Thread: re- doing seats help..

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Hi. i have a set of highback bucket seats that I need to re-cover. has anyone taken apart a bucket seat, removed the seperate panels and sewn up the new panels to cover the seat?? i have a idea how to do it, but it would be nice to talk with someone who has done it before so I can see if I am doing it right.. Thanks.. Al

Hey Al, welcome to CHR! I'm building a '37 humpback. I recently retro-fitted the rear seats from a '05 GTO in mine. The width was good for these cars and the leather was already nice so they don't need to be recovered. I'm going to match the front seats in the same way. My goal is to find seats in really nice condition and the right color so I don't have to spend money having them recovered. I will build & cover the side panels myself.

Here's a couple of pics of the rear seat set up:

Nice seats.. Interior looks much like mine.. I have two smaller bucket seats from the same conversion van, but they are to high. Is it possiable to lower the seat height any?? i already pulled the seat base off, but the top of the seat still sits about 4 1/2" above the package tray.. Al

Originally Posted by slantback37

Nice seats.. Interior looks much like mine.. I have two smaller bucket seats from the same conversion van, but they are to high. Is it possiable to lower the seat height any?? i already pulled the seat base off, but the top of the seat still sits about 4 1/2" above the package tray.. Al

You'll need to keep the base at a comfortable height for sitting and being able to see thru the windshield. If you remove the upholstery and foam from the seat you might be able to cut the seatback frame down to a more appropriate height, then modify your foam & upholstery to fit it.

I found a pic of the seats.. You can see the other highback above the first one.. Al

Originally Posted by slantback37

I found a pic of the seats.. You can see the other highback above the first one.. Al

Yeah, those are both pretty tall for the car. Before you commit completely to those seats, I'd look on craigslist and in some salvage yards to explore the possibilities. There are probably some easier and more comfortable options out there. Just a thought. Of course, since you already have these, you can tear them apart and experiment with them.

I do have the original rear seat. I might go with that. As far as the front seats go.. I will keep them high. Back in 93 my Wife and I were rearended by a lady in a Olds 98. We were stoped at a light, and she came up and hit us doing 30mph. The Officer told us that even though we were straped in.. If it wasn't for the high back seats we could have ended up with broken necks. I will go out and take better pictures tomorrow. They don't look bad now. When sitting in the seat my sight is near the center of the window. Nope.. These front seats stay.. Al

Some of the GM seats you can buy new covers for them like the silverado pick up buckets on E-bay, they are from the original MFG. They just roll under and tuck into a groove at the bottom. and welcome slantback, nice to see another `37 fan here...

These are not GM seats.. I will have to look up the name again. I contacted the company once. I was told BIG BUCKS for replacement covers. They would still have the holes in the sides for the arm rests that I am NOT going to use. Al

Slantback, my point wasn't to discourage you from using high-back seats in the front of your car. I understand the safety concerns. My point was that there are many other high-back seats available at affordable prices that might not need to be recovered. As you said, re-doing these van conversion seats is going to be costly. I'm just suggesting that before you spend the money on these, take a look at bucket seats from a Mustang GT, Camaro, Honda, Acura and many others that can be bought on craigslist for pretty cheap and many are in really great condition. Most of these are a good size to fit these cars. For the back seat, you could recover the original with the same fabric/leather as the fronts (if you found some like you want). As 406Rich said, there are many affordable upholstery kits available on ebay designed to fit some of the seats I've mentioned.
Just trying to give you options, my friend. Obviously, it's your car and your choice.

I guess you are right. I will sell the seats I have, and check the junk yard for some new seats. Where did you measure from?? From wheel tub to wheel tub?? Also. Are your front seats then from that same Goat?? What else did you see out there that would fit?? Makes it easier than having to measure all of those cars.. Thanks.. Al

Originally Posted by slantback37

I guess you are right. I will sell the seats I have, and check the junk yard for some new seats. Where did you measure from?? From wheel tub to wheel tub?? Also. Are your front seats then from that same Goat?? What else did you see out there that would fit?? Makes it easier than having to measure all of those cars.. Thanks.. Al

Hey Al,
The GTO front seats are really comfortable but they're a little wide for our car, besides, they have "GTO" sewn on them. The front seats I really want are from an 02-07 BMW 3series convertible because they are a good size for the car and they have the shoulder harnesses built into them that are not big & obnoxious like some of the GM seats with built-in shoulder harnesses. I'm not exactly sure how close the BMW leather is to the Pontiac leather in style or color so I may end up having to recover the back ones. Not sure yet because I haven't bought them yet. I know those seats are going to be more expensive so I keep looking for a deal on them. My ideal is to buy them in perfect shape and the right color so I don't have to do anything but install them. Another front seat with a built-in harness that isn't bad is the Chrysler Sebring convertible.

As for other seats, like I mentioned, Mustangs, Honda's, Acuras, BMW's etc. all have front seats that are around 19-21" wide with the seat tracks being around 18" wide. Any of those can be fitted pretty easily I think. Make sure the front seats come from a 2 door car so they fold forward to give you access to the back seat. Before you go spend a lot of time in the salvage yard, do some searches on craigslist & ebay to narrow down styles & colors you like. They often give the measurements on there too, especially on some ebay postings. You can often get better deals on craigslist than in the salvage yard....at least in my area.

For the back seat, I measured at the level of the package shelf and between the wheel houses. I modified my wheelhouses a little to accommodate wider tires on the back to I needed to keep that in mind. Also measure from the floor up to the package shelf so you know how tall you seat back can be in the rear. Another guy on here with a 37 Ford slantback (BulldogCountry) used the back seat from a Honda Accord for his. He said it fit nicely. You can also use your original seat as a guide. You could also probably fit a couple of buckets back there that match the front if you want.

Also, for more ideas, check out the posts from RecoveryRoom. He posts really amazing pics of his work and you can get some great ideas.

Hope this helps some. I still have a long way to go before I'm ready to permanently install my interior but at least I have the back seat fitted now.
Let me know if you have more questions and I'll try to help. Lots of great people with great ideas on here too.

Randy

Thanks. I did find a set from a Pontiac G6. ( not sure what the G6 stands for though?? ) I am still looking for cloth seats. They are alot cheaper. I won't be having A/C in the 37. It only gets hot here for about a week. I need more of a heater defroster for it. I bought a Atlas heater for it. I just have to go to NAPA and buy the 12 Volt motor for it. Then I have to make something to go over it to blow air up for the defrosters.
I will call the junk yard from work tomorrow and see if there is anything in good shape. I would have to take them out. I don't need the seatbelts threw the seats. I have 3-point belts. I welded a plate inside the door post. Al

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=270655604892 I found this.. Al

Originally Posted by slantback37

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=270655604892 I found this.. Al

Here's some in your own back yard....
G6 seats:
http://duluth.craigslist.org/pts/1977887269.html



New Astro van seats:
http://duluth.craigslist.org/pts/2013950934.html