Bucket seats shortage?

I have gone from front to back underneath my '72 and replaced/restored everything. Even swapped the 307 for a 468. I found all those items rather quickly. BUT, finding a set of factory bucket seats seems to be impossible. Everywhere I search I find nothing or get no response. I'm open for suggestions.

Greetings,

I think the issue with finding the original buckets is that not only are they expensive, but they are expensive to ship as well. There's really no cheap way to pack and send them. Sad but true. I was lucky that mine was a factory bucket seat car and still had the factory seats in it when I got it in 1992.

Jason

Nice pair of 72 buckets on ebay right now.
I've got three pairs of the strato and hoarding all I can get.

Thanks for the replies fellas,
I've got a set of 68 camaro buckets but they just don't fit or look right. I heard that the early '70's camaros have the same seats as the '72 nova.
I saw a set of buckets in a '70 nova that were out of a '72 monte carlo, they looked really nice.

I believe a couple of the repop places (Classic Industries, Ground Up) sell all of the parts needed to build bucket seats from scratch..if you cannot find what you want you and really want buckets this is a way to get them...of course it might be a little spendy...but as they say "sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do":)

You might want to read this thread if you haven't yet.
http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32475

That's some good info, thanks...........I'm pretty resourceful, I'll come up with something (LOL):)

. I heard that the early '70's camaros have the same seats as the '72 nova.


The high back buckets in the 72-80 Trans Am's and Camaro's have the same seat frames and foam as the 72-up Nova. The main differences are the seat covers and tracks. The covers are available, but the tracks are not.
I made the Trans Am tracks work in my car with some custom made mounts welded to the floor.

John

I had the same problem. When I decided to convert the bench to buckets I looked for more than a year. I finally threw in the towel and had a set of 68 Camaro buckets recovered to match the rear Nova seat. Wouldn't you know it but 3 months later I came across an early 70's Camaro in the bone yard with a set of buckets. $50 and an hour in the rain and mud and they were mine. No jewels by any means but as you know..hard to find. They are comfortably resting on a shelf wating to be revived so don't give up...

Anybody hoarding Bench seats? ANYBODY!?! :confused: :mad:

Didn't think so. :(

Anybody hoarding Bench seats? ANYBODY!?! :confused: :mad:

Didn't think so. :(


I have one just lying around, but I don't think that would be considered "hoarding". It does make a nice place to rest/parts shelf I must say.

I have one just lying around, but I don't think that would be considered "hoarding". It does make a nice place to rest/parts shelf I must say.

Show off :P :)

I just got 66 Chevelle bucket seats that were shipped to me from WA. They guy shipped them in UPS cartons (I can post a picture if needed) and they arrived in good shape. He did ship the seat rails separate, since they added to the height and weight of the seats which drove the cost way up. When I was looking at some seats being shipped from the East Coast to the West, I was quoted about $80 per seat from the buyer...

I have heard that Greyhound bus lines will ship pretty cheap terminal to terminal...

I have a 69 bench from a 66 Chevelle, not hoarding... I want to get rid of it, got buckets.

I was hopeing to find some buckets locally. But I'll just have to deal with shipping cost if need be. I've also got a bench seat that can go when I get some buckets :) .

hey, Nova72 - I'd like to get in line for that bench seat, if you don't mind..

:D

No problem C Farley. But were about a zillon miles apart, shipping would be a killer(LOL). :)

And herein lies the problem with BENCH seats..There are a few people on this board that have bench seats they want to get rid of, and I would LOVE to have one, BUT they are all THOUSANDS of miles away :( ... Its one of those things where you know it would be easier to ship in two pieces, yet if someone gives you a great deal on one, how do you then ask them to tear the stupid thing apart so you save even MORE money on it, and THEN expect them to run it across town to ship the thing on a Greyhound Bus?! Arrrrgggh. :eek: . Sure wish I could find one locally, but thats a FAT chance in hell.

i dunno fellas... i've had quite a few 55 chevs in my time. lotsa guys trash the bench in favor of buckets so much that bench seats have taken on a new value over the years... the last bench i sold was probably 15 years ago... stock split bench "Springs only", no covering WITH the end caps... 300 bucks. and that was a deal.

i imagine the Chevy II/Novas are the same gig...

buckets or a bench, they all have their market and supply and demand still rules the day...

Anybody need a bench seat in Northern Illinois?

Haha, novaNut, My Bench seat makes a great beer rest area, its on top of cinderblocks, And it sure does store parts as well. currently it has a set of headers/ Box of the old brake setup/ And i think i slaped on another box of random parts.

The bench seat i have has perfect foam and everthing is there. Just needs recovering.... I dont see why people have a hard time finding bench seats.... now buckets i understand.

But now i have two pairs of bucket seat in perfect condition.... Im hording one set.

Rennskii

I started to price the replacement seats, it was near a grand for the parts needed to build a set when I quit adding it up. I have a friend that deals in new and used parts, I'm going to talk to him and price the stuff when I get a chance.

