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TMI Upholstery Interior Restoration - Dress for SuccessMake Your Classic Mustang's Interior Look Its Best With TMI's Carbon-Fiber- Look Upholstery From the September, 2006 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
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What a difference an afternoon... What a difference an afternoon in the garage made in the interior of this '68. The two-tone look worked well with our TMI carbon-fiber insert upholstery, black carpet, dash, and door shells, with red door panels, dashpad, and headliner. Note also the rear package-tray speaker grilles were painted to match, and we used new seat pivot trim covers in black plastic for even more detail. With time and use, the vinyl interiors found in our classic Fords succumb to wear, split seams, and sun fading. Thankfully, for many years now the most popular models have had reproduction seat upholstery, door panels, and carpet to renew their interiors. If you drive a Mustang, Falcon, Cougar, Torino, or Fairlane, there's a good chance you can locate everything you need to make your interior look like new once again. And having a nice-looking interior is definitely tops on everyone's list. Let's face it, no matter how faded the paint or how plain the wheels, you notice the interior most when driving your classic Ford down the street. Having a nice, fresh interior with a few upgrades will make the drive to work or cruise night that much more enjoyable. Last year, TMI Upholstery introduced its line of carbon-fiber-looking accent upholstery for early Mustangs. These upholstery kits install just like a stock, single-color kit, but feature a custom carbon-fiber-look insert. Available in several accent colors, you can make a killer-looking custom interior for your ride for only a little more coin. TMI has expanded its Mustang program to include matching vinyl-covered package trays, carbon-fiber headliners and sun visors, carbon-fiber and brushed-aluminum insert door panels, Tu-Tone door panels (for the Pony interior look without the extra cost), and even its own center consoles, one dubbed the Tunnel Tote (for non-console cars) and the other the Console Caddy (for cars with a factory console). With a recent paint job ("Color Us Impressed," May '06 Mustang & Fords) Russ Aljoe's '68 hardtop was looking a little tired inside. In addition, the red interior was a solid color (as was the case with most classic cars). We talked Aljoe into trying the TMI upholstery, which we ordered from Mustangs Plus, for a nice, black-and-red, two-tone contrast. While we had the seats out, we also replaced the carpet, headliner, and dashpad. Check out the final look of the interior, and if you want a similar look of carbon fiber or brushed aluminum for your Mustang, you know what to do--pick up that phone and order your TMI upholstery kit. There are still a few events left this year to show it off!  First things first--remove...  First things first--remove the upholstery kit from the box and set it in the sun. Lay it in the driveway or across some lawn furniture or folding card tables. The sun will soften the vinyl and make it more pliable for installation, which will also give you a better fit and end result.  The front seats on a '68 Mustang...  The front seats on a '68 Mustang unbolt from under the car. Once we had the front seats removed, all seat tracks, trim covers, and so on needed to be removed. Be careful of the seat track spring; it has a kick to it. Take digital pictures or notes as to how everything goes together for later.  Remove the seat pivot side...  Remove the seat pivot side covers to access the seatback pivot retaining pins. Remove the pins with a hook tool or needle-nose pliers, and then carefully pry the pivot off the stud to separate the seatback from the seat base. Now you have two separate seat sections (per seat) to work with.  Starting with the seat base,...  Starting with the seat base, flip it over to find the retaining rings that are holding the old seat material to the frame. Use the tool that works best for you. We work the quickest here with a pair of wire cutters by grabbing the retaining rings in the middle and with a twist-and-pull motion, removing them from the frame. Remove all of the rings until the seat upholstery is free from the bottom of the frame.  Flip the seat base over and...  Flip the seat base over and pull the upholstery inside out as shown (it will sit on top of the seat foam, sort of like a crown). The remaining rings secure the upholstery to the frame through the trenches found in the foam. A helper can spread the foam open for you to see the retaining rings and remove them. Once the upholstery is free, set the frame and seat foam aside, make repairs to the frame, or replace the foam as needed. Ours was in very good condition.  As does much of the upholstery,...  As does much of the upholstery, the seat base has listing wires that need to be removed. The listing wires are what the retaining rings are crimped around and secured to the seat frame. This gives the seat its shape. Usually with years of use, moisture, and wear the listing wires are rusted to the inside of the listing. A single-edge razor blade or a pair of scissors easily extricates them for use in the new upholstery.  