Okay, so I converted my 69 F85 from bench to bucket, but the bucket seats sit higher than the bench did, causing my head to touch the headliner.

the guy who did the install said that because of the uneven floor plan, he needed to make adjustments so the seats would be even and not slanted.

Does this sound right? Has anyone else had this problem?

 

How much room is under the seat? Should only be an inch or two.

 

Doesnt sound right to me. Are you sure you have 68-72 seat tracks? The 67 and older seat tracks are taller on one side.

 

Thanks for the quick responses, gentlemen.

Right now, the two outside tracks (by the doors) are sitting higher than the inside tracks (by the center console) to make it even. He used extra bolts below the outside tracks to allow for the extra space. So, there's clearly more than a couple inches below the seat.

I thought it was because the floor was uneven, but I guess I hear you suggesting that perhaps the tracks themselves are uneven...I'm pretty sure I have the 68-72 seat tracks...that's how they were sold to me (as cores) but I have to admit that I didn't check the height of the tracks. I just assumed that they were what they were supposed to be. I'll check later today. If I do have the wrong tracks and that's causing it to be uneven, is that something that can be replaced?

And would using the conversion brackets solve the problem maybe?

 

Do you still have your old bench seat? Compare the outer seat track (closest to the door) of the bucket seat, to old bench seat track. If they are different, then you have the wrong tracks on the bucket seats. You may be able to just swap the bench seat track for the taller bucket track, take out the extra spacer used on the inner track and be the correct height?

 

That sounds like a great idea....Luckily, I still have the bench. I'll look into that ASAP and will report back what I find out. Thanks for the feedback.

DO

 

What brand of seat foam did you/he purchase, and did you replace the springs with repops?

I do seats for classic cars. If you buy the CHEAP foam from OPG or PUI, its super dense and stiff- your head will be in the headliner a little.

If you buy repop spring assemblies, they are STIFF AS HELL and your head will be in the headliner a little.

Combine the two, and becomes a joke if you are over 6'

The "proper" floor mounts for bucket seats involve two tiny 1" raised sections that go under the front of the seat tracks. NOT having those will not be the cause of your head being in the headliner.

It has to do with the materials used in your seats.

-Ben

 

just went back and read this again...
Bench tracks are not the same as bucket tracks so, forget comparing them.

66/67 a-body tracks are not different heights from 68-72 tracks so forget that.

The factory bucket seat floor "mounts" consisted of 2 peices per seat.
The first is a small 1" tall box with a stud in it that was welded in the front outboard position, centered above the two factory bench seat holes.
The 2nd is the inboard peice, its the length of the track with 2 studs the track sits on, and the front is raised 1" high.

Bucket seats use one of the two (i think the inner) rear outboard factory holes, and the rest are mounted to the studs on the brackets.

If your guy did any other crazy bracing, that could very well be why your head is in the ceiling. Also if they did use bench seat tracks, they may be higher than they are supposed to be.

Do you have any photos of the tracks? maybe a shot of the bottom of the seats when you bought em?

 

Your right! I was thinking B body to A body!

I ran into that before when purchasing buckets out of a Delta for my 442.

 

Here's a picture of the bottom of the cores I purchased...

IMG_5087.jpg

 

Those are standard 67-72 a-body tracks, so no problems there (66's have a slot instead of a hole on the front of them)

What kind of shimming did he do on the floor? the only think you'd need to give it a factory like fit would be a 1" stack of fender washers under the two front holes of the tracks. The backs would bolt straight to the floor.

If he added any space than that, it would add to your problem for sure.

The springs look pretty rusty in the before pic.. If he replaced them with new, they definitely are stiffer and will take a while to break in from my experience.

 

@ Rambow-- ? Would those buckets bolt right in a bench car without buying any additional brackets?

 

sure. There were years and years when resto parts weren't available and people did just that. As long as you reinforce under the floor for the inside ones and use grade 8 bolts you'll probably be fine.

As i said, the front inner and outter tracks should be raised up about 1". THis can be done with a stack of fender washers pretty simply.

THe front outboard should be in the middle of the two factory holes... if you are just bolting to the floor, then i'd use the front inner hole & raise it up. Once the outboard is mounted up, square up the seat & inner track and mark the holes & drill. PRetty simple.

all that said... nowadays you can buy the correct factory style bucket seat brackets for like $80, have a friend with a MIG weld them in and bingo, now you've done it the right way, and its a hell of a lot easier to get the seats in & out than reaching under the car to tighen bolts down.