Aside from using an exact seat from another 1976 Ford Country Squire, how can I find out which seats from other cars will fit into the wagon? I have power seats and split bench with armrests up front. I want to convert the interior color from the poo-brown (saddle...) to a lighter tan, cream, or beige. Any tips?
MANY car guys have successfully used SEM's products to change the color of their interiors. It seems to work really well and I have never heard anything but good words from users. Why change seats when you can color the ones you have?
The vinyl seats in my 55 Chevy wagon were front dark maroon T-Bird seats, rear stock roll & pleated black. I bought a custom colored red dye sort of paint from NAPA and sprayed it with my cheap paint spray gun. Do this outside in plenty of fresh air. Very strong smell. I even used a a spray can type white dye on the head rests and parts of front and rear seats over the maroon and the black. Been on there since sometime around 1988. ??? Only problem is the T-Bird buckets are beginning to crack. I believe they are actually leather rather than vinyl. This is not the fault of the dye or spray paint.
Measure your mounting points, front to rear, side to side, notice any offset with any of the bracketry. I'd stick with other Ford products for sure, if you are staying with a bench or split-bench setup. If you change to buckets, you can pretty much go with anything. If you're handy with welding, you can fab up your own adapters to go from your original seat mounting points to the new seat brackets. If not, draw up an accurate diagram and a metal fabrication shop should be able to help you for not too much $$. Be sure to use automotive grade hardware. A nice crash puts a lot of force on the seat hardware holding you in place. Specifics - anything from a big Mercury from that same period (I'd say '69-'78) should bolt right in. You might even get lucky with a seat from a Lincoln. Grab a matching rear seat and an upholstery shop should be able to adapt the upholstery on it to your flip down second seat. Start making visits to your local Pick-A-Part every week or two.... Marshall
I am not doing a restoration so the 'authentic' looking seats aren't necessary. Want to modify the interior transmission "hump" to provide a center console that goes through the seats and duct the HVAC to vents to the rear seats -- this may not be possible though. All seats are in pristine condition except for the driver's side; where the bottom was shredded by someone's bony butt.
Sounds like bucket seats up front. Shouldn't be too difficult to duct the AC to the center and through vents toward the rear. Even PVC pipe under the console or use the cponsole itself as the path rearward. Salvage yards have many styles of bucket seeats at decent prices. The Chevy in the picture has T-Bird buckets which were maroon. Now red and white.