To install the listing wire...  To install the listing wire into the new upholstery, the listing on the new material usually needs to have the ends cut open to receive the listing wire. Again, a careful cut with a razor blade will open the listing end, and you can install the wire. The large U-shaped listing wire for the seatback is the toughest one to install, but patience and strong hands will see it through. If your seats have been recovered and the listing wires are missing, you can make new ones from wire coat hangers--just be sure to loop the ends with pliers so they do not cut through the seat.  Place the new upholstery on...  Place the new upholstery on the seat base and start the installation by using a few new retaining rings in the corners. Work your way around, placing a new ring every couple of inches and checking your work to ensure the upholstery is being installed straight and firmly so there are no wrinkles. Once you have the seat base retained, pull down the upholstery around the foam and secure it to the frame. There are more listing wires that go into the end of the upholstery here as well, so don't forget them. We already had a stash of retaining rings (also called pig or hog rings) and installation pliers, but Mustangs Plus carries these as well.  Locate small holes, such as...  Locate small holes, such as ones for Phillips head screws and trim attachments, with a small pick tool as we are doing here for the seatback stop plate.  Larger protrusions, such as...  Larger protrusions, such as the pivot stud on the seat base, can be trimmed even easier. Simply make a small "X" on the head of the protrusion with a razor blade.  Push down the upholstery to...  Push down the upholstery to force the stud through the material for a nice, tight, clean fit, as seen here.  Once the seat base is covered,...  Once the seat base is covered, use the same steps to recover the seatback. The seatback uses a fiberboard cover on the rear. There are holes around the perimeter that the seatback cover uses for attachment via panel clips. A simple trick to cut holes in the seat upholstery is to use a large Phillips screwdriver and twist it into the hole.  The Phillips head screwdriver...  The Phillips head screwdriver cuts the vinyl cleanly in the process as we show here.  By now you should be an old...  By now you should be an old hand at upholstery replacement, so we won't bore you with the step-by-step on the rear seat. Matter of fact, the rear seat, even the fold-down in a fastback, is much easier than the fronts, as the upholstery is attached only around the outer perimeter, making for simple work.  Before the rear seat goes...  Before the rear seat goes back into place, the new TMI vinyl-covered package tray is installed. While we're not the concours cops around here, you do want the proper hardware to mount the package tray to prevent rattles and to give it a finished look, since it is easily seen through the rear window.  The rear seat, completely...  The rear seat, completely reupholstered, is put back into place. The seatback slides over retaining clips at the top and is secured at the bottom by tapping bolts (in case you forgot). Don't forget to clean, service, or replace the seatbelts while you have the rear seat out.  Though worthy of a whole separate...  Though worthy of a whole separate article, to finish off the installation we replaced the headliner, installed new sun visors with TMI replacements, and added new visor hardware from Mustangs Plus.  With the front seats back...  With the front seats back in place over our new black carpet, the Tunnel Tote was dropped into place. The console is available in all TMI vinyl colors (we opted for a carbon-fiber-look top to accent the seats), and is secured to the carpet via industrial-strength hook-and-loop fasteners. The console comes in handy with its drink holders and has plenty of room for a cell phone, a garage-door opener, paperwork, club fliers, and so on.  Because the carbon-fiber-style...  Because the carbon-fiber-style door panels are based on the '67 Mustang style and we're using them on a '68 door shell, there is one small modification that needs to be made, which is a new hole made in the trim panel for the armrest spring nut just aft of the door-handle shaft. As shown here, we simply lined up the panel with the spring nut and marked the panel for a small hole, which we cut out with a utility knife.  After making the small modification...  After making the small modification just mentioned, it was a simple job of installing the door panel retaining clips into the panel and securing the panel to the door shell. Have a helper hold the panel gently against the door shell while you carefully position the retaining clips with your fingers or a pair of needle-nose pliers. This way, once the clips are properly lined up with their holes, they will easily snap into place and not damage the vinyl covering of the door panel.  With the two door panels seated...  With the two door panels seated completely, work can commence on finishing the door hardware. New window cranks, inside door handles, and black armrests finish off the door. We considered red armrests for about two seconds, but thought they would stick out too much color-wise, so we stuck with the black.
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