Something for the knowledge base on GM 3rd row ABTS seats, with some pics.

Alright, i learned a lesson today. I didn't do enough homework, and I ignored by gut and bought them anyway.
It's only a $200 mistake, and I'm positive I'll get all that money back, might even make a small profit in spite of myself...I'm still a little bitter though...

I've been reading every thread I could about the 3rd row ABTS seats, the one's with the built in seat-belts, out of the current generation Tahoe, Yukon, and Suburban.

I found a few sets by trolling Craigslist for a couple weeks:

---Tan or Gray are sometimes available
---black leather seem to be the holy grail
---Auto Salvages pull them immediately, and sell them quickly at a premium.
---online stores, dealerships, and eBay...everything i found retailed for over $500...plus the shipping...($700-$800 for black leather)

CL Prices ranged from $100 for cloth, to $450 for the newest leather.

The Pros:
--Leather seats
--minimal wear
--"other guys" are using them
--built in seatbelts
--*close* to the right color
--found a nice set for $200

The cons:
--I'll have to fab up something to get them bolted into the truck.
--headrests may show through back window
--may have to dye the leather/belts to get exactly what i want.



I went and looked at them today, after narrowly missing the chance to buy 2 other sets....apparently they sell fairly quickly. (Mistake #1...Over-anxious to buy and didn't want to miss a good deal)

I looked at them (these were out of a 2001 Tahoe), grimaced when i saw the floor latches, but otherwise, I was happy to hand over the $200 and be on my way. (Mistake #2...dismissed the amount of fabrication required)

Here they are:



When I got them home, and got them set up on the floor next to each other...something looked funny...grabbed the tape measure....

[/IMG]

Now, we all know that a 54' F100 is about 58 inches between the door handles...(Mistake #3...didn't measure twice, and *buy* once.)

At this point I went to find that ignorant S.O.B. that screwed this up...and there he was, in his usual spot...the mirror. After a few profanity laced comments questing his mental capacity, and a few creative terms my drill seargent taught me, i felt better.

Ok, lets get a good, long, look at those latches...







I'm not afraid to cut something up to make it work, I just don't like destroying resale value to do it. I can get these latches off there, and weld/bolt-on a solid frame...and if i ever sell these seats, I will be lucky to get $20 for them. The only thing they will fit in after that, is another hotrod, with more fab work for them.....(Would-be Mistake #4...don't buy it if you can't sell it.)

So, to get these things mounted solidly in my 54...





I'm going to need to build a frame, with a 1/2" raised bar these things can snap onto,
--brace those bar in about 4 places on each one for strength, spending about 40 hours time getting it right.
--build or buy a 6" console to manage the offset if the seats are centered, and match the leather type/grain and eventually color.

Another annoyance I found while sitting in the seats (they are comfortable, I will concede that point) is the shoulder seat belt...because it's right at shoulder height on me (I'm 5'10" & 185) I had to grab it twice and pull more belt to get it latched...The Ranger I drive has the shoulder belt anchor at about forehead height, and only takes one small pull to get it around me and latched. (Think of how annoying it is when you get out of your truck and shut the door on the seatbelt because it didn't retract all the way...Now, imagine shutting that door on a seatbelt after you've spent an obscene amount of time and money on a beautiful paint job...)

I also noticed the head-rest is not high enough to keep my thick skull from bouncing off the back window in the event of a crash...another disappointment. Safety is most important. My wife and 2 boys will be riding in this.


So, i think i'm going to put these things back up for sale, and go a different route on the seats. I'd rather spend a little more money, and get alot less hassle. Lesson Learned.

 

Mr. Bosworth..

you have just tripped into the world of F-100s. That thing you tripped over was a decision. I've done it so many times I tend to just roll on the floor, it's easier than getting up and tripping again... Besides ...you should have read the book first. What book ?? you say ?? Oh, right... there ain't no book. I started writing one in 2004 and got sidetracked...but don't wait for it.

I'm on my third set of seats in my truck... having the original, a set of really cushy Caddy seats and now a Chevy bench seat... which I might change out eventually.

My advise ??? sell them. for a couple of reasons... Non adjustable... when you build the bracket are you going to have any forward to rear movement ?? that takes some pretty neat fab skills... Its ok for Bosworth... he's got long legs... what if the wife drives it...??

Second... the fabrication you'd need without butchering up the Tahoe seats just isn't worth it... you can find something else that will work better... look as good and adjust to fit the driver.. I think I'd start looking for 'truck' seats... they sit straighter like you sit in a truck... car seats tend to lay back and take up a heck of a lot of room in the cab... do some research on F-150s or Chevy trucks in the salvage yard... check for width.. and most have 6 way adjustment with two little wires... I've not tried it but a search for seats for f-100s might turn up something else... or somebody will surely come along with a solution to your problem

hope it helps.. BTW here's the article on installing the Chevy bench seat I'm using...

INSTALLING BENCH SEATS IN A '53 F-100

later, John

 

I got my seats from the rear of a saab 900s (not sure if you have them in the US?). I had the same problem - I removed all that junk on the bottom of the seats. The seat backs were relatively solid so I got the welder out and made up a frame to match the floorpan and the seats. I then marked up the mounting positions i wanted to align the seat top/bottom, and installed Rivnuts into the seat backs/bottoms at the strongest points, as well as reusing the existing reinforced threaded mounting holes from the latches and pivot bar etc where possible.

I then bolted it all up together, and bolted it down to the floor. My seatbelts were seperate so thats a different story. I removed my headrests as not got the same worries as you with family.

It took a fair bit of work + measuring + headscratching to get it all sorted but I'm pleased with it overall. The only disadvantage is the seat is fixed and does not tilt forward to utilise the storage space behind the seat. I was able to mount up the stereo amp etc underneath the seat though. With a lot more work of course it would have been possible to utilise the pivot bar, latch etc and have folding seats fabricated up on sliders but that would have needed A LOT of time and much swearing to sort out.

Here's a couple of pics from test fitting:


The final position of the seat after tweeking has the top edge flush with the bottom of the back window so it all looks neat

Its difficult to find decent bench seats over here in the uk as they don't come up very often, so that influenced the amount of time/work I considered commiting to sorting it.