I have a 1992 Camaro with the separate head rests on the front seats. How do they remove so i can put my new upholstery on?????
I pull up and there is a flat metal bar that raises and lowers but how does it release from the main seat????

 

stick a flat slim jim, hacksar blade down along the bar until you feel it push in the retainer, then pull the rest of the way up.
Or take the seat back off and unlatch it

 

I use an old hack saw blade that the teeth have been worn off of and raise the headrest up all the way, insert the blade along the post, slide the headrest down while pushing the blade down. You'll sort of feel it hit / slide over the catch and then pull the headrest out. It takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy.

Also just do a search on You Tube and a bunch of videos will pop up.

 

Thank you very very much. I got it - it is super tricky though you are right about that. I almost broke the blade off a few times.

 

I carry an old hacksaw blade in my junkyard tool box just for this reason

 

Exactly like everyone suggested. Then when you are ready to put the new cover on it, take some wisp paper, plastic wally world bag, (whatever), and wrap it around tight and take a vacuum hose to the inside of the bag and vacuum out the air in the bag/plastic until the foam of the headrest is as deflated as you can get it. The cover will slip over and then pull out the bag/plastic and zip 'er up!

 

Bob88GTA...any further details on how to unlatch the headrest from the back of the seat?
I'm working on my friends original owner '92 GTA Vert who had his driver's seat reupholstered. Problem is, the headrest is stuck on the second latch hole...too high from stock and I can't get the clip to release with a piece of metal as suggested. Does anyone have a parts diagram of the seat back so I can see how to release the clip from behind or just remove the plastic sleeve that is part of the seat back? I'm hoping not to have to completely disassemble the newly upholstered seat!

 

You need to slip a hacksaw blade or similar tool in the front of the headrest support rod.
Then push the headrest down (holding the hacksaw blade in place).
It will trip the lock tang.

Then pull headrest and blade together up and out of the seat.

 

 

Thanks for both of these replies and I did come across that YouTube video which is quite good. The problem is, trying a hacksaw blade as in the video as well as a starter shim would not unclip the retainer. I'm going to fab the 6" X 1 1/16" X 0.015 tool as in the GM instructions and see if I can get it to work. I am thinking the upholstery shop may have damaged the clip when they had the seat and it may be jammed. Not that I won't keep trying from above but I was wondering if anyone knew if this could be released without totally disassembling the seat. I did take the lower cover off and can see part of the plastic sleeve the headrest post slides in but it is solid with no visible clip and mainly being sheet metal of the seat. I'm wondering how that sleeve attaches to the frame and if it can be released and have the whole sleeve slide up through the top of the seat frame where I can work on it on a bench so if anyone one you have a assembly diagram of the seat or have taken them apart, it would be helpful.

Also, Bob88GTA in the first post mentions taking the back seat off and unlatching it. If he or any of you have taken this approach, let me know hoy you did it.

 

A hacksaw blade can slip off to the side of the tab. You might have to try a couple times. I used a piece of metal strapping. I don't think the upholstery people could have damaged it. And yes you have to take the seat pan off of the foam/cover to get at the tab.

 

I just picked up some strapping material and will give that a go.

Thanks for the photo above. I take it the perspective is from the inside of the seat looking back toward the rear of the car and if so, I see where the seat foam would have to be removed to get to it.

 

Success! For those of you that have a problem getting this to work, try some lumber strapping from Home Depot or similar. For under $2 I bought a strap that was 1 1/4" wide by 12". I cut this down and bent a handle and it did the trick. I'm not saying that a hacksaw blade or starter shim etc won't work but sometimes bigger is better. The GM service manual talks about fabricating a tool 6" X 1 1/16" X 0.05". The strapping material I used was a full 1 1/4" inch wide and worked without trimming. Not only did the extra width leave no room for the latch to escape, but it provided a lot more surface area to apply pressure. In my case, I really had to press down hard while pressing down the headrest to get it to work.

 

If it matters, i use a stainless steel ruler, works great, flexible, wide, thin. More so than a hack saw blade, which also works, but the ruler is very applicable.