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Not sure how to tackle seat mount problem

3K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Chris B 
#1 ·
My next battle is figuring out how to mount bucket seats in my '56 sedan. When I put the bucket seats on the original, raised pad on the floor....the steering wheel is practically on my chest.

The seat needs to be moved back at least 6" which intrudes on the floor space originally meant for the back seat passenger. With that, each corner of where the seat will mount to the floor is at a different height. e.g. the mount in the front right side (closest to the tranny tunnel) is basically a flat piece of floor so I was thinking to raise it 3/16". Directly behind that, the right rear mount needs to be 2 5/16" tall. Etc. etc.

The replacement seats I have just have two flat bars on the bottom so I need to make a surface that is flat so the sliders on the seat can mount and far enough back so that I am not too close to the steering wheel.

I'm sure a million people have faced this problem. I'm new to car restoration and don't know where to start.

Thanks,
Jeff
 
#2 ·
Spacers

what you will find is that once you have figured out just where the seat must go you then driil some holes in the floor pan..then make some spacers that go under each bolt location to make the seat set level..(the way you need it to be)..I would place some large washers under the floor pan in way of the bolts so the seat will be less likely to tear out in the sad and sorry event of a accident..the factory puts bends and kinks in their mounts so the seat just sets in..aftermarket or seats from another car won't have that..

Sam
 
#4 ·
On those spacers I use a piece of pipe or tubing to make the spacers..on the washer under the floor pan I use about a 3'x3" pice of 1/8 plate so one would have to about completly disintegrate the car before the seat would come out..One learns about this deal if you have ever been upside down in one of these things..

Sam
 
#5 ·
Sam,

ok, I think what I'll do is this....

The seat tracks on the seat frame are 3/4" wide.

I'll buy either 1" or 1-1/4" square bar as a vertical spacer. On both ends of the spacer, I'll cap it with some 18 ga. sheet that I have and maybe reinforce it in the corners.

Thanks for the tip. I'll also be sure to weld another piece of plate on the underside of the floor and maybe weld a nut to the underside plate so that I can take the seats out from the top.

Jeff
 
#6 ·
Make the floor plates...

out of 3" square by 1/4" thickness minimum, and drill/tap the mount hole in the middle 3/8-NF thread. Only ONE threaded hole in the plates. When you know where you want the plates drill your mount hole thru the floor 13/32" and around the hole drill 4 smaller holes at least 5/16" dia. Mount your seat and snug up the bolts into your plates under the floorpan, then rosette or plug weld thru the smaller holes in the floor to anchor the threaded plate directly centered under each mount bolt. Nice and neat.
 
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