37 Ford build--IE: old Header issues thread /37 Ford/5.0/GT40P heads

Dave, here's another blurb about the Chrysler van seat I found on another site, if you still want to go that way....



I had read somewhere that a rear seat from a Chrysler Minivan will fit into a 32 Ford roadster pretty well. Can somebody tell me if I need to use the center seat or the far rear seat from one of these vans? Also, is the width of a 32 Ford pickup cab the same as that of a 32 Ford Roadster?

I am looking to start gathering pieces for an upcoming project that started life as a 32 Ford pickup.

Thanks in advance,
Kael

Middle seat . I just picked one up tuesday for my 32 roadster. Mine was from a 92 grand caravan. The back doesnt fold but it really doesnt need to. The brackets that hold it to the floor of the van unbolt and the arm reat comes off in seconds. Wiht some too, of course. They are about 40 to 41 inches wide . There was a nice article in street rodder this issue about using and reupholstering one.
I asked the same question about 2 days before I got the new mag!
You should be able to fing one for about 50 bucks.

IC2/Dave,
The seat height and tilt angle is determined by where you cut off the front legs. I just eye-balled the angle by sitting on the seat on the flat garage floor and sawed away! At present the best measurement is from the floor to the piping along the front edge of the seat where the velour starts and the vinyl edging ends and is almost exactly 9" at present but when you sit in the position the seat goes down about two inches into the padding. I had to get a tilt column to improve easement under the wheel but it is a tradeoff for each person since you have to sit high enough to have eye level through the windshield. I cut off the rear legs shorter than it turned out they needed to be since the back part of the seat sits flush on the floor on the side brackets which leaves almost exactly 4" of gap between the floor and the bottom of the seat. I can use this space to store a beach chair and some tool bags. I think you only have about a few inches of leeway on the front legs because if you cut them off too short the seat will slope forward and that is not good. My seat slopes up about 20 degrees when no one is sitting there and about level when I am sitting there. For what it is worth the seat I have is from the MIDDLE seat of a Dodge minivan.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist. teen rodder

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Originally Posted by Don Shillady

IC2/Dave,
For what it is worth the seat I have is from the MIDDLE seat of a Dodge minivan.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist. teen rodder

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Dave, no sweat, no rush. it's just sitting there anyway. This seat is from a Dodge van and it is also the middle seat. NO Pressure, I was just trying to help. I was surprised by the width and will try again to get pics ( Had to re-charge the camera battery)... FWIW, I used seats from a Toyota pickup, SR5. The drivers seat has a swivel lumbar deal and tilt base as well as a back that tilts and the drivers seat has a heater in the base! I found the pair at a swap meet (frog follies) for 50 bucks!

Randy - my skinny and aging butt would not appreciate 'bomber' seats:eek:

Don, thanks for the good information

Mike, my guess is that what you are looking at is from a newer Caravan - and they got somewhat 'bloated' vs the earlier versions

I've borrowed a set of BMW OEM Recaro's from my upholsterer to see if they would work. He had them in his '32 three window for a couple of years and the measurements across his at the doors is identical if not a bit narrower then my '31. If they fit, maybe!!!!! and his asking price is $80. They might be a bit tall but I'll know by Thursday evening. They're gray velour now, so they will still need recovering (more $$$$$)

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Originally Posted by IC2

Randy - my skinny and aging butt would not appreciate 'bomber' seats:eek:

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Dave, I didn't mean the hard core bare metal kind....LOL! I meant a more comfortable upholstered kind that would feel like nice buckets but might look more appropriate for the look you want. Maybe along these lines http://www.tperformance.com/street_r..._bomber_seats/.

The BMW seats you mentioned might work too. What were your other seats from?

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Originally Posted by randyr

Dave, I didn't mean the hard core bare metal kind....LOL! I meant a more comfortable upholstered kind that would feel like nice buckets but might look more appropriate for the look you want. Maybe along these lines http://www.tperformance.com/street_r..._bomber_seats/.

The BMW seats you mentioned might work too. What were your other seats from?

