Leather Or Vinyl?

  • Sponsors (?)


I think Vinyl was limited to 4-bangers and not available on the later 90's 5.0's. Plus the trim looks different. I've only seen 2-3 Mustangs in my time with true vinyl seats.

More than likely, it's leather
 
It should be easy to see on close inspection of any wear spots as vinyl and leather wear differently.
The leather on my seats was on just the faces while the sides and back were vinyl. And they did not fade the same way.

If all else fails, you can lick the seat face. It should either taste like your dog's chew toy, dinosaur skin or a pen cap. Then your spit will not soak into the vinyl where it should soak into the leather a bit and make it softer until it dries. (Maybe a damp, clean rag is a better idea than your tongue.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Hey, I've got some seats I need someone to lick..



..not sure of the material.:rlaugh:

Sorry. Couldn't resist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I started out making a joke and figured out it actually would work fairly well - if you do not mind the taste of Armor All and old denim.

And I only suggest licking your own seats.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
In a lot of cases when a car is equipped with leather seats the backs of the seats are vinyl. Only the parts that you contact are leather. If you do use one of the above methods, check the seating surface and not the back of the seat.
 
Thank you for agreeing with me.

In a lot of cases when a car is equipped with leather seats the backs of the seats are vinyl. Only the parts that you contact are leather. If you do use one of the above methods, check the seating surface and not the back of the seat.

As far as the door jam sticker, it does not tell if someone recovered them or swapped seats. Since you do not want to lick them (joke) a damp rag will tell you for sure (seriously!)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I'm going to assume the seats in question are OEMish?

If so, odds are 99% that they are leather "trimmed" vs the vinyl seats.

After searching for 30 mins, this is the only pic of OEM vinyl seats in a Fox mustang. They were available on the 4-banger Mustang and 87-88 LX hatch and 87-90 LX coupes with the base seats. The GT sport seats were never available in full vinyl. These are fairly rare seats to find, and the black vinyl seats are probably the hardest to find.

Low-Mile Bargain: 1988 Mustang LX 5.0 Coupe | Bring a Trailer

BTW, the sides and back of the cloth seats and leather seats are vinyl. The seating surface of the leather seat is the only part that's leather.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Lick the seats? In over 30+ years of working on these cars, that is a first. lol

Need to try that on the wife- hey honey, come lick my seat and tell me if it's real leather,....... and then I woke up in the hospital....
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Lick the seats? In over 30+ years of working on these cars, that is a first. lol

Need to try that on the wife- hey honey, come lick my seat and tell me if it's real leather,....... and then I woke up in the hospital....


Definately some 1st class tech right there..

LMAO...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I licked my seats and found out they were cloth.....Doh!!! Leather seats at best are the seated area on the bottom half and back only and the rest is vinyl anyway. Leather cracks over time and the vinyl will not, is it cracked then it's leather.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user