Here are the clips that were originally used in 1954.I chose not to use the clips on one set of upholstery in my 1954 Suburban. I hired an upholsterer to sew a heavy lip/edge around the attachment perimeter, and then install the covers. The hog rings are out of the way, and the edge is not going to rip/tear.
The original clips cannot be easily removed, and the material almost always gets torn when removing the clips. I have never seen someone post information about a tool for installing/removing those clips. Installing the clips by-hand (pressing in with a screwdriver) was tedious and difficult, and a two-person job.