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Interesting that Speedy Bill is starting to expand the Total Performance line already!! I think they might be too restrictive for my 6'4" but are a lot better looking then the unupholstered versions

My seats are the 51/51/31 Glide Engineering seats along with their foam packs and of course, that nice new leather soft upholstery:CRY::CRY:

The Beemer seats are "on approval" at this time for fit up only so far

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Originally Posted by IC2

Mike, my guess is that what you are looking at is from a newer Caravan - and they got somewhat 'bloated' vs the earlier versions

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You're probably right! I hope the Beemer seat work out. Or at least fit the bill for now.

Well, I have the Beemer seats in the car just sitting on the floor right now. They look like they will fill the bill just right. Both my wife and I sat in the car with the seats and they are actually fairly comfortable with one exception - my right leg - it's about 6" too long:eek::eek:and I'm going to have to make some mods to my fancy Gennie Shifter accelerator pedal. The seat position to the steering wheel seems to be perfect There are advantages to being tall, but owning and driving a Model A isn't one of them - but I think I knew that:o. Tomorrow I'll make up some floor brackets and negotiate with the upholsterer for recovering them with something besides gray velour or a Mexican blanket - I have 4 yards of the original material left so I might just have enough. I have to figure out how to do my 4 point seat belt/shoulder harness with these seats as well

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Originally Posted by IC2

Well, I have the Beemer seats in the car just sitting on the floor right now. They look like they will fill the bill just right. Both my wife and I sat in the car with the seats and they are actually fairly comfortable with one exception - my right leg - it's about 6" too long:eek::eek:and I'm going to have to make some mods to my fancy Gennie Shifter accelerator pedal. The seat position to the steering wheel seems to be perfect There are advantages to being tall, but owning and driving a Model A isn't one of them - but I think I knew that:o. Tomorrow I'll make up some floor brackets and negotiate with the upholsterer for recovering them with something besides gray velour or a Mexican blanket - I have 4 yards of the original material left so I might just have enough. I have to figure out how to do my 4 point seat belt/shoulder harness with these seats as well

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GREAT! Sounds like a winner! I figured you were going to say you're taking 6" off your right leg... :LOL::LOL::LOL: Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the material being enough!:)

The extra 6" of leg length - that might hurt my straight line walking but if I was to walk across the side of a hillside.........

I measured up my upholstery material and have just over 4 square yards left plus a few more square feet of tag ends. I have no idea how much I need to do the seat fronts, but that's probably about enough.

Since I already have my outer seat mount studs installed as well as the bolt holes for the inners, I have a bunch of figuring, cutting and welding to do to make these Recaro's fit. To change these studs out, I would need to lift the body - and that ain't gonna happen!!! Too many hours were spent aligning doors. There will be no fore and aft adjusters nor much of any risers - I'm using 1" oak blocks and a steel framework more so the seat can be bolted in to the car then any any other reason. The seats will need to be all the way back for anyone over 5' tall anyhow:eek:

Now - since I have my steel and my oak, off to do my thing.

This almost makes me reconsider the van seat again - but I'm not quite ready to do that yet

Hey Dave, sounds like the Beemer seats might work out. Cool. I've considered Beemer seats for mine when I get to that stage. I want seats from the '02 & newer convertible because they have a built in shoulder harness but it's really inconspicuous, unlike the GM or Chrylser seats. But I have much to do before worrying too much about seats....LOL!

As for your right leg, maybe you could cut a hole in the floor and put a gas pedal directly on the carburetor. You could rest your heel on the valve cover. That should give you the 6" you need....:LOL::LOL::eek:

I just finished up building the dual framework to bolt the BMW seats down using the existing floor board bolt holes that were for the Glide seats. I guess that I can say that I did get some good practice fabbing angle iron and flat plate stock and a bunch of welding to get these to fit properly. What a PITA!! I have two pair of risers and the two sets of adjusters left over - thank goodness for evilBay. Now, to get the rest of the carpet and interior in and get this project running in forward again and at least make some suspicious black marks in front of the house:whacked::LOL:

As far as post '02 Beemer convert seats for shoulder harnesses - only in my dreams up here in the normally frozen tundra of the Great Northeast. Until I get the seats reupholstered, the 4 point harness will have to come over the top - I'll probably have to install some sort of retainer on the top of the seat to hold it in place, but no big deal there (I say here with bated breath)

