Front seats, bench seats


The old and reliable.

Yard Art
Yard Art

Posts: 52

Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:09 am

Post Fri Jul 05, 2019 6:29 am

Front seats, bench seats

Has anybody had their seats recovered, any photos. Don't know whether to recover or go bucket seats. Any body done theirs.
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 1887

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:40 am

Location: Wichita, Kansas

Post Fri Jul 05, 2019 9:53 am

Re: Front seats, bench seats

The seat in my truck was recovered before I got the truck and is still in decent shape. A couple things to look out for if you go with bucket seats- most newer seats are thicker, front-to-back which reduces seat-to-steering wheel distance and many are wider, which may not leave room for a console between the seats. Some have found second or third row minivan seats that fit.

Dean
Lifelong Kansan
Grew up with red paint
Moved off the farm 33 years ago.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 485

Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:36 pm

Location: Pocono Summit , Pa

Post Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:25 pm

Re: Front seats, bench seats

Dean is right, not much room. I'd look for a low back bucket or bench seat. The angle of the high back may push the seat bottom too far forward to be comfortable. Check out some of the build threads to see what others have used to help make a decision. I was fortunate to be able to use my stock seat and just rebuilt and re-cover what I had.
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 1341

Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 10:45 am

Location: Central Florida

Post Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:34 am

Re: Front seats, bench seats

I’m not sure how much more space is in the L model vs the K model cabs, but when I was looking for seats, I ended up with BMW buckets for the same reason mentioned (front to back measurements). I did delete the head rests when the upholsterer recovered them. I got all of the track from the floor of the donor 2002 BMW, 330i to help with mounting them in the L. We did add a 1.5” square tubing spacer under the track to elevate the seats for better height positioning. The space between the seats was not a lot, but I was able to create a console using the plastic console insert for a Suzuki (unknown model, from Amazon Auto) and encasing it in 16ga. metal to get it to the right height and fabricated two cup holders just ahead of the seats without interfering with the floor shifter. The seats were 8-way adjustable, but because of the driving position being so limited in these cabs, the seat backs are against the back wall and there’s not much you can do with the 8-way movements.
My reason for going “exotic” was that my wife said that if she was going to ride with me in the truck, the bench seat was inadequate and did not provide the lumbar support she needed. So I got the lumbar support in the BMW seats, but she still won’t ride with me: “ .....it’s too loud.”
I’m currently away from home on vacation, or I’d scrounge up some photos. I’ll be home in a few days and if you’re interested, I’ll post a couple photos. On second thought, go to: http://www.cruisenewsonline.com/1951Int ... ature.html
and you’ll get a view of the cab interior.
L110 owner since 1974, finally rebuilt 2014.

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 125

Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 1:20 pm

Post Mon Jul 15, 2019 6:24 pm

Re: Front seats, bench seats

The springs in my original bench seat were too rusted and broken to recover. For an expedient solution i found some leather Infiniti coupe seats cheap on CL with a shallow backrest that could be positioned with adequate clearance to the steering wheel when the recline was set at a fairly upright position. I like that the headrests to protect the back of my head from hitting the back of the cab. I made a set of brackets to mate the Infiniti seat base to the original mounting holes so as not to hack up the floorboards.

I may go back to a mini van bench seat in the future, though.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 8937

Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:45 pm

Location: Canada's left Coast

Post Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:19 pm

Re: Front seats, bench seats

A major part of an improved ride, for the passengers, is the OEM spring bench seat. We are going to use two OEM bench seats in my 1953 IHC crewcab.
I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Thinking risks being controversial and possibly being offensive
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 4922

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:47 am

Location: Bothell, Washington

Post Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:24 pm

Re: Front seats, bench seats

my L-110 has some bucket seats with fat backs as seat-belt is integral,

yes to above, no room to get my feet in and out of the cab, my buddy put 3rd row Tahoe in his KB,

I need to research something better than what I have,
Gentle Men! you can't fight in here! This is the war room!
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 770

Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2012 2:29 pm

Location: Thunder Bay On

Post Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:20 pm

Re: Front seats, bench seats

You might consider bench seat out of older small pickups. The backrest are not so deep allowing more room for driver. I have buckets out of a Cavalier. They offer extra room and very comfy. Seats from full size vehicles look wrong, just too much for the small cab JMHO

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 8937

Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:45 pm

Location: Canada's left Coast

Post Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:54 pm

Re: Front seats, bench seats

I am amused by the JMHO many persons use. I have wondered just how long the "HO" would stay "H" if the "P" were challenged. After over 40 years of marriage, I have learned to keep my "HP" to myself, in our shared space.
I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Thinking risks being controversial and possibly being offensive

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