Projects Model A coupe seat questions

Hi guys, squatting behind the wheel is getting old, so I am looking for something to rest my butt on when driving my car. I would like to use a vintage seat frame if at all possible. I can't find a good resource for what the seat frames from different As look like. I made a friend at a swap meet, who gave me some cushions and some wood bits, but he didn't have the metal framework that they attach to. Here's what I have:



I was planning to source the missing bits to complete a seat from these parts since it all looks totally salvageable including the wood, but I'm not entirely sure what the parts I need are called or where to find them.

On the other hand, this one was offered to me for $70:



I can't figure out what this seat is. The side metal looks like the coupe side metal I've seen but it has a solid steel back and the coupe seats I've seen don't. I'm not sure what this seat came out of or if it will fit in my coupe, or whether my bottom cushion will fit it.

Any clues? If this doesn't pan out I can easily get a Caravan seat and put it in there for much less money and trouble, but I think it would be quaint to have an original seat.

I also thought about getting the folding buckets from a Tudor.

Of course anything can be made to fit in anything with enough cutting and welding, but that's not really the kind of answer I'm looking for right now!

 

Dodge caravan middle seat fits perfect and you could have it covered any way you want.

 

to have the real ford seat would be nice, they are out there, but not cheap. i would just make one. plywood and some bent 16 gauge for strength on the corneres and your done. it will get covered anyway. i have a coupe, but its together and done. i'm sure some one here could show a photo and some measurements of a bare seat. the springs can be had from snyders, about 100 bucks each, or steal the cushions off the neighbors couch when they are out !

 

That's one thing you need to deside,are you going for stock look,or for comfort of you ? Some thing in between is not a good out come!.
The stock seat for most now days is not very comforble an often bad place mint as well. A mid van seat for temp an desiding your best fit test wise,helps a lot to end with you being happy. Can be $ saved on mistakes.
I made my own after some testing. I did tech on how too! Could be some ideas you'd like;
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-sew-at-home-upholsrety-hot-rod.604077/

 

Caravan seat is what I was thinking for a while (or Mazda MPV as I've heard also works great) for budget reasons. But I like the stock grandma's couch style of the A, and having sat in a few stock As now I think it's just right for me. I was thinking some repurposed sofa leather on an original frame would give it just the right attitude, and of course fit like a glove, as long as the money makes sense.

Does anyone know what the seat I was offered is? The price is good and the location is not bad. I think I can pretty much have it upholstered for the cost of materials.

 

It looks like a Model A 4-door sedan front seat.

 

I ran a Caravan seat in my A coupe for one season but I was not impressed with the comfort. I had a good stock seat and found it to be more comfortable and it fit and looked proper. It did not have that metal surround on it. I had it reupholstered with the rest of the interior and I'm glad I kept the original. Somebody out there must have one you can purchase. Be patient, the hunt is half the fun.

 

Thanks, that's what I was thinking but could not find any pictures of the naked seat frame. Any idea if it will fit right in a coupe? The package tray is optional. It looks to me like it is about the same size but might lean back more than a coupe seat.

I'm surprised by how few people seem to have tried mix and matching A seats. I figured there would be a definitive guide on what works and what doesn't.

My parents had a Caravan growing up and I know from experience that that middle seat is pretty much the bare minimum of what could be considered a seat. It sucks! I hated road tripping in that thing.

 

i have a '30 murray fordor front seat, lots of wood, memory says the 'A coupe seats had flat outside edges.... yours and mine appear to be curved... mine just spent the winter outside... free if you come get it this spring...

 

I’ll post a photo of an original A coupe seat frame later today. I plan to use foam rather than the seat springs in my coupe with that same frame.


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How much time, skills, and $ do you have? Time to get out the tape measure, note pad & brain cells.

