Seat swaps
 

Can anyone give me some ideas on seat swaps from the dark side. I've seen some buick Lesabre seats in some old chevy trucks at the shows lately that really look sharp electic,heated lumbar supports consols and seatbelts. I like split bench look.

Measure the inside of your cab, take these measurements to your local purveyor of used parts and have a ball hunting. Allow about 2" on each end of the seat for clearance. I did that(my original had a hole bigger than a basketball to sit in) and came away with a nice one out of a Pontiac Gran Prix for 50 bucks.

I bought that one because it was the only one that didn't have a hole in it!

I'm swapping seats, console, shifter, visors and seat controls from a 90 Eldo into my 56.

I used a very scientific and complex formula for deciding on the seats for my 49. They were donated. I just love a freebie.

My seats are buckets from a late 90's Suburban that my brother-in-law gave to me. I removed the headrests from them so you can't see them through the rear window. They are 6 way power with lumbar....wooohooo. I will have to custom fabricate a console..........someday.........

Bobby

i am hoping to use a set of late model ford or cheavy truck seats with the built in seat belts, anyone out there seen that

I used a set of 2000 Buick leather seats in the 56 I sold. They had the seat belts built in and were very comfy. However, IMO they were too big for the 56 cab and I couldn't move them far enough back to be really comfortable. They were the 60/40 split bench and really tight width wise also. For what it's worth.

Here, this should help;

https://www.ford-trucks.com/lc/lc.ph...com%2Ffaq1.htm

:cool:

I agree with LEckart. Many seats will fit, and many might be fine if you don't intend to spend much time behind the wheel. The late 80's C---y pu seat is the best option I found. Like ferguson says in his FANTASTIC info sheet it is easy to mount and has a slender back for the most room. I am not a tall guy [5'9"] and although I fit the cab and seat pretty well, if the seat were any "fatter" I would not like it. I just drove mine 600 miles and was glad for my seat choice. Joe

How are those mods working out?
I ask as I have a 92 Eldorado in the yard and I do not like the seat in my 53, the seat back is too big/thick and I can't get it back far enough for my legs to feel comfortable.
The caddy seats look very nice heated, lumbar, leather.....hhhhmmmmm comfy too :) The console would be a great idea as well.

My 56 had a GM (Buick?) bench in it when I bought it that had a pretty thick back. I was always cramped. Sounds like yours is similar.

I'm very early in the swap. Right now, I'm trying to figure out seat risers and where the rails need to be to fit my long legs, but with enough adjustment for the wife to drive it also. Grafting the electric will be a challenge for me as well. The console and shifter are very cool and mine are in good shape. I just haven't figured out how they come out yet. I figure I'll just use whatever I can get out of the caddy. My buddy says it will be a Fordillac.

I have owned the Eldo for many years and it is time for it to retire. I decided it would make a good "organ donor" since I always loved the comfy seats and the other cool Caddy goodies.

I'm not sure the '92 has the same seats, but I'll bet they are comfy, too.

Ah yea, you'll be sitting in the lap of luxury Randy!

Hooking up power seats can go either way, hard or difficult. It depends on where the switch is mounted. On my Suburban seats the switch is in the seat itself making the hook up as easy as running a power and ground to the seat. If the switch is remote (mounted in the door panel) then its a bit more complicated but still not too bad. I think the hardest part would be deciding where to mount the switch.

Bobby

Yeah, I know. Part of my graft will be to move the seat controls from the door arm rest to some kind of custom thingy on the side of the seat where the lumbar and tilt control already is.

Noodling...noodling...frosty...noodle some more...

Randy,

How about fabbing them into the center console?

.......another thought.....

There were some years of Caddies (and I'm sure other GM vehicles) that had the switches mounted into a nice chrome panel on the side of the seat bottom (my Suburban seats are a molded plastic piece) I can't recall what years or models but I'd guess somewhere in the 1980's or so

Bobby

Maybe. But the console (if I can use it) is already pretty busy. Besides, I have in mind to add two drink holders, A/C controls, tranny brake and line lock to the console :-D . It would make the electric easier to keep the switches on the seat.

I'm also thinking about grafting the electric window stuff, but I don't know sqwat about that setup either.

This all could add another year to fixing my busted valve spring. :-X07