TMI offers its Sport bucket kits in standard interior colors, but it’s not a problem if you want to customize your upholstery order. After speaking with TMI’s Dean Satterfield, we selected the standard Mach 1-style Sport kit, but added suede inserts and used the standard ’70 blue interior color for the seat stripe.
When we last left off, our High School Hauler 1970 Mustang was mid-way through an interior makeover that would not only make the car safer to drive, but offer the owner a much more enjoyable driving experience. In Part 1, we gutted the 42-year-old interior and repaired some dash electrical issues, popped a nice stereo in the dash that he could connect his iPhone to (without looking out of place in a classic car), added new carpet, upgraded the factory belts to a more modern true three-point belt setup with shoulder belt retractors, and gave the doors and quarter trim panels all a fresh coat of paint. The big change, however, would be the seating.
We already had the seats from...
We already had the seats from the ’70 removed; the front seats are extricated with a ½-inch deep socket from under the car and the rear seat bottom simply lifts up and out while the rear seat back has two bolts retaining it at the bottom and then it lifts up and out. We found these hog ring cutters in the NPD catalog and they make short work of cutting away the hog rings here on the rear seat bottom.
We wanted something comfortable and safe for the owner without breaking the bank or looking out of place. Sure, a nice racing seat would be perfect for a track car, and while the High School Hauler will serve dual purpose for street and track fun, we're not building a dedicated track rat here. We felt the best solution was one of a mild upgrade to the stock seats. After all, the '69-'70 high back style seats offer modern seatback height, a locking seatback mechanism, and because they're the original seats, you know they'll bolt right in without issue. We opted to keep the stock seats and simply recover them with new upholstery. Enter TMI Products.
TMI has been a mainstay in the classic Mustang upholstery business for well over a decade (and probably closer to two), and over the course of the last few years, has really looked outside of the realm of just stock upholstery kits by designing and manufacturing its own custom foam seat base material and custom upholstery covers with more support built in. The firmer foam and larger bolsters give the vintage seats a nice touch, while offering up more support for classic Mustangs that now have more capable suspensions and brakes. These "Sport" upholstery kits are the perfect answer for a project like ours where we want a stock look with a little flair (and support). TMI offers its Sport bucket upholstery and foam kits for '65-'73 Mustang front seats, and because TMI also has replacement upholstery and foam patterns for late-model Mustang seats, you can even get a Sport style kit for those seats for your daily driver, or if you're adding late-model Mustang seats to your classic Mustang or Ford.
Installing the Sport upholstery kit is no more difficult than standard upholstery, as the covers come pre-sewn and fit the Sport foam perfectly. If you've never recovered a classic Mustang seat before, the work isn't terribly difficult, but it does take some patience, muscle, and time. Expect to spend a good two hours doing your first bucket seat, but the rest of the interior will go by much faster once you get the hang of things. You'll need hog ring pliers and a good bit of hog rings to attach the upholstery at a minimum. We picked up a pair of hog ring pliers, along with enough hog rings to recover a full interior, at National Parts Depot (NPD). While you can get by with putting the upholstery in the sun for a while to soften it up, we recommend picking up a heat gun to help with the installation. Decent ones are under $20 and you'll have a great excuse to pick up another tool! Watch now as we recover the front and rear seats of our '70 coupe and finish the transformation of our High School Hauler's interior.
We wanted something comfortable and safe for the owner without breaking the bank or looking out of place. We opted to keep the stock seats and simply recover them with new upholstery. Enter TMI Products.
2. Once all of the hog rings...
2. Once all of the hog rings have been removed, the upholstery can be rolled over the edge of the seat frame. Depending upon the seat type and model year, you might find the upholstery retained to the seat foam with more hog rings through listing wires. Cut these hog rings out to completely remove the upholstery.
3. Our seat bottom had a pair...
3. Our seat bottom had a pair of listing wires that needed to be transferred to the new upholstery. Often the listing loops are sewn closed during the manufacturing of the seat upholstery. Simply use a pair of scissors or a razor blade to open the listing loop ends if needed.
4. Line up the listing wires...
4. Line up the listing wires with their original mounting location and secure with hog rings using a pair of hog ring pliers as shown. Space the hog rings evenly to secure the listing wires. NPD offers these pliers in a kit with enough hog rings to do an entire interior.
5. Roll the upholstery over...
5. Roll the upholstery over the seat frame edge and use more hog rings to secure the material to the frame. Generally starting at the corners, and checking the upholstery for fit along the way, is a good plan and allows you to adjust the fit of the upholstery if needed without wasting a bunch of hog rings.
6. Our rear seat back and...
6. Our rear seat back and bottom came out perfectly. Some rear seats might need a “booster” layer of foam if the original foam has deteriorated. A 1-inch layer of upholstery foam can often do wonders to fill the seat out with new upholstery.
7. With the easy rear seat...
7. With the easy rear seat out of the way, we started on the disassembly of the front bucket seats by unbolting the seat tracks. Be careful of the seat track return spring, as it has quite a bit of tension on it.
8. Remove the plastic side...
8. Remove the plastic side shields and the hairpin clips that retain the seat back to the seat base, and then carefully pry the seat back arms off of the pivot pins to separate the two.
