I added head rests to the rear (60/40) seat backs on my friend's 1984 300TD.

I purchased the complete seat backs with head rests from another car but they weren't perfect. The covers on the seats had a double stitch on the seat ribs and the carpet on the backs was dark brown. I disassembled both sets of seat backs so I could take the head rest receiving hardware from the one set of seats and swap them into the car's current seats. This way I keep the original look and just add the head rests.

First I removed all the hardware from each seat back.


It's easiest to start in this corner to begin pulling the seat cover off.


The edge is folded over and stitched to a plastic band. That band and the edge need to be pulled out of the lip on the seat back. You need to compress the seat foam to give enough slack in the cover to remove it all the way around.


Once the edge of the cover is released completely, you can lift the cover off enough to see a metal rod in the seat cover clipped to a metal rod in the seat foam. The clips need to be pushed down and pried to the side with a screwdriver to release the cover from the foam.


Now that the cover is off, you need to push the seat belt retaining bands through the foam so you don't rip them off.


Then you can lift off the foam.


Here's the bracket in the donor seat. Each head rest has a set of brackets like this. The two silver clips need to be pushed off so the chipboard cover can be removed.


The two flat springs hold the post cups and the white nylon post bushings in place. On the left side it also holds the post lock button down.


Remove both of the flat springs by pulling them through so you can remove the post cups and expose the pop rivets.


I drilled out the rivets and removed all the brackets. Here is the car's seat waiting for the brackets. All the holes are already there.


I pop riveted the brackets into the car's seats.


Then I replaced the post cups and flat springs.


The chipboard covers got clipped back on.


I needed to trim the seat's foam to allow for the new hardware in the seats. Here's all that needs to be removed.


Here is the foam all trimmed and ready.


I lined up the covers from both seats to transcribe the location for the post hole trim rings and installed them on the car's seat covers before doing the reverse of the above steps and putting the seats back together.

Here's the car with the rear head rests complete.

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Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

great pictorial Chad! thanks for posting it

did you use the original non headrest seat skins? Maybe im misreading, but im not sure if you used the donor seat skin with the double stitch, or the ones that came of the non headrest seats.

If you used the ones original to the car, did you have to poke holes in the vinyl?

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I used the original skins and lined them up with the donor seat skins to transcribe the hole locations. Then I slit an "asterisk" in the skins and snapped the plastic grommets on.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Very cool, I'll have to do this. Given Mercedes obsession with safety I'm really surprised they ever sold cars in the 80's without rear seat headrests.

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1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

I'm going to try this in my 'SD this spring.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Great job Chad!

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Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

Another thing: How do you get the head rests out?

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1983 W123 300TD US spec Turbo engine, with Euro bumpers and manual climate control, and manual transmission.

Chad:

Can you tell me how you managed to get the seat backs out of the car in the first place? There is conflicting information on the internet. Do I need to remove the plastic covers on the inside sides of the seat backs and then remove the three big phillips head screws? It looks like there is also a small bracket on the outside of each seatback.

You probably don't have pictures of the removal, but if you can tell me how it's done I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jeffrey

If I'm remembering correctly, I believe I had to use two wrenches to remove a bolt holding the center of the seats to a bracket on the floor. Then there are snap rings holding the outer sides of the seat in the brackets there. Once the rings are removed the seats can slide side to side a bit to get them out of the brackets and out of the car.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

There is a release button that needs to be depressed as the head rest is at its highest position. The ends of the head rest posts/rods have a recessed ring that gets grabbed unless the button is depressed.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Specifically, the button to release the headrests is on the back of the seat, disguised by the carpet. You'd never think to look there if you're used to the kind that's up on the top right by the headrest itself.

-Rog

Jeffrey, if need pictures, the '79 is apart.

Chad, don't remember a snap ring, but the rest is familiar.

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Current fleet:

1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE - Waiting for heart surgery.

1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TDT - Rear ended 23 September 2016 and now looking for a new home.

1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD - Parted out.

1964 Volkswgen Beetle - Vater's since September 1968 and undergoing a restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Sunroof Squareback with F.I. - in need of full restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Squareback automatic with F.I. - Vacationing with her caretaker until he is in better health.

If anyone has more DIY tech articles, check out the below link - we will review the submission and if published on our site, we will give you 10% off and a credit. Please let me know if you have any questions!

DIY PROJECT EXPERT SUBMISSIONS


-Dmitry

Sadly no inside seat hardware.

Just three dark blue headrests, in excellent condition. From an Ohio -> eastern Canada car with tinted windows.

PM me if interested.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22