As I (im)patiently wait for the dynamat stuff to come in, I am trying to find out the correct way to mount the front seat and seatbelt retractors in my '72 CS.

It appears that the carpet was simply crushed in between the seat legs and retractors and the floorpan. Is this correct?? -Just poke some small holes for the bolts and torque them down to specs? It would seem a torque would be difficult to hold that way.
I would at least think the jute (and dynamat) should be cut away first...

None of my manuals really get into details about this, BUT the assy manual did show some "carpet retainers" that went around the seat legs.

Can anyone with original carpet comment on this?

 

No problem with the stuff between the belt end and floor. You're not having to hold compression or water pressure with that torque. Do NOT try to drill the holes in the carpet! It WILL ****** a runner before you can cuss a cat. If you ever need to drill a hole in the floor through carpet, cut the carpet with a blade and slip a piece of tubing or hose through the carpet so the drill bit never touches it, then drill. Yes, I learned this the hard way, in 1968 I believe it was, when seatbelts became required to get a safety inspection sticker in Texas. . .

 

I'm curious what other original looks like too, mine sat on top. I've seen them on top and under, maybe it just depends on where it was assembled and who did it.

They don't give you instructions but one clue in the Fisher manual is, "Turn back floor carpeting sufficiently to expose seat adjuster to floor pan attaching bolts". I read somewhere that the seats leg should always be in direct contact with the floor pan or they can loosen up over time when the floor covering compresses.
Are those retainers for the rear of a power seat?

I think I've mentioned before about making a "T" cut in the carpeting under the legs.
I learned that years ago and it makes a nice clean installation, right or wrong I don't know.
The top of the T is a little wider than the leg foot and is just touching the leg when it is in the correct position. The vertical part of the T fits around the leg to gives you room to slide the carpet forward in the front or back in the rear to get to the bolt hole. It's easier to just lift the carpet around the legs to put in the bolt and tighten it I've found but it will go in from the top. It's pretty self explanatory once you do it, use a scrap for a test and you can see how the cut fits if you want to attempt this method.
Be careful with the sill plate screws so you don't get runners too, that's a good tip Danny had, I hate when that happens.
The retractors sit on the carpeting. I just cut a hole bigger than the bolt over the mounting hole with a razor or utility knife for the retractor and seat belt anchor bolts. All the holes should be big enough to not let the bolt touch the edge or it will grab the carpeting.

I was looking at how they say to do the cuts at Team Chebelle.
It is the same to begin with but then they extend the bottom of the T to the rear edge and make a cut toward the sill in the back? They say it's correct but for the life of me I can't figure out why you would do it like that, maybe they did it after the seat were in originally on chebelles? You see jute sticking out and cuts under the seat, makes no sense. It does look like the technique you would use if the seats were left bolted in.

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236734


Allan

 

My retractors have a small lip that actually digs down into the carpet making it impossible to mount flush on the floor. i.e. It goes over the carpet.

X2 on drilling into carpet. Been there, done that, got the dumb azz T-shirt, many moons ago

 

I plan on removing the seats from my 71 98 today so I can install new seatbelts. I might have to take some pics.

 

When I removed them form the cutlass they were on top of the carpet.

 

Lady had 2 layers of carpet, the original under some cheap replacement.
My original carpet showed some signs of the legs being mounted right over the carpet, but it was so decayed under the top layer of carpet that I could not make out any T cuts or anything. I remember something about the T cuts - I need to try to understand that more thoroughly.
I never thought the cut went all the way to the carpet edge though.

Danny, that is a tip I will be drilling into my mind (no pun intended), whether mounting the seats, or any other fastener that goes through the carpet. I have done things like that before and payed the penalty...

Olds 64, please post a pic of what you see - I am curious...

 

Lady had 2 layers of carpet, the original under some cheap replacement.
My original carpet showed some signs of the legs being mounted right over the carpet, but it was so decayed under the top layer of carpet that I could not make out any T cuts or anything. I remember something about the T cuts - I need to try to understand that more thoroughly.
I never would have thought the cut went all the way to the carpet edge like on the Chebelle site. I was thinking more of just T-shaped slits to let the each leg go all the way through.

Allan, the loosening up over time is what I would be concerned about. I also have ground cables that go under the rear leg bolts for the seat heaters that need good connections at all times. (I need to cut back the POR15 there, also.)

Danny, that is a tip I will be drilling into my mind (no pun intended), whether mounting the seats, or any other fastener that goes through the carpet. I have done things like that before and payed the penalty...

Olds 64, please post a pic of what you see - I am curious...

 

I got the seat out today. I will take pics tomorrow. (Going to a Christmas party this evening).

There were two stanchions on either side of the seat with two bolts a piece. Total of 8 bolts. The bolts in the front stanchions and the front one in the rear stanchionn had to be removed with the seat all the way back. The rear bolt in the rear stanchion could only be removed with the seat all the way forward. This is a full bench seat in my 71 98.

