1967 Fairlane Ranchero Interior Restoration

Before beginning, you should set the new upholstery out in the sun to heat it up. On a cloudy day, use a heat gun (as our man is doing) but be careful not to heat the material too much in any one spot.

The cover is fitted to the frame while the material is still warm. We can tell already that we're going to have a snug fit.

Transfer the listing wires from the old cover into the channels along the bottom edges of the new upholstery. If the old wires are too far gone, then coat hanger wire will work as a replacement.

New hog rings are applied around the entire perimeter of the seat bottom. The pliers shown are specially made to install hog rings. You'd go crazy trying to install hog rings without them.

Moving on to the seatbacks, we see the same gentle persuasion applied to the upholstery installation. As was done on the bottom, new listing wire will be installed and hog rings used to secure to covers. The seatbacks are then reunited with the bench and the hinge covers installed.

Before installing the dash cap, we need to remove the A-pillar interior trim pieces for installation room.

Now it's a simple matter of applying the provided adhesive around the edges of the cap. Before applying glue, we test-fit it to the car to be sure nothing is sticking up that might cause interference with seating the cap.

Now the dash cap is simply set into place. We press down around all of the edges and the adhesive grabs immediately. Once the cap is in position, the A-pillar trim is reinstalled. The completed interior shown in our lead image displays how dramatic the improvement is. Now our Ranchero inner world is on par with the rest of the vehicle.