9. We began with the seat...
9. We began with the seat back by removing the plastic seat back panel. Our original blue panel was trashed, but new black panels from NPD will replace them. Once again we called upon our trusty new hog ring cutter to tackle the hog ring removal.
10. The seat back uses three...
10. The seat back uses three listing wires to hold the upholstery to the stock foam. Cut the hog rings to free the upholstery or cut the upholstery free with a razor blade to access the listing wires.
11. While listing wires usually...
11. While listing wires usually don’t go bad, often you’ll find them rusted and stuck to the upholstery. In severe cases they’ll be bent or broken. NPD rescued us again with their reproduction listing wire kits. These are a great low-buck solution for trashed listing rods.
12. The new Sport foam slips...
12. The new Sport foam slips over the seat back frame first. Ensure the foam is fully seated and then start the new upholstery over the top of the seat and hog ring the upper horizontal listing wire to the foam as shown here. Slide the upholstery the rest of the way down and install the vertical listing wires and secure them to the foam with hog rings, too. Carefully work the upholstery with your hands (and a heat gun if needed) to smooth the material out as you secure it to the foam.
13. Work the upholstery over...
13. Work the upholstery over the seat bolsters (small sections of plastic bags can help) and pull the material tight to the seat frame and secure with more hog rings. TMI installs a zipper in the upper seat back, which helps make installation easier. Simply pull the material tight and close the zipper.
14. The seat back trim panel...
14. The seat back trim panel is retained by standard spring steel door panel clips. You’ll need to locate the holes in the seat frame for these clips and trim the material.
14. An easy way to trim the...
14. An easy way to trim the material is to use a large Phillips screwdriver and push down while rotating the screwdriver to cut away a perfect hole.
15. The stock seat back trim...
15. The stock seat back trim panels were in too poor of shape to bother trying to paint or dye them, so we just picked up a new set in black from NPD. They come with new clips and simply pop in place once you’ve finished installing the seat back upholstery.
16. While we were placing...
16. While we were placing our order with NPD, with knew we couldn’t have a great looking set of front buckets and reinstall four-decade-old pitted seat back release knobs. A new set of knobs from NPD includes the chrome backing washers and new retaining screws as well.
17. Moving on to the seat...
17. Moving on to the seat bottom, the upholstery is removed by cutting away the hog rings on the bottom of the seat base frame and then the upholstery is turned inside out to access the hog rings that secure the listing wires on the top side of the seat foam. Once the hog rings are removed, the upholstery and foam can be removed from the seat base frame.
18. Unfortunately, since the...
18. Unfortunately, since the driver seat sees the most usage, the burlap base that covers the springs was trashed.
18a .Thankfully, NPD offers...
18a .Thankfully, NPD offers a generous burlap kit that has enough material for one bench seat or two buckets. To save on our diminishing pile of hog rings, we used plastic tie wraps through the burlap to secure it to the springs.
19. The new Sport bucket foam...
19. The new Sport bucket foam simply sits on top of the seat base frame. Position it square to the frame to prepare it for the new Sport upholstery.
20. The new Sport upholstery...
20. The new Sport upholstery for the seat base is started by turning the upholstery inside out and securing the horizontal listing wire at the front of the cushion, as seen here.
21. Partially pull the upholstery...
21. Partially pull the upholstery right side out so that the vertical listing wires can be installed in the upholstery’s listing loops and then secured to the foam as shown.
22. Use a heat gun to give...
22. Use a heat gun to give the material some flexibility, and then pull the upholstery down over the foam and seat base frame. Keep the heat source moving to prevent damaging the vinyl. A section of a trash bag or plastic grocery bag over the bolster will help ease the material over.
23. Secure the upholstery...
23. Secure the upholstery with more hog rings. A pair of upholstery pliers will help grab the material safely if you need help getting the material into place.
24. Once the upholstery is...
24. Once the upholstery is fitted, you’ll need to reinstall the seat bumpers and anything else removed earlier. A small pick tool helps to find the screw holes for reinstallation.
25. Reassembling the seat...
25. Reassembling the seat base and seat back and reinstalling the seat tracks wraps up the Sport bucket upgrade for our ’70 Mustang. What a difference compared to the original high back bucket, huh? But we’re not done yet. Since TMI produces door panels for classic Mustangs, we were able to custom order door panels to match.
26. TMI’s door panels are...
26. TMI’s door panels are available in a two-tone option, so we had TMI build us a set of door panels in black vinyl with a black suede insert. To trim away the material for the door handle escutcheon, arm rest mounting screws, and so forth you’ll have to cut through multiple layers of vinyl, plastic, and backing material, so take your time and go slow.
27. The new door panels are...
27. The new door panels are installed with the OE door panel clips (or new ones if yours are weak or missing) and will give our High School Hauler’s doors a wonderful two-tone black vinyl and suede look to match the rest of the interior.
28. Our door panel upper finish...
28. Our door panel upper finish panel (freshly painted in our first half of our interior story) is installed with new screws, a new door lock knob trim, and door lock knob.
29. New armrests in black,...
29. New armrests in black, along with new door handles, door handle escutcheons, and window cranks finish off the upgrades to our doors.