I bought Speedways low back seats, covers and seat tracks for my sedan. The drivers was to tall with the tracks so I mounted it to a 1/8 in plate and bolted it down. It still set high to me and plus the way the seat is made I lost some leg room. I'm going to build some bomber type seats so I can make them to my liking, I'll use metal because I have no way to weld alum. Would 18 gauge be about right for this? Figured somebody on here has done built there own and knows what would work best. I found where you can buy the sides and use plywood covered in vinyl for the bottom and back, either way I want some padding, at least on the bottom.
The bomber style seats are very cool....looking. I drove a 29 sedan with them about 8 miles and decided I would not have them in my car. I plan to drive it a lot and for long distances, yes they were padded. Maybe not the most comfy but I'm pretty sure I will be happy with the early c3 vette seats after a few hours holding the throttle at cruise. Floor to seat at highest point near the front edge 12" Riser is 5" at the front. Stock body, no chop, no channel. Here's picture of my mounting...
Try seats from a 60's British sports car such as a Sprite or MG Sent from my moto g(6) play using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That works in a coupe or roadster but he has tudor sedan by the looks of his avatar. Why not use the original Ford buckets.
Mine is chopped 3 inches and channeled no more than 2. I'm 6 ft and I'm looking directly at the visor. I figured if I made them myself I could make them fit me in other words. The speedway seats are comfortable but I have the drivers flat on the floor right now.
Most of the guys I know with Model As, myself included, use the SECOND row seat from a Caravan. These are just over 40" wide and we make our own risers to suit our height. The THIRD row seat is about 43" wide and will not fit in a Model A. I am 6'5" tall
The vette seats I used fold forward to almost flat and would allow rear seat access. I think for a sedan though I would go with a low back seat. My car came with a Caravan middle row seat, they fit well and work ok. The backs do not fold. You can build the riser for them any way you want. But for me it had to go. I'm in northern Colorado and anyone that wants it can have it for a handshake.
You can make the bomber seats out of aluminum, just use rivets, like they were originally made. I think Covell has a video on YouTube that shows an easy way to make them.
I found that video with a couple more. My sedan doesn't have a back seat so I could use one of the caravan seats but I haven't found one around here. I think with a little experimenting with some foam you could make one of them pretty comfortable, after all, it's a hot rod and pretty small.
A chopped-and-channeled but tall buddy bought industrial seats from Northern Tool (forklift I think). Low, comfy and inexpensive seats come upholstered and aren't bad looking. Non-folding, but are strong and light, and being low back can be made to hinge forward and quickly removable for work access to rear cabin--just some angle iron bolted on the floor plus to the seat bottom, connected with pins. Look also at seats at a boat dealer.
I just installed a pair of fork lift seats from Northern Tool into my A pickup, they worked great. I installed them onto bases I got from Speedway, that I chopped 2" in front and 3" in back to angle the seat back a little. They're just about the perfect height, my elbow rests comfortably on the window ledge. Very comfortable seats, well made, strong, fairly light weight but not light as bombers. And inexpensive, <$100 for a complete seat, w/ sliders.
Yeah, those British sports car owners are right proud of those seats. Good luck finding a pair that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I know guys have used them, and I would've had I been able to find a pair. But I hunted for seats for months and did not find a pair of those Brit sports car seats that I could afford.
I’m a big guy and at almost 60 I like comfort for the distance. I used minivan seats front and back in my 28 Tudor. Both fit well and the front folds down for access to the back seat. Cliff Ramsdell
Do the caravan seats fold down? Im looking for Coupe seats but want to access behind them Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Cliff, is the folding seat a "front" from a mini van or "second" row seat Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
The middle seat does not fold. But it is easy to pull the vinyl back, drill holes and use a bolt for a hinge. You have to weld a nut on the inside of the seat frame riser. It worked for me.
Thought that might be doable, i have a pretty complete shop....cut the seat frame, weld on hinge arrangent w stops, grade 8 bolts etc.... Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Yes, the middle seat is the one you want. I did know the width but can't think of it now. A friend had one in his 30 coupe and it was perfect. Only problem is, it'd would have to be recovered and there is not many around here that does it and the ones that does want a fortune. I was going to make the seats where I could pull them out quickly. You can use the quick release pins like they use on drag cars. A lot of wheelie bars use them for quick adjustment, push a button and they pull out. They come in various sizes and have like a T handle.
I used a middle seat from a Chrysler mini van in my coupe and it fits pretty well except I can't make it slide but that could be because I had to mount it so low. It hangs up on the B pillar but that's trivial at this point. Very comfy and looks just like Cliff's seat except mine had child safety harnesses built in. I will probably eliminate those if I ever reupholster the seat. Had to make mount real short because of my chopped top and the fact that I'm 6'3.
@Mike Moreau , @mohead1 , @31 Chopped Coupe , Ok, so the seats are both out of a 1996 Plymouth Voyager. My front seat is the middle row seat and my back seat is the rear seat. They were both folding seats which is why I used these this build. My last front seat was a 91-95 Caravan middle seat and it had built in child seats, great when the grandkids were small. The front seat is about 42” wide with the handle (passenger side) and the rear is about 45 1/2” without any of the reclining stuff, it’s fixed. You can check out my build thread, page 4 has the seat build stuff. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rebuild-of-my-1928-model-a-tudor.1135981/page-4 @Mike Colemire sorry about stepping on your thread. Cliff Ramsdell
unknown black leather buckets... parts yard had no idea... sold me the pair for $50 to get rid of them... much more comfortable than expected... when folded forward they set level with the floor... only pic...
I used the Dodge caravan seat ,I,m not sure what year and what row seat it was but a point that one of you made ( some of them do not fold down.MINE DOES NOT) before you buy one research which ones do, if that's what you are looking for Gene
Fabbed the riser, used the original sliders and bolted them to a Speedway universal slider with handle. Using the original bench seat. Hope them look like this when done. From @Helmuth Brothers build... Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
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