I need to replace a section of spring on the bottom part of a bucket seat. The broken spring would be just under my right knee, if the bucket seat was assembled with me sitting in it.

It’s a front spring that attaches the seat frame to the bottom seat spring assembly. I believe it’s on the inward side and adjacent to what people call the corner springs.

Can I just pick up regular upholstery springs from Amazon etc (measured for similar spring gap and width) then cut and bend them to shape? It looks like I would have to put about a 60° to 70° bend in the spring then double clip it up top.

Also, has anybody used the round 7/8 inch (not three prong clips) with paper lining? I think the part number is 7707. Do they hold just as tight as the three prong clips?

Thank you!

 

Contact member RAMBOW.
Bucket, Bench & Rear seat padding, repair & install kits - ClassicOldsmobile.com

 

Thank you.

 

I used generic springs and hogrings. If you're connecting to an existing partial spring, overlap quite a bit.

 

Take a look at the image below and see if we can help identify which springs you need:

The 4 center springs are identical- Compression bends at the front, kicked up at the rear.
Then you have what i call the "Corner Springs" These have compression bends at the front, attach to the frame tabs at the rear, and the paper covered rods for the listing sleeves are hogringed to them.
The outtermost springs are just flat springs w/ no compression bends.

Then you have the side support springs on each side (66-68 there are actually 2 side support springs on each side, and the rear is unique & different from the front)





"Usually" the springs break as part of a cascading failure that starts on the outboard side due to extra stress on the springs when getting in & out of the car, and spreads to all the springs along that side.

• Side support springs "C" break first(this is the #1 most often broken... I replace these even if they aren't broken)
• Then the Rear corner edgewire "A" breaks (look very closely at the edgewire metal behind the spring clip for signs of fracturing)
• Next the rearmost loops "B" where they are held by the frame snap off (most don't realize these are broken as its not obvious it should be attached)
• Finally the front corner spring "D" will break in its compression bends.

Of course other springs can and will break as well, but seem like its almost always some variation on list above.

The Spring that GM used in the lower cushions is 9ga Medium loop spring (~1-1/8" between loops) Not to be confused with the "small loop" (~3/4" between loops) that is commonly available.
There are special bending paddles you can buy, but really you can just bend them using 2 pairs of pliers, grab opposing loops and twist.

I have the correct GM sized medium loop spring in 9ga and 11ga (upper cushions) and can sell by the foot if you want, or I can make individual replacement springs as well.

 

Thank you very much for the comprehensive explanation Ben! I actually ordered some springs and seat rebuild kits from you.

Really appreciate all your help. If anybody needs help with bucket seats Ben is the best resource I found. Extremely helpful and makes some quality stuff!