Hot Rods mini van seats

I know a lot of people use the mini-van seats in coupe's and roadsters. I am considering doing the same on my 29 roadster project. I did a search here on them and seem to remember something about not using the ones with the built in child seats, but have not been able to find it again. can anyone tell me what would be involved in using one, verses the one 's with out the built in child seat , as far as modifications go. I have a chance to buy one with the built in child seats. should I pass on it and look for one that does not have them? thanks for any advise or suggestions. ---Jim

 

I asked kind of the same question and got some good answers. Feel free to look it. All you need to do is make a frame for your seat to suit you.

Look for "Caravan Middle Seat Install" here on the HAMB.

 

My build is a 30 coupe, similar sizes.

Used a middle seat from a Mazda MPV van, took off the fold down arm rest and removed the seat track hardware and good to go. Used a set of tracks off a mid 80's Ford to mount the seat. The light gray you can see behind the seat is the original Model A rear shelf.

Tracks


Made for a relatively easy installation, get about 6 inches of travel and adjustable tilt of back which is nice. Seat belts were replaced with aftermarket. A trim panel will cover the tracks and side of the seat when trimming is done. Quite comfortable to sit in.

Nice to be able to basically bolt something in with out ripping it apart and modifying it.

Canuck

 

Voyager seat in my 32 , this is not adjustable and i wish i could adjust the back rest on long trips.

 

My 41 Willys pick up was so small, I used the back seat of an Escort station wagon for the seat. Needless to say it wasn't too comfortable. Mama was happy to see that one go downtime road.

Gary

 

I used one with the child safety seat built in, in the back of my 32 sedan. The Interior trim guy didnt say a word about it. Although I havent ridden in the back I have sat back there and its nice and comfy.

 

Rusty Rocket, did you do away with the child seat part, and re-upholster the whole seat?

 

if you are satisfied with the comfort... then why not use it???

 

I dont know what the trimmer did, but yes it got recovered.

 

I put a 99 Caravan middle seat in my 31 roadster and it fit great. I used some cheap tracks from Speedway and set the back so it will go under the rear panel part ways at the rear and it goes 7 inches forward. If I scoot it back, at 6' 2" I can't quite reach the pedals so if you set the seat right, you can have plenty of leg room.

 

wow that really turned out well.--Thanks---Jim

 

I want to thank every one that took time to give me advise on the mini-van seats, it is greatly appreciated. Thank You.----Jim

 

Jim, A bit off topic but how man hotrods run around Palmer Ak? I have a family friend that lives some where close to Palmer on the Matanuska River.

 

Are these generic sliders, or are they specific to the caravan seat?

 

Really not more than a handful or 2 of real hot rods. lots of 50's 60's restored and what I call street machines. several muscle cars. there are more older cars here than one might think, they just are not driven very often. I know a guy in Anchorage that has a very nice 30-31 roadster with a 406 ford with factory tri-power and cast iron headers. I have not seen him drive it in about 5 years or more. there at many others lurking in garages that turn up every once in a while that have not seen the light of day in over 20 years. the 1st sunday in Aug. we have what is probably the largest outdoor show in the state. It is in Anchorage and if the weather is good it will attract about 200-400 cars that run from stockers , restored cars, hot rods Muscle cars, sports cars, hot rods , you name it. the years of the cars will span from the teens to current model Mustangs and camareos, along with the current crop of rice burners with the bumble bee tailpipes. there are some rare cars here also.. I tend to drive my cars more than most if the weather is good, I do not like driving an open wheeled car in the rain . way to hard to clean when you have no hood or fenders . we also have a good show in Aug that is here in the streets of downtown palmer that will have the like amount of cars turn out. also depends on weather how many show. it was last weekend this year, and it rained like hell . drove my p/u into town to see who showed. there were about 20-30 cars even one guy from Anchorage with a fiberglass fenderless and hoodless 32 coupe with a blown small block. I think he trailers it to most of the shows outside of Anchorage and hides the trailer. Who is your Friend? I may have heard of him/her.-----Jim

 

His name is Hugh McPeck. moved up there in the 80s. When I Graduated High school in 1985 I went up and visited. Spent one week at his place on the river and two weeks in Kodiak at the Kodiak cattle co. ranch. Havent had the good fortune on going back.

 

Can't say that I have heard of him, I hope that he is not one of the people that have lost their home to the river. there have been several over the last few years that have been lost to the river due to bank erosion. This last weekend a semi. tractor drove into the Matanuska river. they retrieved it with an air boat to get to the truck and hook up a cable then drug it out with a dozer. If you ever decide to come up let me know, be glad to show you around.

 

Will do. Good luck with your seat.