Thick post Halo headrest installation, alternatives?

[great white]

I've got a set of halo headrests and they're the larger posts.

So they won't just drop in to my seats.

I've read the posts that say to "yank out" the plastic insert and they will fit.

My question is has anyone tried machining these down to fit with the plastic insert?

I can just mount in in the mill and shave them down and they will fit the plastic inserts, I'm just wondering if it's worth the trouble?

Even though the headrests will cover the upholstery slot once installed, I'm thinking I'd rather have the plastic piece to cover the slit in the leather....

Also; does yanking the plastic insert out of the seat break it? Or can it be reused at a later time if wanted?

[chads84svo]

I ground down mine with a hand held grinder. Worked great.

[great white]

I just pulled out the insert and now see why everyone recommends to remove it.

Headrest is is non adjustable once installed so no upholstery can be seen under it.

when I stitch up my leather upholstery I'm just going to sew a "buttonhole" where the post goes....

[ZEN50]

Had mine machined down to fit the stock seats in our 83 vert.

[82GTforME]

I removed the inserts in my '82 when I put the netted halos in it. Like you said, you can't see the hole in the fabric after they are in and down.

[erratic50]

The irony of this is 20 years ago halos were made fun of so often that ultimately I tore out my worn out stock seats and installed 89 GT seats with power lumbar, etc, Also when I started shopping for stuff to redo my interior, high on the list was SVO style small headrests. The ones I have now are the large ones that can rotate on the headrest stem - never have loved those for sure but the crowd I hung out with at the time shut up about the halos after that..

I almost want to go back to halos now that they are once again considered cool, but I guess I'm sour to them a little bit. I like them in other cars - especially the 79 mesh halos - but I guess just not in mine? Sorta like the tramp stamps you see in the grocery store make me smile but I'm happy I married a girl that doesn't have one - if that makes any sense...

Or or maybe it's that sure enough the moment I do put halos back on they will go back out of style again.

One trend I've noticed the 25 years I've owned my 86 is that the 60's guys dog on foxes but consume parts from them by the mountain and the new pony guys dog on foxes in every way imaginable even though if it wasn't for the success Ford saw with the fox theirs wouldn't exist.

I literally left a local car club and never went back in Omaha because of how the foxbody owners were treated and the fact that nobody wanted to talk about restoring or keeping cars nice or actually driving them like they were intended. They just wanted to poker run and do a few shows, not talk about the realities of old cars needing guys that know how to work on old power plants and drive trains and fix rust, etc.

Lots of cocky soles out there too with their new Mustangs. Well, right up until they get the doors blown off of their "superior" stallions by one of my peers in a fox with a nice set of tools and the benefit of 38 years of knowledge sharing and access to old school parts they've never even heard of. Physics says the foxes have some clear advantages even if there is a big camp of people who are constantly in denial.

Foxes are from the only era where for a few years you could buy a new Mustang, do a 15 minute driveway tuneup with an intake silencer delete and more timing then proceed to literally outrun the "hot" Ferrari testarossa and 911's of that time. (How mad their owners must have been about that!)

Whats with people anyway?! They don't have to like us or our foxes but they won't pick up a fan of their stuff by dogging on our stuff and they certainly won't win respect let alone a friend that way either. More like a race and an expensive slice of humble pie.

A black exterior red interior 86 GT 5.0 5 speed was my dream car... and still to this day is my dream car. I started mowing lawns as a kid to save the money of one, I missed a ton of meals in college to afford the payments, etc.

These days I do things with it to please myself and nobody else. I fully support everyone else here who does the same thing too. Enjoy YOUR foxbody, you deserve it!
.

[Broncojunkie]

I never knew people made fun of them. I've always thought they were awesome. And I absolutely loved the netted pace car head rests. I remember sitting in my cousin's car and thinking how cool they were.

[GliDeThuNDeR]

We aren't saying the name of the- *cough* Mustang Car Club of Omaha *cough* - club?

I went to the local AutoZone in my '86 Ragtop and pulled up next to a Black 2016 Mustang GT also flying the 5.0 badge. The owner was standing next to it talking to two employees about the car. One employee pointed at my car and said something to the effect of "It's amazing the difference 30 years can make on a car with the exact same nameplate". The owner looked at my car, looked at me as I got out of my car as if I pulled up in a Prius, and didn't say a word. So me being me I did the same. I had seen his car whilst driving up, and thanks to my tinted windows, he thought I hadn't even noticed his car :P. Hopefully S550 owners get their head's screwed on straight. If he was half as nice as his car was it'd be progress...