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Seat Foam For Back Seats

5K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  Wildpat 
#1 ·
I am in the process of reupholstering the seats in my 66 convertible and I am considering tackling the job myself instead of paying someone to do the job. I have the foam inserts for the front bucket seats but it appears no one makes the rear seat foams.

What have some of you done in the past to replace the rear seat foam or if not replace it bolster it up or reinforce it?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I bought some foam on amazon in varying thicknesses 1-2". Used the frame to lay down some layers with 3M spray adhesive in between. This allowed me to build up the center section while leaving the seats lower. Once it was all glued and dried I used our electric carving knife to trim the foam into the shape I wanted. Started over covering the frame with the burlap, foam, and cover and they turned out great IMO.
 
#3 ·
Ford used molded foam for the fastback rear seat, but not for coupe/convertible. What they used was a mesh-backed cotton batting.

We sell the proper stuff, matching the original in weight and thickness, enough for one rear seat.. NPD # 66800-1A . Cutting with strong, sharp shears is required.

We also sell padding kits for the seat frame edge (replaces the original jute and horsehair padding that Ford used on the edges of the seat frame sides), NPD # 63436-1BK .

Burlap set is NPD # 918-2 .

Rear seat listing rod set is NPD # 631A08-2A .

If you have any questions, or want some good tips, email our MI Manager Jeff Fein at jfein@npdlink.com . Nights and weekends, all he does is professional upholstery installation. He's probably got more hands-on experience with installing Mustang upholstery than anyone in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't reupholstered over 1,000 Mustang seats in his career. He's the one who researched and put together all of our upholstery installation supplies and gear, as the industry never really "helped" on the rear seats until Jeff fleshed-out that section of our catalog.

Rick
NPD
 
#8 ·
Ford used molded foam for the fastback rear seat, but not for coupe/convertible. What they used was a mesh-backed cotton batting.

We sell the proper stuff, matching the original in weight and thickness, enough for one rear seat.. NPD # 66800-1A . Cutting with strong, sharp shears is required.

We also sell padding kits for the seat frame edge (replaces the original jute and horsehair padding that Ford used on the edges of the seat frame sides), NPD # 63436-1BK .

Burlap set is NPD # 918-2 .

Rear seat listing rod set is NPD # 631A08-2A .

If you have any questions, or want some good tips, email our MI Manager Jeff Fein at jfein@npdlink.com . Nights and weekends, all he does is professional upholstery installation. He's probably got more hands-on experience with installing Mustang upholstery than anyone in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't reupholstered over 1,000 Mustang seats in his career. He's the one who researched and put together all of our upholstery installation supplies and gear, as the industry never really "helped" on the rear seats until Jeff fleshed-out that section of our catalog.

Rick
NPD
Does he do other cars besides Mustangs?
 
#4 ·
wow 1000 mustang seats, i did my 4 and that was enough. never ever again. my fingers still hurt and I did splurge for the correct snippers and squeezers that you sell

but in hindsight it was the most self rewarding thing I have done to the car. really has a wow factor when the doors open :)
 
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#6 ·
Give yourself a little extra padding around the front bottom edge and in the center (not shown here yet) so the frame and hog rings don't protrude / show through the vinyl.
Car Vehicle Trunk Family car


Vehicle Car Car seat Car seat cover Family car
 
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#7 ·
We did ours with commercial burlap and rings locally and the Dashes Direct foam kit for the front and batting from NPD. The covers were done just before the car was parked in the early 2000s. We refurbished the listing rods. The rear is much easier on a coupe that the fronts.

Use good high leverage diagonals to cut the old rings. For the rings we used the same pliers the guys in one of the regarded local custom shops use Knipex 91 92 180 hog ring pliers. The pliers are long reach, high leverage and thick cushion grip handle. The nose is spring loaded to make it easier to position the ring as you don’t have to constantly apply pressure to keep the ring retained in the tool. It was easy enough a 60 year old hippie chick did the work as a first timer with some help from her gruff but lovable husband.
 
#13 ·
Silly sidebar question, but since we've got some expertise going in this thread, are 65-68 seat frames/upholstery interchangable?

Thinking of putting 01 Bullitt front seats in my daughter's 66, and 68 rear seat upholstery would match those better.
 
#16 ·
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I did all the upholstery a couple years ago from the frame up.
First and foremost buy the best vinyl covers you can find, and yes NPD is your friend for that.
You'll need a hog ring cutter, hog ring pliers and hog rings. All this is good and cheap from Amazon.
For the rest:
Home Depot: small zip ties (they work quite well when hog rings are a pain), plastic chicken mesh (on top of the frame in the pix above, much more convenient than burlap panels with steel wire), synthetic weed cloth (on top of the chicken mesh), burlap (as a top layer).
Upholstery / fabrics shop: high density foam in large panel, IIRC 2" thick, 1" thick for the middle bump and little spaces.
Walmart: cotton batting with scrim, cheap and 1 roll is way enough for the whole back. I used some of it to finish the frame sides with 3 or 4 layers bands.
My home: bread knife to cut the foam, even better with an electric knife. Sharp shears. 3M contact glue spray can.

Oh! You'll need a lot of patience and thinking :) It's another of those projects where one needs to think twice or 10 times, and cut once. My results here:

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