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69 Bench to Buckets . . .

1K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  BLYOTH 
#1 ·
Need a little advice here . . . I'm thinking of replacing my front bench seat with buckets. Can anyone tell me—I trust the buckets will not bolt in directly, but is there a standard bucket/bracket that would allow me to install the buckets without the need for welding? I really wanted a bench to facilitate getting two cars in the garage (backing one in), but I just don't feel comfortable. Also, got any comments about ProCar buckets?
Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Adding any buckets to a bunch seat car will require some level of modification / welding. The main thing being installing the center braces, next to the trans hump, for the inner seat tracks. The existing outside bolt bosses for your current bench trans often will not line up with the tracks you end up using, so it is not uncommon to have to fab new mounting points on the outside as well. A common thing is to move the bucket seat back some, requiring some type of mounting pad for the rear outer track mounting point. There are numerous pics and discussions on here going over this for a 3rd gen.

Regarding Pro Car, they make some very nice "ready to go" buckets for these cars. A handful of styles to choose from. We put a set of the high-back, leather clad ones in a '70. Fit great, felt great. Was able to get the matching leather cover for the rear seat as well from Pro Car. It was a direct order and took a couple months, but well worth it.

A warning with Pro Car, their extra mounting brackets or "cage" is not needed in Novas. Raises the seat waaaay too high. Make your own floor mounts to match your height and seat comfort position.
 
#3 ·
I put ProCar in my 68 and had them upholstered to match my rear seat. I have made several road trips with the ProCars and they are quite comfortable. The springs in my old bench seat were weak and the bouncing up and down with the lap belt killed my back on long trips. I used the ProCar brackets but like SouthBay mentioned they put the seat a little high for my 6'3" body. I had the brackets modified and am happy with the results. Depending on your height the ProCar brackets may work for you. I think I only lowered my brackets about an inch. If you don't have to modify the brackets they are bolt in after you drill a couple holes. I could have gotten head rest but I am pretty sure they were not available in 1968.
407674
 
#4 ·
That is a great example of the Pro Car buckets, low-back in this case. Obviously not stock, but they do not look grossly out of place. The matching seat covers help of course. Their size matches the aesthetic of the original interior. Some aftermarket buckets look like they were removed from a space ship and do not compliment the other panels, etc. if you are trying to maintain some level of a stock look.
 
#6 ·
I wonder how well some of the new panel glues might work to hold the middle brackets in place that cross over the transmission tunnel ?. One might have to do some hammer and dolly work to get a tighter fit as I don't think one would want the glue to be overly thick.
I’m not sure what you are wanting to glue down but I certainly wouldn’t glue down any seat brackets. My seat brackets did not go over the tunnel. I had to drill two holes on each side of the tunnel for each seat. I then went under the car and ran a heavy gauge strap metal from one hole to the next.
 
#7 ·
The reason I suggested glue is I've seen properly done metal to metal bonds using glue and when they go to pull the metal apart, the metal ends up tearing and not the glue joint. It has to depend on the amount of surface bonding area but the below video was something I just saw. Me,I would weld them in or like you suggest back things up to spread out the clamping forces.



I'm not familiar with the older models and the seat mounting methods but on my 73's and 74's, the inner bucket seat floor supports go from one side to up and over the transmission tunnel to the other side. These brackets are then spot welded into place.

Jim
 
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