I’d like to get the seat re upholstered but am concerned about causing damage to the power systems. Can anyone tell me how to remove the seat safely?

1955 312 T-Bird Warwick, NY

The hardest part is getting under the seat to disconnect the motor from the seat.  Otherwise it is pretty straight forward. 
Disconnect the mechanism located at the rear of the seat.  Remove the four nuts holding the seat to the floor.  These nuts are  located under the floor pan.  Originally the seat used studs on the seat runners with nuts on the underside.  Because the seats may have been out before the studs may have been replaced with bolts so you will have nuts and bolts to contend with.

Once you have the seat loose, go under the seat and disconnect the other mechanism.  This is the bitchy part, but worse when trying to reconnect.

The back is held to the bottom by a stud on either side of the bottom..  It is easier to work on the seats, especially the bottom mechanism, if the back is disconnected from the bottom.  To do this you need to stretch the back so it is free of the stud.  I used a strap to do this, an old leather belt works pretty good.  Wrap the belt at the bottom of the back where the pivot point is (the"bootie" is located near this point).  Then pull the seat until it clears the pivot.  I find that this is really a two person job - one to pull the seat and the other to move the seat away from the stud.  Once one side is done, your home free  as you can easily remove the other side.  Do this operation before unloosening the seat from the floor.

Attaching the seat back to the bottom is pretty much the reverse. Attach the seat to the floor(after hooking up the mechanism)   Put one side of the seat on  the stud.  Then take the belt, put it on the other side of the seat at the same point that you used to remove it, stretch the seat and have your assistant guide it over the stud.

Get a brawney assistant to stretch the seat.

I hope this helps - maybe some one has an easier way



54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

I have the seat out of my 55 TBird right now.  It went pretty much as described above.  I was surprised at how much force I had to use to pull the seat out of the floor.  The rear studs angle back and the threads tend to hold the seat in, especially if it has never been removed before.  Fiddling with the clips where the seat frame connects to the power arms is a challenge.  Bring some beer.

Thanks Paul, it sounds like a nightmare.

1955 312 T-Bird Warwick, NY

Really, as i mentioned above, the bitchy part is removing and reinstalling the  mechanism under the seat.  The rest is pretty easy.
One way to get rid of the problem with the angled rear studs (removing and reinstalling) is to remove the rear studs and use nuts and bolts.  While I don't remember when I took out my seat and reinstalled it (on a 56) a hassle because of the angled studs.  But I had a problem with a friends 55 when I helped him with his car.

But if you don't intend to remove the seat again then leave it as it is.





54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

I removed and reinstalled the seat all by myself. Don’t remember it being an especially challenging project.
I had a local auto upholsterer install a leather seat cover kit (with new foam) from Larry’s. He said getting it right was the hardest job he ever tackled!

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

When I was 17, I removed the seat from my bird alone. At 65, I needed help. Seems to me I had the seat raised and forward and when I disconnected the motor/drive mechanism something shifted. Watch out for your hands and arms.

It’s been a long time since I rewired mine, but I think the key only shuts off the control circuit, so the power wire to the relays are hot. Disconnect the battery before you get to messing around back there. And mark the wires when you disconnect the motor from the relay.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Hello Daniel,
Do you remember if any wires need to be disconnected or is it just hardware.

1955 312 T-Bird Warwick, NY

No, it’s been too long.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

I think Paul gave the best description on how to pull the seat. Taking the backrest off first is a better idea than I’ve had. IIRC, the center motor is the up down, and it can stay in place. But the motor under the drivers seat (for/aft) I couldn’t get to the pin that released the motor from the frame, only the pin to the floor pan. So that motor got the wiring disconnected and it went out with the seat. If I had the backrest off, I probably could have lifted the seat enough to get the other pin out. That’s how I’ll try it if I have to do it again. My advice about disconnecting the battery still stands. If you have the seat up, so you can get under it, it will fall to the low position when you disconnect the center motor. So use some blocks or caution when you do that.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