Disclaimer:
The installation method shown here may not be totally accurate. If by any chance these instructions cause injury or damage to your vehicle, you or anybody for that matter, neither I, or the E-Series Owners Club will be held responsible. This type of conversion should only be done if you are competent with automotive work. Do this modification AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Introduction:
This modification applies to the installation of particularly the interior (door trims and seats) from an EL Fairmont Ghia into an NA Fairlane. Due to commonality this conversion could be completed by using interiors from any EF/EL Falcon/Fairmont and put into any NA-B-C Fairlanes, DA-B-C LTDs, EA-B-D Falcons, Fairmonts and Fairmont Ghias. This guide is set out as simple as possible, so that almost anybody can perform this conversion. All bolts removed and replaced are metric, so a good metric socket set is advisable.
Stage 1 - Seat Removal:
Rear Seat Cushion
The easiest seat to remove is the rear seat cushion. To remove it you need to climb into the back of the car, and push the seat bottom rearwards and upwards. This needs to be done on both left and right sides of the car to release the cushion from its hooks. Once completed, push the middle belt and buckles through the elastic on the back of the cushion, then remove the cushion.
Rear Sear Backrest
Next the removal of the rear seat backrest is required. To do this, fold down the backrests, and prise out the trim strips retaining the boot carpet to the seat backs. There will be two brackets holding the seat to the floor of the car. Undo and remove the top bolt from each of the brackets and then loosen the bolt underneath, but do not remove it. Once you've done this you can simply lift out the backrest. Keep these in a safe place and DO NOT damage the hinge brackets as these will be required in a further step.
Rear Side Bolsters
With the all the seats in the back removed, these are fairly easy to take out. Remove the striker pin from the side of the seat bolster by unscrewing it. Underneath the bolster is a bolt, undo it and remove it from its position. Remove the bolster. Perform this to both sides.
Front Seat Removal
Another easy step, make sure you have a good socket set for this as cheap ones will break under the pressure. Firstly remove the covers that surround the rear brackets on the front seats. Once these are removed you can start to undo the bolts that hold the seats to the floor panel. Perform this action to the two bolts on the rear of both the front seats. Once this is completed, perform the same action to the front two bolts in the front seats and you will be able to remove the front seats from the vehicle.
Stage 2 - Door Trim Removal:
The door trims are fairly easy to remove. First, remove the screws for the exterior mirror inner cover on the front doors. If you have power mirrors, disconnect the wiring connectors (disconnecting wiring connectors only applies for driver's side). Next, pry off the 3 small plastic caps on each of the door handles to access the screws underneath. Remove the screws, and and remove the handle, being careful not to bend the control rod. You have to turn the handle as you pull it out to unhook it from the control rod. If you have manual windows, remove the window regulator handle by unscrewing it. Located and undo all of the screws that surround the edges of the door trims. These will all be Phillips head screws. Lift the panel up and remove. For the rear doors, you must first remove the quarter glass trim panel. (NOTE: When lifting off the back door trim be careful as you must disconnect the wiring connectors from behind the window switch panel.)
Stage 3 - Installation of EL Front Seats:
This is where the real fun starts. The fronts seats of an EF/EL have slightly different mounting points when compared to the EA-D, NA-C and DA-C. So there are two options at this stage. Visit a Automotive seat repairer and have them replicate the brackets and rails from your old NA/EA/DA seats and have them fitted to the EF/EL seats. This will generally cost $140 per seat. For an easy fix it is probably worth it. Otherwise you can battle on with what you have got. Before fitting the seats you need to change the belt buckle on the seat if you have an NA/EA because the one from an EF/EL will not work on your current seat belts. This is an easy process that involves undoing the bolt on the EF/EL seat that has the buckle on it and replacing it with the buckle from the NA/EA seats that you removed earlier.
