I suppose this may irritate some folks, but I was considering changing from conventional seating to something a bit more comfy.

Bit of background to hopefully stop the groaning... I was in a bad car crash 28 years ago, broken hip, ankle and messed up knee... arthritis, hip replacement etc... This has me looking at something a bit easier on the butt for long trips. I plan on taking VERY LONG trips in my 72 cutlass convertible.

Bucket seats don't work well for me. (Increased fatigue and pain from pressure on bad leg) I have a bench seat in there now.

My son has a 2009 F150 extened cab, and the seat in that is very comfortable for me.

Has anyone installed something like this in their resto mod? Other seat upholstery options?
Thanks in advance for your helpful advice.
Dave

 

Hey Dave

I find the factory buckets somewhat uncomfortable on longer rides. Some day I will replace mine w some late model buckets, so your not alone in seeking something more comfortble

goodluck post what you end up with

 

I'm sure there are lots of options to make more comfortable. I saw this car on ebay a while ago, I emailed the seller and he said he put a seat out of a 96 Cadillac deville in his 70 Vista Cruiser. Take a look at it. It didn't sell. Item # 181100265237. He put the whole front seat in the Vista which I assume is the same floor as your Convertible. He somehow took apart the rear seat and put the cushions and cover on his original seat, Maybe you could do that with your rear seat also-make a matched set.. Probably could find seats in a yard??

 

Dave,
Really it's your car and you don't need to justify why you're changing out the buckets to bench. I'm really sorry to hear that you went through a lot of pain and suffering. I really understand the arthritis part too and on long drives I really like something comfy.

Here's just a suggestion. Since you're retrofitting, why not consider installing a bench with electric seat heaters? I've found they work really well for cool days and also when my back starts feeling tight. The heaters are installed in the lower and upper parts of the seat. Only thing is that you'll have to use the right relays and possibly need to upgrade your alternator.

Other thing that will make a world of difference is installation of Cruise Control and tilt steering. Cruise reduced fatigue immensely and allows you to move your legs around to maintain comfort without compromising driving speed. I like tilt steering just for the convenience of getting in/out of the car.

Have you thought about those 'grab handles' most new cars have just above the doors to facilitate getting out?

Long road trips in your vert sounds like a dream come true. That's what she was made for!

 

The other option would be to take your bench to an upholstery shop and work with them to make something comfortable for you that would blend in with a stock design.

 

thanks for the posts guys! I have a neighbor that does upholstery so I may go that way with it... Allen I already have a tilt wheel column... just needs to be refurbished... Will be getting to that later. I have no place for those handles on the vert... so I just grab on the top frame... It is a BIG handle! Heated seats? in Florida?
My ancestors were from montreal area... and they started migrating south in the late 1800's! Maybe my kids will move to the islands!

That's what she was built for, and being rebuilt for! I figure at least another 100,000 miles....

 

Ooops, wasn't thinking about it being a vert with the handle thing. Tilt is so nice, isn't it?

But I've talked with guys in FL who think that ONLY 70° is really cold and jacket weather depending on what wind is blowing. I guess it has something to do with being a dry or moist wind. Not sure what you have down there most of the time.

Consider the cruise control though if you haven't already got it.

OH! One more thing. You're going to need a fairly good sound system with rear speakers if you plan to cruise with the top down, especially at highway speeds.

 

For a sound system I was thinking of doing this...
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/...9789&src=K9789

No wiring, no cutting holes in interior or doors...

I would like to add cruise control as well...

 

It's a convertible, the sound is not going to be great no matter what. My original front speaker still cranks out the tunes on the freeway at 70 mph from my 8-track player without a problem at no additional cost.

 

Seat heaters are easy. Most kits come with everything all wired up, ready to just plug in and go. Each one only draws 4A on high, so as long as you have a 50A alt or larger, you will be fine.

 

Actually Rob, you're the reason I mentioned this to Dave. I remembered you added them to Lady for the cool days of cruising in TX!! (Oh, wait - that's only once every 5 years??)

 

Come on Allan we really do get a winter and actually have 4 distinct seasons. Winter lasts about 30 days, just not in a row. Very short spring, very long summer, and then a short fall.

 

I wasn't too fond of the buckets in my 72, not comfortable and I wanted cloth. Check with your neighbor, he can lay up some foam on the existing seat. You can try it out in the car to make sure it's comfortable, then have it upholstered.
Starting seat, crushed foam, broken springs;


Laying out patterns, adding foam where it's needed:
DSCN0253.jpg

Extra foam to keep my butt in place:
DSCN0273.jpg

Finished seats:
DSCN0278.jpg

 

LOL Eric, just teasing.
We have it slightly different - Winter very long from mid October to mid April. Then short Spring, followed by short summer, short Fall. It's pretty consistent. Kind of like mining gold in Alaska - limited time to enjoy.

You'll be pleased to know that I'm hoping to get back to work on the car within the next 3 weeks. By then we should have some consistently warm (65° or better) days coming.

 

@ Garys 68 thanks so much for posting the pictures! I have a parts car with a standard bench seat... I'll probably pull that and see what works for comfort. What did you use to cut your foam?, what type of foam did you use (density)? Your seats came out really nice!

@ Allen R you did not mention mud season... I thought that was between winter (beginning of Oct- end of April then mud season thru end of May.... then it is black fly season?

 

I would suggest leaving the seat you want in the car, bench or bucket. Then cut foam and put it in place to get yourself comfortable. It took a couple different densities and thicknesses to get the front of the bottoms high enough and comfortable. Electric carving knives work great for cutting foam. Then see if your upholstery guy can sew up a cover to fit. I ended up sewing some edgewire into the bottom of the seats in order to get a deeper center with the sides built up.
I've got a couple sources for foam, density is not really standardized, "high" density from one source was solid gym mat, while another had "high" that was a lot softer. See what supports and feels comfortable. On the backs, I only used a very light scrim foam in the center, with higher density around the edges. Even though it looks flat, it lets you sink in and holds you in place much better than the originals.

 

I have ordered through the foam factory for raw materials. They have a variety of firmnesses.

 

Mud season is only for them thar hunters and construction workers.

We don't get 'black fly' season. Up here it's mosquito heaven. On a good day you only get bit about 100 times. Yeah, last summer was really wet and hatched quite a few of them pests. My garage is north facing so it stays pretty cool most of the time (also insulated) so I don't get 'bugged' a lot there; plus they don't seem to like the smell of oil/grease or paint.