Thanks for the warning as to the parts. Since it’s obviously not going to be a simple swap, I guess I’ll just tuck it away for a while until after my seat project is done.
Berlin WI., hmmmm? Good friend of mine lives in Darboy. Might have to drive the Cougar down when the snow is gone…
No snow down here.
Picked up the Jaguar seats yesterday afternoon. The rear seat back will be a pretty straightforward swap, but the rear seat bottom will either have to be substantially modified or the cover itself removed and stretched over my existing backseat frame. The rear seat back has an unexpected feature of being split 60/40 to fold down. I’m not sure how useful that would actually be in a convertible, but I may go ahead and keep that functional just for the novelty of it.
The color is a considerably lighter than I was expecting so I need to decide whether to dye them nugget gold (to match the door panels and console) or dye everything (including the door panels and console) tan to match the top.
I didn’t realize that was you Jody! Anyway, I am VERY interested in the headliner part of the project. Autocrafters once listed (during the past 7 years, probably about 5 years ago) a headliner for 69/70. When I realized I wanted such a thing (my '94 moostang GT 'vert has one and it makes a huge difference in quietness/reduced road noise), I looked for it and they no longer listed it! I called and begged and pleaded and they coughed up the name of the manufacturer for the product they formerly listed. I called that manufacturer (can’t remember any longer), was a place in Cali, and the person I spoke to had no knowledge of such a product, so: dead end. I feel almost certain that their is something out there somewhere for our cars and I would love to have one. Maybe I’ll start searching again. If you have a shop make one for you, I wonder how different it would end up being than one for a stock 69/70 top? Maybe not at all since you used a 69/70 top frame (or did you?). If your top would be just the same from the headliner perspective, I’d be interested in seeing about a “group buy” if you would entertain that.
In any case, I think the project is fantastic as you probably already know.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Regards,
Bob
Bob, my top frame is from a 68 but I doubt there would be much difference from a 69/70 top frame as far as a headliner is concerned-- especially if it’s just stuck on with velcro. I can’t believe with all of the mustang convertibles running around out there that no one makes one. You’d think they’d sell like crazy. Making one that will fold down with the top would be difficult so I’m thinking more along the lines of something that could be put in/out mainly for winter or extended top-up periods. I’ve bought some generic foam-backed headliner material from an upholstery shop and my plan is to glue it to some sections of thin wood or plastic so it can be folded up and stored in the trunk during the summer. We’ve been having an unusually warm winter so far so I haven’t had much incentive to get going on it. Now I’ve got the seat project distracting me. Too many ideas, not enough time to implement them.
From my Triumph MGB days, I always looked at the convertible top as only good for keep some of the rain out side the car, but it did nothing to keep me from freezing in the winter. If all else fails, you can put some of that thin foil backed insulation in between the bows of the top and the canvas / vinyl.
Jody,
My '94 has a headliner that is screwed (I think) to the bottom of the top frame and it goes up and down with the top folding with the top just as the top does. This is what I would want to do (or I would not bother).
I called Autokrafters about the headliner and they told me (as they told me before that I could not remember) Acme Auto Headlining out of Long Beach, Ca. I looked at their site (wholesale, no retail) but (like originally) could find no evidence of an early 'vert headliner (or a 'vert headliner at all for that matter). They also suggested Kee Auto Top in NC who I called and NG.
Jody I would think that an upholstery shop should give you an idea on how they would do the headliner. See what they say and then you might be able to fab one yourself. Just food for thought.
Steven
I started tearing into the Jag seats this weekend to see what’s what. Sheesh, there are more electronics in just the drivers seat than in my entire car! I’m thinking of ditching the Jag brackets and simply swapping the seats themselves onto the old Cougar brackets. Trying to figure out all that wiring would be a nightmare, not to mention there’s the risk of accidentally firing the airbags lurking inside the side bolsters! Sure, power seats would be neat, but realistically, I’m the only person who actually drives my car so the seats are never adjusted anyway. One thing I hadn’t considered is the fact that the X-Type is a four door so the seatbacks don’t flip forward. I’ll have to get creative there so the kids can get in/out in winter. (summers are easy with the top down, the kids can just jump out.)
First things first, however, and that is to find the best way to dye the seats before I install them. I’m leaning toward the SEM Classic Coat stuff. I’ve decided to dye everything, i.e., door panels, kick panels, console, and seats the same dark tan color as my top. That way, everything will match and look equally newish at the same time.
Jody, if youre pulling the leathers to dye them… how close are the seat frames in size and shape? In the pics posted, they look pretty close. Any chance of putting the leathers on the Cougar seat frames? If the '67/'68 frames arent that close, what about '69/'70 frames? Those Jag buckets in your pic look an aweful lot like the '69 buckets!
The jag upholstery won’t fit on the Cougar frames without some cutting and sewing. The bottoms are close, but the seatbacks are totally different. Here’s a pic of the jag seats installed. For the back seat, I’m going to have an upholstery shop modify the jag upholstery to fit onto the Cougar frame.
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That is going to look nice!
I agree!
Absolutely! Looking VERY nice!
Here’s my idea for activating the heated seats- I found these momentary DPDT toggle switches at Radio Shack. They are a pretty close match to the stock XR7 toggles (which no longer control courtesy lights). The seat heaters require a momentary switch to send a signal to the controller which is mounted underneath the seat. Press once for high, twice for low, third time is off. Having both up and down positions momentary allows me to use a single switch to control both seats. I plan to use the other switch to control the power top motor.
Way cool…
(BTW, does that keyboard say ATARI???)
LOL, that ROCKS…
The idea of using the toggle switch location for the heated seats and power top is a good one. It will keep everything clean looking. Well done.
Steven