[bobinbc]

I have a set of 63 SS buckets I want to use in my 65 with 65 covers. From what I can find, the 65 seat base is about an inch(?) narrower than 63. Is the difference in the frame or just the foam? Is the back rest part narrower too?

Also I realize the 63 seats fold forward on an angle instead of straight.

My other option is a set of 65 Corvair seats. Are they the right size and shape for 65 Nova covers?

 

[LSCustoms]

not sure about the 63 seats... i think they are a bit wider than the 65... i do believe that the corvair seats (if they are the narrow-er or 65 corvair version) are closer if not the same size... and the nova seat foam and covers would work with them... I found a thread somewhere a while back, where someone converted the corvair seats into 65 nova seats... and came out good... they stated that any differences were hard to tell... the purists could prob spot the difference... but more pros than cons, if you dont have original seats to work with... imho... i cant find the link at this moment...

 

[LSCustoms]

I believe NovaThug, 64ProNova and a few others have personal experience with the corvair seats... they would definitely know better than i do... my opinion is only based on research and not first hand experience...

 

[heckster63]

Not sure on the corvair seats, I tried putting 63 covers on 65 seats and it didnt work out real well. The bottom wasnt to bad but I added some extra foam because the width difference. 63 are wider. The back didnt work near as well. The 63 cover didnt fit good at all. Seams like the seat back is thicker. The angle messed things up some also. I'll trade you some 65 seats for your 63s lol.

 

[SouthBay2s]

1962 - 64 Nova buckets are different than the '65 Nova buckets. The earlier seats are overall bigger, fold at an angle and using different seat tracks. I seem to recall the bolt spacing for mounting the seat tracks is different as well. Bigger center console, smaller seat basically. Covers, foam and some of the springs are different. The 1965 seat design-wise is also much more like other GM vehicles.

Period Corvair seats can work, but they tend to be bigger than even the 1962 - 64 seats. I have had numerous pairs of Corvair seats, including a set in a '63 Nova, and only one pair was pretty close. I think they were out of a '65. You will have better luck with 1964 - 65 A Body buckets in your '65.

If you want to go correct, I think I know of a set or two of '65 buckets for sale right now in the PNW. PM me and I can pass on the info.

 

[bobinbc]

SouthBay2s I sent you a PM thanks.

Heckster63 I would gladly trade you if I was in your area of the country. As it is shipping would be terrible.

LSCustoms I would need the hockey sticks we talked about in order to use these seats, as you can see by the picture.

Maybe there is someone on SNS who has a set of 65 Nova buckets that I could get a few measurements from?

Also I thought I read a thread once that detailed the differences between the different years of buckets but haven't been able to find it using search.

 

[calbigbird]

From my experience, the 63 seats are just plain wider than the 65. The 63 seats do not allow for a center console other than the flat chrome piece that came on the SS models. The proper 63 Chrome console is very hard to find and expensive when you do find one worth having. I finally just gave up on the 63 seats and went a different direction all together. FWIW

 

[Nova Thug]

I have no firsthand experience with the unicorn 65 Nova bucket seats.. I’m reluctant to believe that they were only made for the 65 Nova only but Bob aka cdl79 and a couple of others are believers.. I figure these other folks are speaking from experience so I defer to them.. If you’re not going to have a 65 center console, I don’t see any reason why the 62-64 Nova bucket seats the couldn’t work. The floors are the same so getting the seats in shouldn’t be a huge undertaking as lone as you have the proper floor tracks for the 63 seats..

Nova Bucket seats - 62,63, & 64

So today I made a bit of a discovery. I picked up some Nova bucket seat frames a few months ago and just got around to dropping them at my upholsterer to get them done. I also had a set of Impala seats that I was taking in to him. I picked these Impala seats years ago from a guy who had a...

www.stevesnovasite.com

 

[bobinbc]

Nova Thug thanks for the tips. I want to restore the stock 65 interior but convert to buckets. The 65 covers wont fit on 63 seats that I have. Trying to find out if I can use 65 foam on 63 frames but it looks like the frames are different. Might have to hunt down my old 65SS with the original seats in it to measure the bottom of the frames lol.

I read your post about converting the corvair seat tracks, very helpful!

 

[droptop63]

the corvair seat tracks will be different right?

 

[Rusty63]

the huge difference i see is the '65 seats are like '66, then they have a metal seat back.

the corvair bucket seats of 65-66 do not have this--at least the set i have do not. they are kind of a hybrid where the seat, not as wide as 63 but not a thin a seat back as 66.

my corvairs don't have a push-button release for the seat back, either.

i used 63 pontiac le mans seats for my 63 and the covers fit like a glove--only the inside seat track is different, and there were little rubber donuts on the seat track to seat base for some unknown reason (extra cushion?).

if 65 is similar to 66-67, my dad used 66 chevelle seats with his 66 foam/seat covers and they look awesome. chevelle might be easier for you to find used than nova.

good luck!

-Rusty

 

[Nova Thug]

I had 64 Corvair bucket seats and all four of the floor tracks were the same as far as the mounting points to the floor. These tracks are the same as the Nova outboard tracks for bench or bucket seats. These are also available in reproduction.. I believe Chevelle also used the same tracks.

the corvair seat tracks will be different right?

