Mustang Fastback Mach 1 Seat Upholstery (1971-1973) Installation Instructions
This Mach 1 Seat Upholstery fits 1971-1973 Fastback Mustangs.
After years of use and abuse from the sun, upholstery can end up looking faded, worn or torn. This factory replacement upholstery for Mach 1 interiors exactly matches the originals and comes in factory colors. It can also serve as an upgrade for Standard or Deluxe Fastback Interiors. It will give your 1971-1973 Fastback Mustang's interior a whole new look! Replace the seat foam so your seats feel like new, too!
Tools Required:
- 1/2 inch Socket
- 3/8 inch Socket
- 9/16 inch Socket
- Hog Ring Pliers
- 300 Hog Rings (approximate)
- T-49 Star Bit
- T-10 Star Bit
- Phillips Head Screw Driver
- Scissors
Install Difficulty:
- Difficult Project
1. After decades of sitting in the sun, the original vinyl seats in your 1971-1973 Mustang may be ripped, or the stitching may be starting to dry rot, meaning it is time to install new Mustang Mach 1 Fastback Seat Upholstery! For this installation, we will start at the front and work our way to the rear seats.
2. Start the installation by pulling the front seats as far forward as possible to reveal the two seat bolts on the back part of the front seats. Remove them with the 9/16 inch deep well socket.
3. With these seat bolts removed, push the Mustang seat back as far as possible to reveal the front two seat bolts. Remove them with the short 9/16 inch socket, and then the seat may be removed freely. Repeat this for the second seat.
4. Now that the front seats are removed, disassemble one of your front seats by removing the Mustang seat hinge covers on each side with a Phillips head screw driver. After the covers are removed, use a T-49 star bit to remove the two bolts securing the bottom cushion to the seat back.
5. Turn the bottom cushion upside down to expose the tracks. First, remove the large spring that adjusts the seat. Then, remove the tracks by using a 3/8 inch socket on the four bolts that hold the tracks in place.
6. With the tracks removed, once again flip the bottom cushion over and remove the black seat bumpers with a Phillips head screw driver and the seat latch using a 1/4 inch socket.
7. Now, we are left with only the cushion. To remove the old upholstery, start by unclipping the white clips from the seat’s frame. There are a couple of upholstery hog rings in the seat’s corners that will need to be removed as well.
8. Peel back the fabric across the foam as best as you can. If it is on too tight, you can cut the vinyl to relieve some of the pressure. When you have the fabric peeled over the top, there will be one wire on each side that is attached to the frame. Remove the wire by removing the hog rings holding it down. To do this, I used the Mustang hog ring pliers and twisted the old rings off. Save the wire. It will need to be used when installing the new seat covers.
9. With the old Mustang upholstery removed, turn your new cover inside out and put a listing wire into the looped fabric. Turn the cover over and place the looped fabric, with the listing wire inserted, into the slots in each side of the seat foam.
10. Then, pull the fabric and the Mustang seat foam apart so that you can see inside the slot and press the listing wire to the base of the seat. When you can feel it touching the bottom, load your hog ring pliers and place your first hog ring, ensuring it attaches around both the listing wire and the wire in the seat’s base. Attach one ring every two inches.
11. After one side is finished, it should look similar to this:
12. Repeat step 10 for the opposite side, then peel the cover over the cushion so that it is right side out.
13. You are almost finished installing the cover on the bottom cushion of the seat. The next step is to pull the bottom of the cover tight and ensure there are no wrinkles. Secure the cover by using hog rings, starting on the sides. There are holes in the frame for attaching the Mustang hog rings, which you can use as a guide for placement. Once you are finished, flip the cushion right side up and inspect your work.
14. Now that the bottom seat is finished, it’s time to start on the seat back. Remove the black seat bumpers and the two screws from the seat back using a Phillips head screw driver. Remove the Mustang chrome seat latch knobs using a T-10 star bit. Now that all the screws are removed, pull the seat back from the frame.
15. With the hardware now removed from the seat’s back, unclip the white clips just as you did with the bottom cushion.
16. As with the bottom cushion, peel the cover off of the seat. Start by removing the two listing wires on each side of the seat. Save these for the replacement cover. There is a third listing wire running horizontally about two-thirds up the seat. Once all listing wires have been removed, fully remove the seat cover.