Now to install the seats. I will be using the front drivers seat as an example, the same applies to the front passenger but the sides are reversed. Put the seat into the car, on the rear right hand side you can use the bolt from the original seats and screw it into the thread in the floor, making sure that you do not crossthread it. Now align the seat so that the front left/right depending on your choosing, can be fitted back into its original thread. Now with these two sides completed you will need to drill a hole through the chassis for the front corner which does not have a bolt hole yet. Use about an 8mm metal drill bit. Once drilled you should use some 8mm high tensile bolts, put one into the hole and tighten up very hard. The use of an air ratchet gun would be very handy.
For the remaining back mount that is raised above the floor of the car, a bracket needs to be made. This again involves measuring the height between the floor of the car and the bottom of the seat bracket. Then you need to get some reasonably thick gauged steel, a few centimeters long would be ok. Use an oxy torch to heat the metal so that you can bend it into a U-shaped bracket. Once you have done this drill two holes into it, one for the top bolt to go through the bracket on the seat rail, and then you can line up the next hole to be positioned where the original threaded hole is from the old seats in the chassis. Use the original screw and tighten it into the threaded hole. Make sure not to crossthread it.
Stage 4 - Installation of Rear Seats :
Rear Seat Backrests
As mentioned earlier the brackets on the old seats will be needed. The bracket that we need is the one that bolts to the floor and ends at the folding arms. To get this off the folding arms you need to use an Angle Grinder to grind the top off the rivet there. Once this step has been completed on both the EF/EL fold downs and the NA/EA fold downs we are ready to put the NA/EA brackets on to the EF/EL seats. The folding arms will line up properly on the bracket. Obtain 4 of the soft rivets that are just mashed out using a cold chisel and a hammer. Once you have securely fastened the brackets to the folding arms you can put them back into the car. To put them in the car just do the reverse of taking them out of the car. They should line up and be easily fitted in the car.
Rear Side Bolsters
The simplest method with these is to have the new material (from the EF/EL) reupholstered on to the existing (NA/EA) cushion. Once this has been done they will fit in as easy as they were to remove.
Rear Seat Cushion
Another easy step, the EF/EL rear bottom seat will fit in with no problems into the back of your NA/EA, just put it in the same way that you removed the seat before. You will hear a reassuring ping which tells you that they are securely in the hooks.
Stage 5 - Installation of EL Door Trims
The first thing you will note is that the window weather seals off your NA door trims wont fit on the EL ones, so a quick visit to Ford to buy some is in order. Once you have got the seals, the process is rather simple. One important part to note is that the EL's do not have any door lock buttons that raise above the door trim apart from the drivers door. So remove these from the locking system before you put the trim on. Plug the existing plug for the power windows into the switches and it will work with out any modifications (for the rear doors only). Just put the seals onto the door trims then put the door trims onto the door making sure it clips in at the top, give it a few taps along the top and to the side to make sure that the screw holes along the edges of the door line up. Once you have done this just use the existing screws and screw the trim into place. To put the door handles on you may need to bend the existing hooks slightly so that the EL door handles will work effectively. Once you have bent them into a position that allows for good door opening, push the door handle into the trim. Now comes the easy part, using some self tapping screws, line up the door handle, and screw the self tapper into the door's frame. Repeat this for the arm rests and then they will be on securely and safely. Repeat this process for all the door trims. Now you will notice a gap which metal only occupies around the back of where the side mirrors are. You will need to obtain these panels from a wreckers or Fords. Put these on and you will be on your way.
Extra Notes
There is always a limit to how much you want to go with the new look interior. I bought several different plastic surrounds and scuff plates and door seals to match the new coloured interior. If you would like a price list on the parts that I obtained for Ford I am most happy to do so. E-Mail me at FAICE002@students.unisa.edu.au
Conclusion
And there you have it, your EA/NA now is fitted with a you beaut EF/EL interior. You can now brag to your mates that your interior is a lot better than theirs, and the simple fact is, if you cannot afford an EF/EL Fairmont Ghia, why not make your early model E-series Falcon look like it, and feel like it on the inside!
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