Some tips I have posted elsewhere in the past:
Just did two sets of 68 seats, had never done them before. A few tips based on my experience;
1. If they are in good shape, take them apart carefully, take notes, and take pictures. Keep the old listing wires, even if rusted for reuse or reference for making new ones. Mark where the originals used hog rings, misplaced ones can wrinkle the final lay of the vinyl. Wire coat hangers make great listing wire if you need new.
2. Repair any broken/sagging springs. The trimmer at the shop doing my body/paint and conv top got me "zig-zag" and it only takes a little time to figure out how to bend it up to fit. Makes a huge difference if you have worn springs.
3. Buy a hog ring cutter or small pair of bolt cutters (I bought 12" ones after wrecking my hands taking the first set apart). One of the best $7 investments I've made. Side cutter won't work ( I broke two) and twisting out the old rings with pliers wrecks the wiring and is very tedious. BUY LOTS of hog rings if you are stripping to bare frames, I went thru almost two bags (the ones they say do a whole set) on each cars seats.
4. If your going to repaint the frames, consider powdercoating. I painted my convertible seat frames, powdercoated the coupes. A little bit more for PC but way better look and way faster. (Assuming your going for a full strip/restore). If you don't have the drivers seat hinge pin repalcement, get it. It bolts on and was a safety recall. I heard on FoMoCo.com you can still get one free from Ford, but don't know if its true. Think NPD sells 'em for $20 or so. Way stronger then the original welded pin.
5. Get new seat foams if yours are old/original. Not cheap but well worth it. When removing the old foams be careful with the upper part on top rear of the seat and the two strips down the sides of the back. They are not reproduced.
6. Get a good pair of hog ring pliers. You DO need the right tool. It will save heaps of time and frustration.
7. On the rear seats there are two wires running down the side of the hump. These are HARD to hog ring. I used a 8" piece of coat hanger wire, bent it into a U shape and pulled the listing wire from the top down to the frame from below with vise grips. I could them hog ring from below. This took about 20 mins on my second set, from above on the first (before I came up with this plan) it took an hour or more and a lot of missed rings that had to be cut out.
8. New burlap on the frame is nice, the wires are not necessary. I also placed a piece of carpet underlayment between the burlap and the foam on the seat buns front and rear. It will keep the foam from sinking into the springs. A tip my shop trimmer gave me.
9. Soften the vinyl in the sun, or in the dryer (heard about this, here the Queensland sun is real hot so didn't try that one). If they seats are tight (and they will be) work 'em on as far as you can, then hit em with some heat (sun or hair dryer). This will soften the vinyl and allow it to stretch a bit over time. I got a bit agreesive on my fisrt seatback and put a small tear in the stitching, luckily it was in a not too visible spot and repairable. Go slow and take your time. They will stretch and amazing amount if you're patient.
10. Take your time and have fun! It a bit time consuming, but a weekend or two is plenty to get it done.
I found the books to be of some value, the Osborne FAMs show parts, numbers of hog rings, etc. The Art Trantafello Interior Resto Guide book is "OK", has some general tips, but was of marginal use for the price (here it ran me $30!). There are some sequence tips, what to hog first, how to roll the vinyl on the frame. If you want this info I can paraphrase it if you; "start in the middle, work your way out from there, roll the corners over the frame carfully, check alignment of seams before placing any rings".
Sorry if its a bit long, but I wish someone would have told me some of these before I "learned by doing".
Good luck!
Oh, I tried Distinctive Industries and TMI. The TMI was a bit harder to fit (not much) but looks better, IMHO.
Let me know if you have any questions, happy to help out if I can.
