I like the dimensions and everything, probably gonna chop off the headrest. or not, don't really know yet. I think they need to be higher a little. Can anyone tell me the steps pertaining to getting seats to fit properly? I know alot of guys are custom fabbing a frame for them. Oh, and the driver seat is power!!!!!!!!!!!

Thx for your help guys!! I'm super excited!!

 

Jason

it looks like you have all the orig hardware/slides/etc... I started out with a bench seat that was also too low and just raised the seat up with two pieces (4 in your case) of 2x2 tubing drilled to match the holes in the seat mounting tabs and right down through the floor...

there is an article on my site if you're interested in pics

john

 

My buckets were about 1 1/2" too low. I built my risers out of 1x1" square tube. The 6 way adjusters took care of the rest. If your driver's seat is 6 way power, make mounts so the when the seat is all the way down and back, the front of the seat is ~14" off the floor. Raise it a little more if they only adjust forwards/back. Make sure you mount then thru the original cross braces under the cab or add 3x3x1/8" doubler plates under the floor around the bolts. My risers are made so they bolt to the original seat mounting points, then they bolt to the floor at the original mounting points on the outside front and rear and the inside rear goes thru the same cross brace. The front inside mounting points have doublers under the floor. The PO had bolted the driver's side rear inside corner thru the thin sheet metal fuel tank sender inspection cover that was attached to the floor with 3 little metal screws! There are pix of mine in one of my galleries.

 

jniolon, I thought I should get the seats mocked up, mock up a steering column and measure how big of a drop i needed, then install steering column and seats. What's your opinion? I don't have a steering column yet.

 

that will work, although you can go ahead and install the seat checking the travel forward and back. I'd run the seat completely back and use that as you back point... then you'll have full adjustment forward... (pedals in yet ??? you need to have plenty of room for adjustment for your brake/clutch/etc)

you can set the height by how your arm hangs out the window... parallel is best and a little down angle. once the seats are where you want them you can mock up your column with pvc pipe 1.5" or 2" and something for a wheel. Cut you a circle of cardboard or hardboard the diameter of your wheel...screw it to a pipe cap and put it on the mock up column... get it where you want it and get wife/s.o. buddy... whoever to measure the distance from the bottom of the dash to the top of the column...... if you're getting a tilt column you can fudge a little... but you want a straight column pretty close for the most comfortable driving... too high, your shoulders are going to be aching... too low and it's cumbersome to drive and make the turns...

you should also be looking at mounting points for your 3 point seatbelts now.. BTW.... nice seats.. what did they come out of

john

 

They came out of a 70's GM van or truck or something. PO didn't really know. i have brake pedal installed, but no gas pedal. I like the arm parallel to window trick. sounds good. Have my fake steering column and wheel ready for mock up. Thanks for the help. I've been looking at your website. Lots of help! thx

 

I don't know if you drove your truck at all with the stock column and wheel. These trucks were originally set up with armstrong steering and for slow driving with a lot of maneuvering. (almost all parking was parallel to the curb, parking lots were nearly unknown) so the steering wheel was set fairly flat, what I call the bus driver position, and the wheel was fairly large for more leverage, the seating position was pretty upright. Today things have changed, we tend to be used to the more vertical wheel, smaller diameter for use with power steering and a lower more relaxed seating position for long distance driving comfort and to give our "expanded physiques" more room. I would suggest getting your column (tilt or straight?) and steering wheel first then mocking it and your seats in place and actually sit behind the wheel, for at least 1/2 hr or more making steering movements and reaching for your dash controls before deciding on the column drop length and seat height. A 30" column works well for almost any steering box and wheel from flat to moderate dish. I think a 15-16" wheel is a good compromise diameter if using power steering so it's not too sensitive, gives a little extra belly room especially if using a tilt column set to a more upright angle, without looking like it belongs on a go kart than a truck like most of the commonly available 13" "tuner or low rider" wheels. Drops are easy to come by or can be easily fabricated. If you get one that is a little too short you can always add a spacer between it and the dash. a 4 1/2" drop is most commonly used.

 

Start out with a couple hunks o lumber. Get your column mounted, pedals where you want them etc. Then do what these guys suggest a little later for final mount. It's really nice to get the seat and wheel mounted up perfect in these little cabs, and you may not have much wiggle room depending on how tall you are.

 

I use the instructions from ididit to mock up the steering column, it works well. The first thing it calls for is to set your seat height with the seat that you plan to use,,, no lawn chairs! hehehe
During this process I use several bunji cords to hold the column where I want it initially, then I fine tune the fit and angle by adding old chunks of 2x4 and plywood spacers until I get the right angle of the dangle.

 

I think I had a five gallon bucket lid "bolted" to my column in my mock up scenario as well.

Looks really stupid and absolutely worth the effort. You have to mock up everything involved or you'll wish you did later.

 

Used the 14.4 v battery and guessed which was negative!! It works! 6 way power! Not bad for $40

 

So I moved the seat all the way down and all the way back but I'm thinking I should just lower the seat to mid way for the test folky so the wifey can raise it some...