76-elky-bench seat to bucket swap

rci2990 · Wrench Necoa #: 691 Joined: Mar 09, 2003 Posts: 28

i got a 76 and it has the bench seat.i just replaced all of the floor pans and i got a set of bucket seats from a friend.the only problem is the buckets don't have the sliding track,just the seat.what other cars can i get the tracks from.the buckets i have came out of a pickup truck.thanks.

greywolf · Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 8:18 pm Post subject:

You might try the seat tracks off your bench seat, if it's a split bench. Or try some other bucket seats in a wrecking yard. If you find a car where the seats are really shot, you just might get the seat tracks cheap.

In my ElCamino the original seat was a split bench, so there were two pairs of seat tracks. The bucket seats were from another GM G-body of the same age and dropped right in. And the seat tracks looked the same on the original bench and the replacement buckets.

rci2990 · Wrench Necoa #: 691 Joined: Mar 09, 2003 Posts: 28

the bench seat i got is one piece.i'll check in the yards.

bgstk · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2003 9:06 am Post subject:

The tracks from the buckets from any mid-size GM from (probably) 73-77 will work. I would imagine the same would be true with split bench tracks. I used tracks from a 77 Grand Prix in my 74. Be careful about mixing and matching bench and bucket tracks because the seat adjusters may not be compatable. There's other comments on the site about bolting the tracks to the floor and various opinions. The difficult part is the inboard track because the front mounting needs to be "shimmed" up. You can buy weld in pieces to make the installation like factory, but I used carriage bolts through the floor from underneath with large flat washers and a short piece of 1/2" pipe between the track and the floor. Be really careful on the drivers side inboard because the power wire for your tail lighst runs across the floor right about where you need to be and it's easy to pinch the wire and short out the tail lights. I found out the hard way after about 4 hours of searching to figure out why the lites suddenly kept blowing the fuse.

rci2990 · Wrench Necoa #: 691 Joined: Mar 09, 2003 Posts: 28

thanks bgstk thats what i did.i used the carriage bolts with the spacers.i found a set of buckets with the track.with the new carpet in there it looks sharp.tonite i'm going to put in the console and b&m quicksilver shifter.

bgstk · Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:13 am Post subject:

Glad to have been a help.

Tcxd40 · Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:28 pm Post subject:

Hi,
Please take my advice. DO NOT use just bolts and spacers. If not properly set up the bolt assembly will pull right through the floor. If in volved in a rear end colission you may end up through the front wind shield.
Have brackets made that mimic the factory type for the rear and then weld heavier steel plates for the front under the floor boards and weld the rear brackets to the floor just as the Factory did. May seem like a pain in the butt, on the other hand it will been nicer install and could save your life.
Have worked at the local bodyshop and have seen the results of bench to bucket installations that went bad.

RDR

bgstk · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2003 8:16 am Post subject:

I appreciate your concern. When I said large flat washers, I should have been more specific. The ones I used were about 2" in diameter and I used one on each side of the floor pan. If I get whacked hard enough to pull that mount through the floor, it won't matter to me because I'll be dead.

rci2990 · Wrench Necoa #: 691 Joined: Mar 09, 2003 Posts: 28

thats what i did bgstk.with the bolts and washer i used if they come through the floor then the seats coming loose are the least of my problems. Poke Tounge