We bought our 2000 Mustang convertible on a whim three years ago, and it's been a great little car every since. A previous (crazy) owner tricked it out with all the Cobra upgrades, including the suspension and alloy wheels, and it's been mechanically perfect. We store it all winter, and it's never seen snow or salt -- and the kids just love driving around with the top down all summer.
One thing that's always bothered me is the cloth seats, which were slightly stained when we got the car. Apparently the P.O. had left the top down in the rain, and the seats got saturated.
We tried everything known to man to get those stains out -- no dice. So, every time I've driven the thing, those stains on the passenger seat have been staring me in the face, bugging me every time...
So, I at last endeavored to find leather seats for our little 'Stang. I found them last week on Ebay (of course!) being sold by a national used auto parts chain called A-Reliable Auto Parts, which posts under the corporate title of "LKQ". The seats were out of a wrecked 2002 convertible, were at their Blue Island, IL, site -- and the price was just $175, which I thought was a real bargain.
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Plan B was to drive over and pick 'em up in our Mustang, and swap the seats out right then and there. The morning we were to depart it was dumping a cold, steady rain, and I didn't know if we'd be able to work under cover, so we took the van instead -- which turned out to be a good choice. More on that later.
The drive took around 4 hours each way, and around $60 worth of gas -- so the logic behind saving the $100+ in shipping was probably faulty! Still, it was kinda nice to just kick back in our big Fod Econoline van and cruise -- it's our hotel's courtesy van, and usually doesn't run for more than 10 minutes at a time. Probably burned out a bunch of carbon deposits on the trip...
Once we got there, I couldn't believe it. This is NOT your father's junk yard! Everything is computerized, the yard and building is huge, organized, and clean, with a bank of computerized "tellers" who can find any and all parts simply by typing them into their database.
I gave 'em my Ebay receipt, and within minutes a guy brought the seats around to our van. Talk about service! I was very impressed, and if any of you guys are looking for a source for Mustang parts, call them!
Today I installed 'em, and quickly discovered a couple of minor problems.
1, The colors weren't what the photos on Ebay showed -- the seats are a light brown, rather than a dark brown -- but they look good anyway.
- The bolts holding the backs of the seat rails simply go through the frame, and stick out the bottom of the car. This means they are subject to rain and road hazards, and, as a result, were an absolute bear to remove. In fact, I couldn't get 'em out with my 1/4-inch drive socket wrench. Of course I didn't have the right sized socket for my
Eventually, with liberal application of penetrating oil, and much grunting, groaning and swearing, the bolts -- and seats -- came out.
- The vertical portion of the back seat has two brackets that are supposed to attach to the frame with two bolts. The holes on my 2000 model do NOT line up with the brackets on the 2002 seats, despite being assured that the years were identical. Luckily, this doesn't seem to matter, since the bottom of the back seat snaps into place, and securely prevents the vertical part from moving.
In the end, it took $175 for the seats, $60 in gas, a full day of driving to get 'em, $5 for a 15 mm 1/2" drive socket, and then several hours of grunt work to get the leather into my 2000 convertible -- but it was worth it. They look great, feel great, smell great -- and at last I don't have to look at those stains!
-- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA
2000 Mustang Convertible