I needed some comfortable and better looking seats for the 1970 mustang project I am working on so off to the junkyard, a local Pick-n-Pull, I went.
I had originally gotten the seats from a 199? Hyundai because I liked the condition and the fact that they were comfortable and the price was right ($25.00 each, unless you get them on a discount day).
Eventually I also pulled a set from a 1994 or 1997 mustang but found that these seats actually sat about an inch taller at the seat platform.
Being 6’ft tall I needed all the room I could get between the seat and the steering wheel. So back to the Hyundai seats we went.
To make the fit I needed to do a couple of things.
1) Remove the original seat tracks from the “old” seats and from the “new” seats.
2) Clean up the seats tracks, as needed, from the “old” seats to get them ready for use on the “new” seats.
3) The handle used to unlock for sliding on the “old” seats needs to be straightened a bit for use on the “new” seats.
4) The trim around the seat adjustment had to be trimmed. I used a Dremmel with a cut off wheel, a utility knife and a file to get the look and size I wanted.
5) To mount the seat tracks from the “old” seat I measured from center to center on the bolt holes and determined that they needed to be spaced 14” apart from each other on the top and the bottom.
6) Using one side of the existing bolt hole I made my markings on where I needed new bolt holes and drilled them through the seat.
TIP:
To determine which side to drill the holes in, feel the area under where the new holes would be and determine which side is thicker or has the metal overlapped. The side that is thicker is the side to drill the holes in and use the other side as your existing bolt holes.
7) Attach the “old” seat tracks to the new seats in the existing bolt hole and your new holes.
I use some stacked washers, about ¼ inch worth, between the seat and the tracks at each bolt hole so that everything would slide without any problems.
I used a washer and nut from below and a lock washer from above when installing the hardware into the bolt holes I drilled.
TIP:
Use some tape to keep the washer and nut together for installing the hardware into the new bolt holes since the area to fit your hand in is small.
8) I verified the fit and adjustability in the car by mounting the seat, only hand tightening the seat bolts, and trying it out.
9) Once the seat tracks were mounted and the fit verified I then cleaned the seats using a vacuum for the fabric area and some rubbing alcohol for the vinyl.
10) I then used 2 can per seat of gloss black Rustoleum vinyl dye, $4.50 each at Home Depot, to do my color change. When doing the fabric area you will need to use a brush to work the dye and the fabric to help keep the fabric soft.
TIP:
Make sure you wait until the dye has dried to the touch, estimated at 5 minutes, prior to using the brush to work the fabric otherwise you may end up clumping some areas of the fabric together. If you do get clumps just wait until it is dry and keep brushing until the clump gets worked out as much as possible.
11) Once I was satisfied with the color I proceeded to repeat all the steps for the other seat.
12) I then placed them in the car for later permanent” mounting.
Tools I Used:
- Wrench/Socket Set
- Screwdriver
- File
- Drill
- Dremmel with cut off wheel
- Utility Knife
- Hammer/Bench Vise
Estimated Cost (no discounts applied)
- Seat: 25.00 * 2 = 50.00
- Hardware (nuts, bolts and washers): 5.00
- Rubbing Alcohol and Tape: 2.00
- Vinyl/Fabric Dye: 4.50 * 4 = 18.00
Total Cost: $75.00
Disclaimer:
I do not claim that this is the best way to do this, or even if you should do this, but rather that this is what I have done. Your cost, results and satisfaction may vary.
Today