Actually, I also fixed a HUGE vacuum leak under the dash as well. I also found a note dated July 12, 1975 that the original owner wrote to his doctor.

 

Rob. Here are the pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sunsalamander14/

They are in the "interior" set. If you have any questions please let me know. I hope this helps.

 

Thanks Olds64 - it looks like your seat was mounted right on the metal floorpan, which to me makes the most sense anyway. I think I will do that with mine, too - using just razor cuts and trim it up after the seat is put in (whenever that will be...) **Sigh...**

BTW, your interior is pretty snazzy looking for being original!

 

Thanks Rob. I appreciate the comment. There is a little bit of a stain on the carpet in front of the rear seat. Other than that the carpet is nice. The seat covers are starting to wear though. I hope I get some good advice about recovering them.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-interior.html

BTW, you are correct. My seats were bolted directly to the metal floor pan. There are holes drilled in the metal floor pan that are tapped. I can actually look through the holes that hold the seat belt to the floor and see the ground.

 

Olds64,

Just keep in mind what a little seat tear got ME into! (See the Interior Makeover thread for that...)
After the seats came the qtr panels, door panels, arm rests, carpet, yada yada yada...
Every new thing mad the old look bad or the color did not match. It is 'amazing' how the interior changes color throughout 35 years of sun and UV exposure...

 

Okay, so very careful studying of my nasty old carpet mess revealed that the seat WAS bolted directly to the floor and that the "T" cuts were used and cut all the way to the edge... Therefore that should be the correct way.
This can actually be seen in the old upside-down carpet pictures in the interior makeover thread, but only if you can differentiate the original jute, original carpet, and newer carpet glued the original...

Has anyone ever seen some sort of plastic retainer / trim pieces that go around the seat legs in the Cutlass models?

 

Nope, But I never looked and neither will anyone else.

Bye the bye did you get new sill plates, lock button ferrules, sun visor tips?

While you're on a roll, I thought I might help ya spend some more cash on "a la carte parts."

 

All the Cutlii that I have ever removed the seats and/or carpet from were configured the same way. Seats bolted to the floor first, carpet after with slots that fit over the legs of the seats.

 

As a matter of fact, I DID get sill plates, lock **** ferrules (the ones BAP never sent me), the ***** themselves, seat adjuster ****, armrest pads, armrests, courtesy light lenses, etc, etc...

I have cleaned the sunvisors but that all I wanted to do there... I will see if they look like #@&% when I get the rest of the interior done... I can almost guess what the answer will be...

Thanks, but I need no help in spending more cash - Lady is doing that for you...
However, I DO need some help in creating that extra cash, so why don't you exercise that holiday spirit and send some right over! Help our economy BOOM by helping me to buy more! Maybe we can all sleep better each night.

But seriously - WHERE can the door pull straps be obtained from?? I have not seen them anywhere! I found the metal trim pieces i do not need, but the strap is nasty. Dye is not going to do much for it...

 

Ditto in mounting to the floor. My carpet is original and seats are mounted then carpet T-cut to go around.

 

Sorry ole pal, I sent my last billion to bail out Wall Street. However if you like to buy some real-estate, I would be VERY interested in talking with you.

It's like being a Maytag repair man around here.

69's don't have straps so I am at a loss. However I would call Paul @ ROS [after 6 p.m. est] 203-272-7103. ros6872@hotmail.com He parts out A bodies and is a very honest parts guy. He's in Conn.

I have dyed sunvisor successsfully but I don't know about the straps.

Speaking of 69 and straps Ooooooooooooops better not go there.

Your car is coming along fine, good luck with the details that drive all of us crazy.

Just remember

"Nothing difficult is ever easy."

 

Thanks James...

I kept thinking of that phrase "devil in the details" yesterday, when it took 5 hours to make up a factory style underhood wire harness that looks like that of the rear defroster... (This will run the seat heaters only with the engine running).
I also had to redo the A/C fan firewall wiring to get rid of a bunch of previous crimp connections.

That all drove me crazy to the point that a slipped razor blade took off half of my fingertip... Luckily it was the ring finger; I don't need that one anyway...

I should have stopped earlier, but I had no choice afterwards..

Moral of the story - when you get feeling frustrated or tired, STOP before you do something like I did...

On a positive note, the harnesses looks great and will last the life of the car! Now I just need to install it all...

 

Rob,

Just use super glue on the finger tip. Don't ask why I know this works. Question, how did you work out the wire lengths of fabing the wiring harness. I have to build a all new harness for my 48. Dosn't sount like fun

 

I had no super glue, just 5 minute epoxy. However it was all dried out when i opened it.
So now paper towels and masking tape are holding it on; hopefully it will heal somehow.

I will post the wiring details in the interior makeover thread tomorrow after I grab a few pictures. Need to get the blood off the parts, first...