 

[SouthBay2s]

This has been covered many times before and at this point should be made into a sticky post. Attached are the two seat track pages out of the late 1966 GM master parts manual for Chevy II, Chevelle and Corvair. "Chevy" here means Chevy II. There are a few errors in here which is normal, but the closer you get to the production period, the more accurate things tend to be. The 1970s books are much worse with errors and many non-service parts are not listed, having been discontinued.

1965 seats are unique to the Nova SS, they are not 100% unique in regards to design and structure. A lot of parts - springs, nuts, bolts, frame sections - interchange with other GM vehicles. Structural pieces basically that would not be seen by the customer and would make financial sense to reuse in production. Covers, tracks and outer visual appointments were almost always different between car lines. The whole package is what makes the 1965 Nova SS bucket a unique, one-year item. The seat tracks are now reproduced and seem to be OK.

The 1965 bucket seat floor mounting is unique to the Nova. Though very similar to 1966 - 67, the width of the seats and track spacing is different (wider I recall). The inner mounting studs on the floor are like 1/2" off from the 1966 - 67 SS cars. Anyone that has tried to use the repop bucket seat braces in a '65 has run into this. They are patterned off a 1966 - 67 SS design.

The 1966 - 67 seats are a completely different seat design from the earlier seats. 1966 was the first year of the metal back and side covers. 1967 the debut of the rear seat lock. GM went to plastic covers sometime around 1968 (I am not sure if that is a hard rule). The 1966 - 67 Nova buckets are basically the same as the A-body buckets of this period.

 

[CdnL79 Registry]

The never ending 63/64/65 bucket seat discussion makes you wonder how General Motors ever survived the sixties. The lack of forward planning and execution must have cost a fortune. Let's not even get started on how they were completely caught flat footed by Ford and the Mustang in 1964.

The 1965 Chevy II was basically a one year car. Was it always planned that way? Who knows, but surely the new styling of '66 had been on the planning table for awhile. To make the 1965 SS bucket seat and console different from earlier models for one year is ridiculous. All they had to do was leave '65 the same as '64...63/64 bucket seats with no console in 4 speed cars....PGs get the 63/64 console. To make it slightly different they could have changed the seat cover pattern. But no, they decide on a new console that ends up to be too high/wide for the 63/64 bucket seats, so they redesign new '65 seats to be slightly narrower...for one year. In the end, the console becomes one year, too, because it's about an inch too high in the front to clear the following year '66 a/c evaporator unit. Bucket seats and console become one year '65 items and everything is new again for '66. Expensive stuff.

In 1965, Chevrolet had nothing to compete with the Mustang. If the changes to the '65 Chevy II were an effort to try and fill that void, it failed miserably. We all know how Mustang sales went. 1965 Chevy II sales were down almost 70,000 units over '64 and there were 1500 fewer super sports than 1964s dismal total of 10,500.

I'm not sure much has changed at GM. The 2019 Camaro SS was introduced to such extreme dislike for the front end design, they had to change it mid year. This can't be inexpensive, and was a further detriment to already sagging Camaro sales that have even worsened since then and may result in the end of production after 2023.

On the plus side, GM has hit it of the park with new Corvette C8....if they can figure out a way to keep the front hood closed

Bob

 

[bobinbc]

Heckster63 sent some great measurement pictures of 65 seats, but I don't know how to post them.

DSC_6346.JPG
DSC_6347.JPG
DSC_6348.JPG
DSC_6349.JPG
DSC_6350.JPG

Not sure how these compare to 65 Corvair seats but they are quite different from my 63 Nova seats.

I think I'll sell the 63 seats and either buy 65 seats or see what else might work. Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[bobinbc]

Just to follow up on this, I managed to buy a pair of original 65 Nova SS buckets. Got super lucky and the new owner of my old 65 SS installed new TMI seats and graciously offered me the seats for my new car. I will take some measurement of both sets of seats 63 & 65 and post up what I find to help others. Thanks for all the info from everyone!

 

[drm101]

Can you send a few pics of your '63 seat tracks? I actually have a seat of '65 seats. I know they are '65 because they had the rpo sheet in the springs. I have a '63 and I'm trying to find some reasonably priced '63 seats. I think I found a set in WI. About a 6 hour drive for me. Thanks!

 

[bobinbc]

Here's some pics of my 63 tracks for you, I started cleaning them up but still have a bit more to do lol

 

[64PRONOVA]

the huge difference i see is the '65 seats are like '66, then they have a metal seat back.

the corvair bucket seats of 65-66 do not have this--at least the set i have do not. they are kind of a hybrid where the seat, not as wide as 63 but not a thin a seat back as 66.

my corvairs don't have a push-button release for the seat back, either.

1965 Nova bucket seats are a one-year only design for Chevy II but the same seats were used in other models with some differences. They all fold straight forward. They do not have metal backs. Don't know where that came from? Never had push button releases either.

The Corvair seats are virtually the same as '65 SS seats and the foam and covers fit good. Just the tracks are different. Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile from the era also used similar seats that are dimensionally the same but have some minor cosmetic differences. All of these seats fold straight forward. '65 Nova seat covers will fit all of these seats better than they will fit 63-64 Nova bucket seats. A whole lot better.

I always liked the '65 bucket seats a better than the 63-64 seats although the 63-64 seats are wider and comfortable.

 

[drm101]

Here's some pics of my 63 tracks for you, I started cleaning them up but still have a bit more to do lol View attachment 419563 View attachment 419564 View attachment 419565

Thanks much!