After i put a Dodge caravan middle seat in my Model A coupe it is just a little too wide to slide back and forth. The seat back adjuster lever sticks out just a little far on the passenger side and the seat hits the B pillar on the drivers side. How do I remove the adjuster lever to cut out the dogleg and reweld it straight? Dont want to burn the seat cover as it's really clean for a wrecking yard find. Had to mount the seat really low to compensate for the five inch chop. Anyone done this before and how hard to get this apart and back together?
The lower you go the tighter it is. I/we removed the original upholstery to add a little more foam and recover. If I remember correctly, you can carefully remove the cover without much trouble. The cover basically holds the foam in place, but there could be a few places that have adhesive on them, so go slowly. If straightening the arm doesn't give you enough room, you could always section the frame an inch or so and cut the foam to match.
I would take the lever out and replace it with a speedway kit. I have a middle van seat in my T Coupe that didn't come with adjusters and the speedway kit works just fine underneath the seat. Or maybe, you can take off the cover of your lever.
So, @catdad49 is correct ! You’ll have to elevate it a little to fit. The plastic covers come off easily. I chopped the handle to tuck it in.
I used the speedway kit for the fore and aft slider but I am wanting to alter the seatback adjuster lever so that it will clear the "B" pillar.
This is what I am trying to do. I was wondering what to expect when I remove the bolts that hold the seatback adjuster. I have the plastic cover off but I am concerned about that big heavy spring that looks like everything might fly apart if I remove the wrong bolt. Wondering what the correct procedure is. I want to take it apart like you have done and cut the dogleg out of the lever and weld it back together.
OOOOHHHHHH...I got it now, I miss read the "seat back" as to slide it forward and back. Ok...I would remove the cover from the lever and cut and weld it as stated above.
You can take separate the back from the bottom by removing the large bolts under the cover. The spring won’t come off or move. There’s a cable attached to the handle but it’s easy to disconnect temporarily. I covered the seat with a welding blanket and used a cut off wheel to chop it, then welded it back together. I have pics, I’ll look
The seat back mechanisms can be completely removed from the seat frame by unbolting them, and the covers and foam can also be completely removed from the frames. There are plastic clips that hook onto the round stock on all 4 sides of the bottom seat cover that can be unclipped. Then the cover can be removed, and the foam lifted out. The seat back has the plastic clips as well but those usually close at the bottom. the head rests and the head rest locks need to be removed from the top of the seat, the headrest need to have the button on the locks pushed in and the head rest lifts completely out of the seat back. Then the head rest locks are pressed into the seat frame and need to be gently pried out. The seat back cover and foam come off together and require a slow wiggle motion. Be aware that the foam often sticks to the steel framework, take care separating the foam from the steel. Gene
Its gonna be couple of days before I can attempt any work on this. Gotta work some long days on fire cleanup work after all the wildfires that we had here this summer. Thanks to everyone for the assistance.
I narrowed a Voyager seat for my 34 and it works great. Just widening one to go in a 49 Chevy pickup. In the 34 the back of the seat hinges forward which is very handy. The back on the seat we are modifying for the pickup does not tilt forward no big deal but was wondering if anyone has ever used one of these and modified the hinge so that it does?
I cut up an S10 seat for my 32 roadster...not the same, but good enough to show what you may have to do to get it nice - see page 1 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/built-lots-of-cars-but-never-a-32-roadster.1244478/ I used these seat glides - they are commonly out of stock, but speedway and others sell the exact same thing with a different brand name https://www.summitracing.com/parts/MST-620030 They are super low-profile and will allow you to use spacers to suit
You never know if your seat position is right for long drives...beat to use sliders to at least have the option to adjut
Although I used a third row seat, I narrowed it by removing the required amount from the center of the seat frame and then welded it back together. The seats are relatively easy to disassemble. I cut the foam as well to fit, glued the pieces back together and have yet to reupholster it but it would not be difficult to modify the original cover to fit. As previously noted the covering and foam remove easily without damage. The original mechanisms were heavy, did not suit my purpose and were eliminated. I fabricated my own seat adjustment mechanism with 5 positions spaced an inch apart. The seat back folds down for access behind. ( I have a two piece removeable roof section that fits in that space) The seat bottom lifts up for storage underneath as well. The car is channeled and the seat is as low as needed with adjustability built in for height, slides back and forth 4 inches on rollers and has an adjustable seat back angle. If needed I can dig up a few pics.
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