bucket seat options... 66 67 68 how rare

[Ranzan]

I saw this in another post and didn`t want to take the thread in the wrong direction so thought I would post this here

It seems strange why so few Headrest or passenger recliners were made for the 66 67 or 68 cars

but my dilema is this I have a set of each for my 67 still a toss up on which ones I`ll be using for my car ...But the thing that drives me nuts and I`ve been trying to figure out is how do fix a recliner seat ?

from what I have heard the 66 recliner is different from a 67

mine is a cylinder driven seat with cable and the 66 from what I hear is a rod and washer system

anyone else on here ever run into this issue?

[Dapapadon]

Wish I could help ya Wes. But I've never seen recliners or headrest seats from those years. Didn't even know there were recliners. But we could put a set in my 67 to see how they look. Just send them on down and I'll send photos back.

Don

[Bluevista]

As far as I know headrests weren't mandatory until 1969. I would guess a lot of people just didn't check the option when they became available on earlier models. My '68 goat has the regular buckets, headrests and reclining passenger seat are ultra rare. There's a guy I know with a chebelle with '68 GTO front seats with headrests and a recliner and I've been trying to get to him to sell me those things for 10 years.

[Ranzan]

LOL Don ...actually send your car up here I`ll put them in for you but it may take me a few years of work to get them in but I shoud have room to store your car for awhile

I would probably have to find a cylinder for it the cable and latch move freely on it. it seems to me that the upper frame is also reinforced.

I`m going to get some pictures today of how it works and post them for you guys because I have a bug in butt to fix these things

[wmachine]

Originally Posted by Ranzan

I saw this in another post and didn`t want to take the thread in the wrong direction so thought I would post this here

It seems strange why so few Headrest or passenger recliners were made for the 66 67 or 68 cars

but my dilema is this I have a set of each for my 67 still a toss up on which ones I`ll be using for my car ...But the thing that drives me nuts and I`ve been trying to figure out is how do fix a recliner seat ?

from what I have heard the 66 recliner is different from a 67

mine is a cylinder driven seat with cable and the 66 from what I hear is a rod and washer system

anyone else on here ever run into this issue?

Wes, I'll look at the '66 one I have and we can compare notes. I'd have guessed that '66 and '67 would be the same, but '67s have the latches and '66s don't, so the seats aren't the same to begin with.
I would think this info would be in the Fisher Body Manuals. I see what I can find.

[Ranzan]

sounds great WMachine
The Fisher manual is the last manual I need to get
I was talking with a guy on another site that had a set of 66`s in his buick and he was the one to tell me about the rod and washer set up he had

[Ranzan]

Okay here we go 280 hog rings later

tell me what you guys think...... I think it might be an internal Rod and washer system but it is hard to tell
I bolted one end up and racheted the other to no evail.... it didnt budge and I didn`t want to break it so it is soaking in WD right now to see if it will loosen up

http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g175/Ranzan/

[Ranzan]

with the cylinder lying down with the tape measure on it the side with the retaining pin in it is the spring side. now where the cable attaches there is a u shaped pin that goes across the assembly. Now in that area is where it seems to be the washer system where that u shaped rod would contact either side depending on the lever.I can move the one on the spring side a little but the other side seems to be down in the cylinder about 1/2 inch with a spring lock around the rod.. I hope I`m not confusing anyone it is hard to explain this thing...

[Bluevista]

I was looking at a parts catalog and it only shows one type 1966-70 Strato reclining bucket seat? Maybe an older catalog will show different.

Is it this type?

3253352397_934c2831bb.jpg

[Ranzan]

that would be correct I need part # 34 but looking at it what is part # 32 it`s hard to tell but it looks like the cable retaining clip

[Bluevista]

Originally Posted by Ranzan

that would be correct I need part # 34 but looking at it what is part # 32 it`s hard to tell but it looks like the cable retaining clip

Part #33 is the reclining seat back position unit assembly. #34 cable, seat reclining back and is included with #33 according to the catalog. #32 is the outer reclining seat frame bumper. #30 is clip, passenger seat ret.

[Ranzan]

BlueVista does that have any other part#s on there or just the ones listed? to me it looks like part # 34 is the reclining seat back position unit assembly
is this in the fisher manual?

thanks

[Bluevista]

Ooops, I must have disremembered. Here it is straight from the horses mouth. The illustration is from an Olds parts catalog, numbers are from poncho parts catalog. I don't have the part numbers catalog for those. A few guys here have major part catalogage and may be able to nail down those part numbers.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3392/...a7d024bda9.jpg

[wmachine]

Good info guys. I don't think I can add much here. I checked my '66 recliner and it has the cable coming through the bottom into the top on the right side. Still has the Upholstery on it, so there's not much more to see. Appears to be the same "system" as the '67.

[Ranzan]

Guys if someone might have a part # it would be greatly appreciated !!
also I saw a interview with a gentleman down in texas I believe that had a huge NOS pats inventory but I can`t for the life of me remember what it was called
I have been to his web page but it`s not on my history anymore...and me being a dumba@@ I forgot to bookmark it

If I find a new one of these I will be disecting the old one for information on how to recondition them....

Bluevista thanks for the time looking that info up for me I printed it out to have handy for the future

[Bluevista]

Oldsobsolete says he has tens of thousands of NOS parts and more to inventory, has parts catalogs too. Here's the post with his phone number or PM him, worth a shot.


http://classicoldsmobile.com/forums/...ts-search.html


I wonder what treasures he has my own self. If you can get the part number it would help anyway, lots of places only know what they have in stock by them. Amazing what's still around if you have the numbers to check.

[Ranzan]

Well guess what ........... IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I let it sit yesterday in WD I took alittle heat to it later then dumped it in a bucket of oil to sit over night let it drain this morning and I got a little movement out of the washer so I worked it for another 10 minutes reattached it to the seat less the cable with a set of pliers on the release mechanism a small amount of pressure on the back of the seat and bang she let loose!!!!!!!!!!! I kept the release open and reclined the seat another 10 times and it works like new

this system is a rod and washer piece I think I will need to shorten the cable up a bit it might be the reason why the whole system stopped working ... I can tell the cable doesn`t put enough pressure on the washer so whoever had it before just stopped using it

[Ranzan]

Just a little FYI for the guys that have this system ...the whole assembly can be maintained and taken apart WITHOUT removing the foam and burlap I just did it because mine was shot and easier for documenting and pictures

[Bluevista]

Too cool. Need lots of pics for the next guy, now you're the official guru of Strato recliners.

[Ranzan]

I stripped down the entire seat to check out the cable system

here is a picture
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...n/IMG_2260.jpg

the actual cable was not stretched it had actually slipped out of the clip.
As soon as I put it back into the proper place the whole assembly works great

I think I will write up how I did this BlueVista then it will give a general outline for anyone else looking for info
on these recliners
because there is nothing on the web for this style of strato

[Bluevista]

Lucky not having to replace those parts, finding them would probably have been pretty tough.
That would be a great if you do a write-up on those Strato recliners. It really helps out the next guy and is interesting in itself.
It's neat to see those parts for real instead of in an illustration, looks like some seriously cool stuff.