Think about these:
- Measure your Daily Driver's seat dimensions & angles and use that as your datum.
- Measure the fordoor seat & see if it'll fit widthwise. Does it have sliding tracks? How's the back angle compared to your DD?
- I know neither the stock coupe, nor the fordoor seats tilt forward, so you won't have any storage space behind them. Also, the stock coupe and fordoor seats have *thick* springy backs, taking up valuable space.
- Lots of guys use van seats. When positioned correctly, they're more comfortable than you probably remember, they tilt, they're relatively thin, and they're cheap (or free). Their upholstery may already be good-to-go.
- With a set of Speedway universal sliders, van seats are adjustable fore/aft. That's a much bigger deal than most guys assume.
- Check the Dallas/Fort Worth Craigslist, both auto parts & free stuff for van seats.

Hope this helps.

FWIW, I'm using 4 tudor bucket seats in my tudor:

 

Here is the original seat frame for my A coupe, I remove what was left of the original upholstery. I plan to use foam instead of the springs and will go with a much thinner back than the springs. I only have 1.5” on the seat back on my A pickup and that is comfortable.


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This is a seat out of a 40 Ford coupe I did. It is all foam construction. Robbed from a newer donor car/pickup. Slice and diced it so it fits. Had to make a riser for the seat bottom.

 

Using a 34 4-dr Ford sedan frame in my 33 Plymouth. Had to shorten the back to fit. Will do the same thing with foam. Will also add a power seat tracks to adjust the seat up/down/forward/back.

 

dodge caravan middle seat


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I have a scrollsaw, so I think I am just going to make the pieces I need out of plywood. I'll use them as templates to make metal ones later. Could I bother you for these measurements?



I will just eyeball the curves.

 

Another option that is traditional are old school bus seats. I have not done it but I saved a couple for future builds. A search here should find some matches.

Added, There is quite a difference in the shape of bus seats from the traditional seats from back in my days to what is currently used. The older ones have lower backs and vertical sides. Might have to do some searching to find what looks right.

 

This is the dimensions I came up with mine in my model a coupe. The green dimensions are the width and teal are what your looking for. I wish you were closer as I have a few seats

 

Buy that 4 door seat and cut it up to fit. You dont want that modern caravan DNA in your hot rod. It'll be much much cooler.

 

Recommend you see what Glide has to offer. They make top quality seat frames with springs. The seats are adjustable back and forth, the back is adjustable and the cushion folds forward. Tanks, Inc. makes a great bracket-riser that fits the Glide seat frame and is adjustable up to 3-inches in height.

 

I would love to some day have a nice vintage or vintage-looking seat in my car, and some day I will. I want this car to be road trippable some day and comfort is a big part of that, second to looking period. Glide's offerings look great and are definitely leagues ahead of anything I could kludge together from scrounged junk. But I'm kludging and scrounging because money's real tight like. The bare seat frame for my coupe that Glide sells is almost a grand by itself and that's before I have it upholstered... I'll consider expensive stuff like that down the road when the rest of the car is sorted. Right now, I'd almost be satisfied with a securely mounted Home Depot bucket. But I got what I have for free, as cast-offs from someone else's project, so I'll make do.

 

I ran the caravan seat in my A coupe with the package tray and stock riser. I spent a lot of time getting the angle good when I mounted it. It was so much more comfortable than the stock seat was it wasn’t even a second thought to which one to go with. My wife made the covers and we removed all signs we could of it being a modern seat I can’t find and good stills of it in the car but you an see it in this old video pretty well.
With it in the car I could run out of gas before I’d have to stop to stretch out. I’d be lucky to make 1/2 tank with the stock seat.
As another bonus you’ll gain headroom and legroom without that tall bouncy stock seat bottom. You should be able to get the look you want and be reasonably comfortable at the same time with some work. Good luck, if
you look towards the end of this video you can see the caravan seat with the stock package tray and seat riser in my old coupe.

 

Russco, do you have glass packs on it, & what size pipes did you run? Thank you.

 

Caravan seat in my tub with leather from a free couch in the local classifieds. I had one of the seats before and then had buckets, I went back to the minivan seat because I sit lower in it and it reclines but also folds forward to get behind it.




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