I keep a nicely covered bench seat in the front of my box trailer, it's the most popular seat around :D
M

i have a black bench seat out of a 74 if it will work

I added up the cost from Ground Up, to order every part to build your own seats was over $1300.00 without shipping. I guess I'll keep my plastic buckets for a while longer.

If anyone in the Mn. area would like to trade a good '68 front bench for a couple of '68 (I believe) buckets, let me know. The drivers side bucket has a tear about 6'' long and the passenger side is in good shape. I'm not 100% sure that they are Nova seats but they do look like the bucket seats shown in the owners manual. I have been looking for a quite a while for a bench with no luck. Thanks, Jerry

I have gone from front to back underneath my '72 and replaced/restored everything. Even swapped the 307 for a 468. I found all those items rather quickly. BUT, finding a set of factory bucket seats seems to be impossible. Everywhere I search I find nothing or get no response. I'm open for suggestions.

Im in the EXACT same boat as you. Same year and all. Ive restored from the ground up. Cant find seats any where. i even have all of my interior parts that i bought from year one. all the way down to the dome light. My main problem is my car didnt have ANY seats when i bought it. Im thinkin im gonna give up and bolt a couple lazyboys in there and a futon for the back seat:cool:

Yadda Yadda.. "I use a bench seat for taget practice, I use mine for a work bench, I use mine as an aquarium stand" :p ...Like I said earlier, SHOW OFFS! :)

Punksnoted, I have to ask you. Is your handle/nick/whatever a take on an old Exploited song? Everytime I see you post I think of that song...."Punks not dead, Oh No, Punks not Dead Oh no, Punks not dead Oh no its not!".. Just curious.

Yadda Yadda.. "I use a bench seat for taget practice, I use mine for a work bench, I use mine as an aquarium stand" :p ...Like I said earlier, SHOW OFFS! :)

Punksnoted, I have to ask you. Is your handle/nick/whatever a take on an old Exploited song? Everytime I see you post I think of that song...."Punks not dead, Oh No, Punks not Dead Oh no, Punks not dead Oh no its not!".. Just curious.
Yes sir it is! I think you are the only one whos ever figured that out. :cool:

HA! Thats funny...I thought it was a take on that song, but wasn't sure. I wonder when the Exploited are going to be inducted into the ROck and Roll Hall of Fame, only to not show up? :D

FWIW, your version of buckets is probably the easier version of any to find. I would THINK that buckets from a Camaro up to '75? and of course later Nova buckets might work in a '72 since they are the highback buckets.

HA! Thats funny...I thought it was a take on that song, but wasn't sure. I wonder when the Exploited are going to be inducted into the ROck and Roll Hall of Fame, only to not show up? :D

FWIW, your version of buckets is probably the easier version of any to find. I would THINK that buckets from a Camaro up to '75? and of course later Nova buckets might work in a '72 since they are the highback buckets.

I think if they DID get inducted, they wouldnt show up either.

Do you have any idea about the interchange on the back seat? i Know some one with a rear seat out of a 77 malibu...

I think if they DID get inducted, they wouldnt show up either.

Do you have any idea about the interchange on the back seat? i Know some one with a rear seat out of a 77 malibu...

Yea..Fat Chance the Exploited get inducted for anything. Not quite the Sex Pistols, but pretty good in their own right.

I would have to say that a '77 Malibu rear will NOT fit at all. One thing good about rear seats is they usually are cheaper to ship than front seats, for the simple fact that they are easier to ship in two different boxes. Might want to check Ebay or the classifieds here for that one. I am pretty sure that a '70-75 Camaro bucket is the same seat as the '72 Nova bucket- the bracket might be different, though.. They look identical to me except for the cover, that might be an alternative.

Don't feel bad about the missing seats business. I have looked high and low for a bench seat around my area, and have found nothing. I mentioned earlier why I would like to find one locally. My car has CJ7 seats in it, and THEY even look like the highback buckets out of a '72. Still, I would like a Bench in my car and will just have to continue to search.

i have been looking for about 2 months now and i have found one set on ebay that ended yesterday at close to $400 + $100 shipping per seat and they needed to be recovered. CRAZY!!:eek:

Here is a set I found if anyone needs them.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts-Accessories_Car-Truck-Parts-Accessories__1969-72-Chevelle-Bucket-seats-pair-complete-SS-LS6-GTO_W0QQitemZ330241169613QQddnZPartsQ20Q26Q20Acces soriesQQadnZCarQ20Q26Q20TruckQ20PartsQ20Q26Q20Acce ssoriesQQddiZ2811QQadiZ2865QQcmdZViewItem?hash=ite m330241169613&

i have a set of 72 seats that iwould probably part with im in pa. they need to be recovered :yes:

psh, I have 2 sets on bench one brand new - black and the other is blue with cloth inserts. I'll trade one bench for buckets if anyones near me.

I am looking for a set myself. They are getting crazy prices for ones that need redoing.

Found a set in the junkyard today but they aren't the Strato style. They are high backs but have similar plastic covers on the back however they didn't come around the bottom of the seat as far. I should have taken some pics. They were in a 72? Nova and looked to be original.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?