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Originally Posted by IC2

Now, to get the rest of the carpet and interior in and get this project running in forward again and at least make some suspicious black marks in front of the house:whacked::LOL:

(I say here with bated breath)

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Glad to hear you're moving forward! Black marks in front of the house.. Now it's ME who is JEALOUS!:cool::cool:

I've been fighting a charging issue on mine. I have a red top optima battery and it's been driving my alternator crazy! I took the alternator to a friends shop last week and after testing we proved it worked fine. I re-installed it and it would continually overcharge. And I mean like 18 Volts!:eek:

So, I pulled it again and yesterday went back to his shop, he rebuilds starters & alternators, we opened it up to replace the regulator, we discovered that the rectifier center terminal was loose as the surgeons at Powermaster had overtightened the nut and stripped the threads:(, and they still shipped it out!:eek: .. So much for quality control!:cool::cool:

I even bought a new battery charger to handle the AGM battery! After re-charging I reassembled everything last night and while the new regulator is holding voltage to 14.5 volts, I tried a new lead acid battery and there is a big difference as the alternator/regulator runs about 14.3 volts and you can hear the load coming on and off. While the optima battery forces the alternator to run constantly.

I wanted to try the new technology of the optima battery but I am giving it up. I don't hear any good things about'em and just wanted to see it for myself. Oh well. Better luck next time.:LOL:

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Originally Posted by 34_40

Glad to hear you're moving forward! Black marks in front of the house.. Now it's ME who is JEALOUS!:cool::cool:

I've been fighting a charging issue on mine. I have a red top optima battery and it's been driving my alternator crazy! I took the alternator to a friends shop last week and after testing we proved it worked fine. I re-installed it and it would continually overcharge. And I mean like 18 Volts!:eek:

So, I pulled it again and yesterday went back to his shop, he rebuilds starters & alternators, we opened it up to replace the regulator, we discovered that the rectifier center terminal was loose as the surgeons at Powermaster had overtightened the nut and stripped the threads:(, and they still shipped it out!:eek: .. So much for quality control!:cool::cool:

I even bought a new battery charger to handle the AGM battery! After re-charging I reassembled everything last night and while the new regulator is holding voltage to 14.5 volts, I tried a new lead acid battery and there is a big difference as the alternator/regulator runs about 14.3 volts and you can hear the load coming on and off. While the optima battery forces the alternator to run constantly.

I wanted to try the new technology of the optima battery but I am giving it up. I don't hear any good things about'em and just wanted to see it for myself. Oh well. Better luck next time.:LOL:

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I didn't think Optima batteries were AGM but a leak proof lead acid but needed a regulated charger - they WILL die - FAST - if they are overcharged though. Makes me wonder about my Powermaster alternator and my 2 year old Optima now as well, but so far the few hours that I have on this engine, the charge rate has been low. I do keep a Battery Minder on it though to maintain the charge. If I have to change to a standard battery, that presents a problem as I'll need a fully vented battery box.

My mission today is to get the rest of the carpet installed - but need better heat resistant contact cement for the firewall - so a quest for some DAP or similar.

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Originally Posted by IC2

I didn't think Optima batteries were AGM but a leak proof lead acid but needed a regulated charger - they WILL die - FAST - if they are overcharged though. Makes me wonder about my Powermaster alternator and my 2 year old Optima now as well, but so far the few hours that I have on this engine, the charge rate has been low. I do keep a Battery Minder on it though to maintain the charge. If I have to change to a standard battery, that presents a problem as I'll need a fully vented battery box.

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We are in the same boat. My Optima says right on it - it's an AGM. Takes a charger with a AGM mode (for lack of another word) to bring it back. I also need to add a vent or change boxes. I think the battery has developed a memory and won't apparently charge past that point so your tender may be your saving grace. I too am less than pleased with the Powermaster name, too bad the assembler didn't just swap out that rectifier and say "hey, this one is bad". But to ship it with stripped connections...:mad:

Anyhow, it's water under the bridge. I'm going to see if I can get some credit for the battery, it's supposedly has a 3 year warranty... we'll see what happens.