mar 10, 2005
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vernon hills, IL
when i was still a mechanic i had to replace seat covers on some conversion vans/trucks, i bought a really nice pair of hog ring pliers from snap on. they really tend to work well. the dont have any comfort sleeving on them, but they hold the ring very well and have had great luck doing some of the said above projects on varoius covers. one thing i have found is easier to install back covers is to make sure its sqaure to foam/frame and slowy roll it down and connect where needed . hope this helps, justin
 
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Mosesatm

Mosesatm

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Finally got back to the seat yesterday. Decided to stop fooling around and get serious with that ultimate form of evil so I took a steak knife to it.

Ran the wire tie along the knife from the bottom, stabbed it again but on the other side of the ttachment rod, and ran the tie back down. Worked great. Need to be careful of the knife edge.

If anyone is thinking about doing their own seat covers my only advice is DON'T! A root canal is more fun. Visiting the inlaws, in Fargo, in the middle of winter is more fun.

I have serious reservations about anyone who does this for a living, but I also admire them. It truely is an art.
 
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Mustanglvr

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Dec 4, 2004
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Gee Arlie, those pictures look like you took drastic measures! Did you make sure it was dead first? LOL.
 
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Mosesatm

Mosesatm

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Mustanglvr said:
Gee Arlie, those pictures look like you took drastic measures! Did you make sure it was dead first? LOL.

I was tempted to photoshop some blood on the foam but figured that would be a little too graphic for Sunday morning.
 
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Mosesatm

Mosesatm

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For anyone that does attempt their own seat cover installation here are a few real tips.

You will need to cut off the old hog rings. I used a pair of sidecutters and they worked well. Maybe someone knows of a better tool to use.

When you cut off the hog rings they may fly quite a ways. Wear shoes.

This is an extemely dirty, smelly, and mess job. The old padding and other stuff gets everywhere. Probably not a project for the dining room table.

Don't throw away the padding from the rear of the seat back frames. The foam the Mustang parts vendors sell does not include this foam. Does anyone know where to get this material?

It takes some muscle (as well as a lot of swearing) to pull the vinyl over the frames so don't panic when it looks like there is no way the covers will fit. They will but it'll be a fight.

Do not, do not, do not throw away the old seat covers until you are positive you have removed all the wires from them.

Take tons of pictures all the way through the process. It's not easy to remember where the hog rings were attached once they are gone.

Buy the best hog ring pliers you can find. I bought the cheap ones and broke them in short order.

Buy extra hog rings. They are cheap and if you run out there is really nothing else you can use.

Have the other seat handy for reference. Some times pictures aren't enough.

Call or write if you get stuck.

Here is a picture of the padding on the rear of the seat backs.
 
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68gt390

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Feb 22, 2004
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Location
Columbus, Ohio
Arlie;
Your dedication to this seat thing is impressive. Can we all bring our seats over to your house and you can give us a first hand demonstration - say about 8 hours worth.

Don :rofl:
 
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Mosesatm

Mosesatm

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Don, You bring the seat covers, seats, and drinks and I'll be happy to "supervise". You can bring a model or two if you want, too.
 
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