17. Slide your new Mustang upholstery over the cushion, and peel the cover back to the horizontal listing wire. Using your hog ring pliers, fasten this wire to the frame.
Now that the top of the rear cover is attached to the cushion, peel the cover all the way down the cushion.
With the Mustang seat upholstery peeled down, slide the listing wire into the looped fabric.
Just like with the bottom cushion, start at the top of the seat and pull the Mustang seat foam apart to expose the seat frame below. Once the rod is in, place the listing wire into the slot and attach it to the frame with hog rings.
18. With the listing wires secured, use hog rings to start securing the sides of the cover, starting from the back of the seat. I placed one ring in each hole on the frame. Once the sides are finished, secure the top and bottom.
19. Now that the bottom cushion and back cushion are both finished, it is time to reinstall the hardware. To do this, you must first make the holes for the hardware to be attached. I did this by running my hand along the fabric over the frame until I found the holes.
20. Once you have all of the holes made, attach the bumpers on the bottom and back cushions, and attach the latch on the bottom cushion.
Attach the seat back by pushing it into the back of the seat frame, ensuring the clips pop into place.
Next, reattach the chrome latch knob using the T-10 star bit.
21. With the hardware fitted, reattach the tracks to the bottom of the seat. When replacing the tracks, ensure that they are straight so they will line up with the holes inside the car.
22. Join both the bottom and back cushions by reattaching the bolts in the hinges with the T-49 star bit. Reinstall the Mustang seat hinge covers.
23. Your newly reupholstered Mustang seats should look similar to this. If there are a few small wrinkles, they will smooth out after a while in the car.
24. Now that the front seats are finished, it is time to work on the rear seats. To get started, remove the bottom portion of the rear seat by pushing down and back to release the clips under the seat.
25. With the bottom of the rear seat removed, look for two screws that hold the top of the rear seat. Using a Phillips head screw driver, remove the two screws and pull the seat straight up, which will cause it to lift away easily.
26. Starting with the top portion of the rear seat, take the old Mustang upholstery off by removing all hog rings from the back of the cushion.
27. After all of the hog rings are removed, the cover will just come off. There are four listing wires around the edges of the seats. Keep the two short listing wires, as they will be needed when installing the bottom seat cover.
28. Now, get your new top, rear seat cover and wrap it around the top cushion’s frame. It should fit tight. Make sure the weaves on the front are straight. If not, the end result will not look too great.
Starting with one side, place one hog ring at each hole in the frame and work around the frame clockwise, ensuring the weaves are still aligned.
That’s it, the top of your rear seat is finished!
29. With the top of your rear seat finished, the last thing to do is replace the cover on the bottom portion of the rear seat. Start by removing the hog rings around the bottom. Don’t forget to remove the rings that hold down the Mustang seat belt holes.
On each side of the hump, there are faux listing wires that are built into the old cover. Remove the hog rings that hold each of these down and the old cover should come completely off.
30. Now, using the short listing wire you saved from the top cushion, place it into the looped fabric on each side of the hump. Attach it to the seat’s frame. This can be done by pulling the fabric all the way through the cushion. It can be accessed and attached from the bottom. Just as with the top portion, make sure the weaves are straight while attaching the hog rings.
Once finished, the seat should look like this:
31. Congratulations, you have successfully installed new Mustang seat upholstery in your car. The final step is to reinstall everything! Let’s start from the back and work forward. Start by replacing the top portion of the rear seat and securing it with the two screws.
Next, reinstall the bottom portion, which just slides back in place. Remember to feed the Mustang seat belts through the seat. When the seat is in place, it will make a “click” noise.
32. To finish the install, all you need to do is install the front seats. To do this, bolt down the non-spring loaded rail first. Then, using the seat adjuster, slide the seat all the way to the front. The spring should now be aligned perfectly with its holes. Install the back bolt first, slide the seat back, then install the front bolt. Do this for each side.
33. After you have the front seats in, take a few minutes and admire what you’ve accomplished. Congratulations on your newly installed Mustang Mach 1 Fastback Seat Upholstery!
