Impressive. I too did not know that Lincoln offered head rests in '64, even as a rare option. I know that was offered starting in '68, and it became standard-issue as of 1 January 1969. I have been wanting to get my seats re-done for years now and still can't. I do have the leather to have it done; although the duplication of the '66 patterning details is not exactly right (nor is the shade of green they used), it is still green leather which should fit properly on the seats...and after the complicated mess I went through to get that leather I figure it will be better than what's in Frankenstein now. It's still in its box, however, as there is only one upholstery source in the Junction City area, and trying to arrange something with him is next to impossible. So, that has to wait until I can finally settle into a more developed location...which has
again been delayed, thanks to the coma the engine has gone into this year!
Yes, head rests
can be retrofitted into years that didn't offer them; I can attest to that at least as far back as 1966. I retrofitted head rests into my front seats, having salvaged them and their mounting hardware in 2006 from a '69 organ donor, which fortuitously had upholstery that included an exact match of the green leather seats of Frankenstein. They were in surprisingly good shape and really look like part of the seat (
and they are still adjustable and should provide the protection they're supposed to, although I have not subjected them to such a "test"). See for yourself.
---Tony
