looking for front seat for a 1951 chevy deluxe bench or buckets any idea's what would be the best fit???
Most of the seats that fit right and look proper are now as hard to find as a stock seat in good condition. I had a 65 Cad Coupe Deville seat in my 51 Merc for a long time until the foam gave out. It was seriously comfortable when it was still in good shape though. Scroll down to the model you have and it has diagrams that show stock seat dimensions that you can use to find something that you can use and sit comfortably in. No freaking high back seats though. pages (gmheritagecenter.com) Width wise it looks like you want a seat or seats that will be no more total width than 60 inches. and if you run buckets you want the outside edge of the seats pretty close to 60 inches apart.
2 door or 4 door? If 2 door you need a bench that the back folds forward in order to get to the back seat area. 4 door bench seats are fixed back.
As mentioned by @junkyardjeff, it would help if we knew where you were. Who knows, there could be someone nearby with just what you need. Shipping a seat across the country on the other hand can get pricey.
I have long thought, and posted about it before, that at a minimum, a member should have to include State of residence. For the extreme privacy kooks out there....I think you seriously overrate your importance...unless of course you are a wanted felon. In which case, I hope the authorities find you anyway. Ray
Hello, When we were little, the 1952 Chevy sedan was perfect for our little bodies to jump all over, wrestle and act as if we were driving the sedan while parked in the driveway. The Chevy sedan was our cousin’s mom’s work car. When we visited them at their house around the block, it became our playground, while the adults had their coffee and gabbed away. For us, we did not think of the style or comfort of the bench seats. If the driver was little (they were, 5 feet tall) then whoever sits in the front seat regardless of size will suffer the position of the short driver when the seat is moved forward. (unless you are the same size) 4 ladies out for a cruise As we got older and now were driving our bench seat, teenage, Chevy sedans, it was what came with the car and that was it. We were all happy for the wide bench and seat area to stretch out while driving and other stuff. We never gave it much thought about bucket seats until we started sitting in some friend’s sporty cars and were able to adjust the seat back to fit our growing bodies. The stock bench seats were ok, as there were little choices to get from 1955-62. But, as the sporty bucket seats started showing up, there were more choices. Now, not just the stock factory bucket seats were used, but the comfort fitting sporty car bucket seats for hot rods and drag racing hot rods. The Detroit bucket seats were almost fixed at about 90 degrees. So were the bench seats. The adjustable seat backs now gave all of us choices. No more front seat cramping if the driver is short as the bench seat had to move forward, with a tall teenager riding shotgun. The advantage was being in the back seat behind the short driver, for plenty of leg room. Double dating? The Chevy back seat had so much room, it became the choice on those long drives down to "1000 Steps" in Laguna Beach. Unless you are going for the complete stock look of the interior, bucket seats would be the answer for comfortable driving on those road trips, short or definitely on long trips to ease the standard back pains derived from the almost 90 degree stock, non-adjustable seatbacks. YRMV Jnaki For those that want the complete stock look, fine, stay with the stiff bench seat. But comfort of adjustable seating and body styles, bucket seats with adjustable seat backs are the answer. As nice as the stock bench seat looked in the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery, the pair of adjustable sporty car bucket seats gave a driving position that suited both my wife and I any time we got behind the wheel. Comfort and driving go hand in hand…
In my 53 2dr. I used a 60/40 split bench from a mid eighties GM club cab pickup. Nice thing, no headrests. Width was within inch and half overall.
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