Customs Swivel Bucket Seats?

GotGas's Chrysler got me thinking about swivel buckets. A semi-common feature on '50s/60s show cars, but those were pretty crude in most cases with no locking mechanism for while you were driving and some didn't look very substantial in case of an accident. The OEMs offered them on a few cars, Chrysler in the '50s, and IIRC GM in the '80s but they weren't common by any means.

So does anybody have hands-on experience with these? Pics of the OEM mechanisms, hand-fabbed examples, etc? I don't want to re-invent the wheel if I don't have to and given the rarity of the OEM deals I expect it may be cheaper/easier to build something while keeping things safe.

 

Most conversion vans have them.

 

Decent swivel mechanisms are readily available in the van market. I would think they could be adapted to a suitable bucket seat.

 

I had factory ones in '76 Monte Carlo

 

Ive seen plenty in 70s GM cars but I don’t know of anybody that used them. I worked in a GM dealership in the mid 70s the GP could be ordered with the seat’s. I can’t remember one time when the customer got in the car with the seat turned.

 

Who needs locking swivels? I can think of a custom '55 in Minnesnowta..

 

I did a quick on-line search, there are several sources listed and some how-to information.

 

Never even thought of vans....

 

Friend (his family owned a Chevy dealership ) had them in a bunch of El Camino’s in the 70’s. Had a lever on the side to release them, but I don’t remember him ever using them. If you bought the bucket seats in Chevelle / ‘Camino / Cutlass I’ve the era you got swivels. Not sure about Buick and Pontiac.

Van bases are easy to get, but would have to be cut down. The seats are 10-12” off the floor. If you found the GM bases they were close to the floor.

 

I was thinking they were available in mid to late 70's Mopars too,like Cordobas and Dodge and Plymouth equivalents?

 

The van swivels come separately from the bases so no need to cut anything down.

 

@Moriarity both those cars are cool as cool can be .

motorized swivel seats is simply icing on the cake to everything else in that car .


But MAN I’ve used electric meat grinders that make less noise !!!!!!


Still cool tho

 

And if you find one from a Cordoba it would have "fine corinthian leather"

 

Here was my '62 Nova when it came home...T-shirt seat covers with swivel seat from an early 70's
Monte Carlo. Replaced them with a bench seat....

 

A buddy had a 73-74 Monte Carlo that had them. He had a bad leg, injured in a wreck, that would get stiff on him. Worked out good for him, he could sit down and turn to get in without having to bend his leg much.

 

No, it's "Rich Corinthian Leather". Not that it matters.

 

Chevelles and Monte Carlos shared the same mount and seats. They were comfortable for there day in vinyl and cloth. We a had two sets at different times..

 

a bench seat in front IS my preference. i like my lady close.

 

Sorry but I'm sticking with "Fine Corinthian Leather"

 

A bud had swivel buckets in his '34 Vicky. He used a motor out of a hospital bed, with a 'screw-jack' setup. Both motors, both seats. Volvo buckets, 144 type. Sat low.
Seats would swivel 90 degrees, and stop. Also could be stopped anywhere in the 1/4 turn.

I said, "Terry, you are a mental case." (thick German accent, ala Colonel Klink)
But I had dropped my 650 Triumph, and Pal Pat ran over my right leg, bad knee for 3 months!
Terry rolled up to the house one Friday night, to cruise downtown... I sat in the inviting swivel, and it turned to the front. Painless!
Got home after midnight, I was sweating getting out of the low-raked fendered Vic...But turned the seat...I stepped out over the running board, got right up!
Terry just did the cool nod, like all the posers downtown...Yeah, no mental case. Just cooool.

 

Looks like we are both right, they did it both ways

 

I had it Chevelle and Monte Carlo had swivels . Used the Chevelle ones quite a bit . Sure a decent set are money now . I though about comfy van ones for the ‘48 F1 .

 

Just last week I scored a factory swivel bench out of a '59 Imperial for my own Imperial project, they are super cool but that seat has to weigh over 200 lbs and is super wide, and extremely rare to find too

I know of a couple lowrider builds that used bass boat seat bases adapted to the car's floor, there are all kinds of swivel bases for fishing boats, I think some of them lock too.

 

I had a 1973 Chevy caprice with factory seat like that

 

Man those are sweet. Even better if you added these butt ejectors.

 

Mark you got all the fun shit! I think my neighbor had swivel seats in his 1960 Plymouth Fury rag top if I remember correctly. Seems to me they locked in place.