Need Help!! What Is The Best Bucket Seat For A 55 Chevy
 

Hey guys i just bought another 55 Chevy,,,it has a set of racing bucket seats in it now but i want to change them..'im not a big fan for the racing buckets' i already have a 55 with a bench seat so i want to leave some kind of bucket seat in my new 55 for a change,,, My question is what is the best style of bucket that wont look out of place and wont be to hard to get sitting straight,, im thinking 60's model seat but not for sure, what is a good make and year seat you think would look good????? thanks

I like the factory ones in late model Chevy Cavaliers.

If it was me...and I ain't no CHEVY freak... :D

It is the same as a 57 FORD. Only 1964 GALAXIE XL buckets and console looks good in it. The TRI-5 CHEV only looks good (to me) with the 63/64 IMPALA SS buckets (and 409 installation)... :thumbup:

(It's an old fart thing... :pain: )

55 seats
 

I used an aftermarket bench seat with individual back rests and a fold down armrest on my 55. If you don't want to fool around with fabricating mounting brackets, it is worth considering. Bill :)

A lot of people like the seats from the 1960s Impalas.

The mid-60s GTO/Lemans seats work good too. I've got a set in my other Hardtop that have been in the car for over 25 years now.

I know for a while a few guys were using bucket seats from the late 80s, early 90s Dodge Shadows and Plymouth Sundances. I thought if you removed the head rest the seats would look better in a '55/6/7 Chevy.

I've also used early Nova bucket seats in my very first car that were basically the same seats Impalas got.

The 1980s Monte Carlo seats will work too if you can find a set.

I love all that is GM. I had to say that 1st. I wish I owned a 55 Chevy. That too...
Now having said that. I've got a 54 I've been working on since last year that I started driving in April. It's got 1985 AMC Eagle seats. Mainly because it has an Amc Eagle 4x4chassis. Those seats are almost more of a split bench [an effect I increase by putting a blanket over both togather] than buckets and they "nash" or lay back as well, a trick the stock ones didn't do. Now, being as I used that chassis/floor the seats stayed bolted in the same spot...I don't know how well they would workout w/the stock trans-tunnel or if the would be high enough w/out some lifts under them, as I channeled the body very low in front.
In Febuary I bought a 53 from a guy who was broke & needed fast cash. The car had/has alot of issues. He did a "clipjob" on it using a 79 Camero for a doner...but it's seats, front & back, are out of an 80's Chryst-killer LeBaron. They are highback, in a weird gray-colored leather. The driverside one appears to have been electric. They are about an 1 or 2"s lower than I'd like them to be, but maybe it's because I'm only 5'10". They do actually look like they belong w/the car [it's flatblack] though.

Bucket Seats
 

I am planning on using late model Chevy Silverado leather seats in my 57. It is a 2dr H/T and these seats have seat belts incorporated, there is no place to attach the seat belts because of it being a H/T.

Why would you want seatbelts in your hardtop, or any other 50's Chevy thats supposed to be a hotrod for that matter. Besides that last time I looked in modern piece of crap, the belt straps went to the floor & were bolted, so the seat wouldn't really even be attached to them. That was the case w/the Lebaron seats in my 53. The backseat has a couple slots where the plastic buckle-end used to go through though. Which brings me to my only reason to even bother responding to this thread again...If your using a truck seat for the front, what are going to use for the backseat?

The 90% of seats defined as All Belts to Seat systems (ABS) to not allow for forward dumps to get into that car.

Note to all wanting to do this. The only forward dump all belts to seat system that I am aware of is the Chrysler Sebring Convertables. All others if you want to get into a back seat you need to make sure you have track travel.

The other thing to Note as I have posted several times before is that ABS systems require additional floor mouting scrutiny due to the additional weight and the load path of the seat belt forces into the floor. Also be aware that Almost all ABS seats use Pyrotechnic seat belt buckle that are fired by a crash system sensor to tighten up the slack and lock the retractor rachet to make the seats work correctly.

I always say something is better than nothing but dont think they will perform like they do in the OEM application.

I'm not sure exactly how the "good seats for a 55 or 57 Chevy" thread got turned into the "seatbelts thread"...I thought this was a hotrod site, not an insurance company's.
Seat belts do not belong in any pre1960 General Motors product period. If you want safety for vehicle occupants, go buy a more modern car. You are ruining the car by adding anything to protect humans.
Either of my cars is worth more than I am, [or anyone who will own them after I'm dead for that matter] even though they are both just raw [what some are calling ratrod] project cars. If I were to damage either one by my inability to handle road conditions and/or traffic than I surely would deserve to die, rather than survive, having destroyed a work of art....Good captains go down w/their ship...Cowards fear for their own safety over their ships.

I think this dude has the most correct Idea...Keeping it GM, if you can would be sorta cool. 60's [or 70's], seats would be great, but might be hard to find, in good shape & still affordable.

I'll bet mid-80's 2dr GM cars would be; priced decent, available, probably still not to thrashed [in some cars anyway],and [my big hang-up] the backseat might just workout too. Having front & back seats that match is nice.

If it's buckets rather than a split-bench, you might want to get the center console too.

Welcome to the board and welcome to your opinion. Captains are also responsible for the safety of the passengers, crew and enviroment.

The seat belts were from a later part of the discussion thread. That is why they were mentioned. It seems the seat belts are a plus that Jim57 of the thread was talking about and he may not have known there may be a loaded shot gun shell in the buckle. Its not an insurance issue its a personal safety issue when working on the seat as well as an operational expectation issue.

Your idea of whats good or bad are purely your own and that is what this site is about.

Seat Belts
 

My 57 Belair has Corvette suspension,steering and brakes from a C4 and the engine is LS2 at 450 HP. When I go into a hard left turn I do not want to end up on the passenger side. My solution is bucket seats with seat belts. It is extremely difficult to maintain control of investment from the wrong side of the car. Yes the Chevy pickup seats do tilt forward.
Jim

hello guys
thanks for all your opinions it mean alot in making the best choice to make my car look good.... in my case i do need seat belt since my car will be running low 11's at the track... im not a big fan of seat belts my self but to race a car you have to have them... so im really thinking 60's model seats are going to be the best for me.... :thumbup:

I agree...Improperly used modern seatbelts are actually MORE dangerous than none at all in a 50's GM car [see metal dash...see metal dash smash face]and even non-active 60's-style lapbelts or 70's-style 2point are going to have to be floor bolted, through to a crossmember, to be anything less than a slingshot, for launching the driver through the glass. In the case of a hardtop [no posts]you might as well call any belts, "straps for holding in the decapitated corpse", if you ever go upside down. These cars were not made for safety. DO NOT PUT YOUR KIDS [or anyone else you care about] IN THEM. They become even less safe after; chopping,lowering,bending this, removing that, & altering whatnot. When I was a kid that was what it was all about...Having a "death-trap" that my parents generation deemed unsafe...a.k.a. a HOTROD. If safety is going to be a concern to a driver I recommend they stick w/a modern, airbag equipped, unaltered, car, and not try & pretend to have a hotrod.
Above all if your going to drive like a moron, so as to need safety for yourself, then do the world a favor & sell your classic American car to someone who can respect the value of the vehicle, and go get yourself a jap tuner-toilet [they come w/idiot straps already installed!] to crash up! Not a matter of what I think is good or bad, just how things were & are.
It was supposed to be a seat thread...If whoever is still looking I've got a hay bale & a couple of milk crates I'll give you for free.