I'm not sure if this qualifies for tech month or not, but here's the seat I built for my truck. Sometimes you can't use the stock seat due to a channel and/or chop or find something that'll fit without a lot of modification. I had a pair of buckets in my truck, but wanted something more traditional looking. So to start off, I modeled my seat in NX3 (though definitely not necessary). It just took out a lot of guess work while building it. I kept to a similar shape as the buckets I had because they fit the truck well. I used 3/4" 11 gauge square tube for the framework. I don't have a tubing bender, so I made a series of 10 cuts with my chop saw to make the radiused corners. I made a jig to follow so every radius was identical. Here's the bottom frame almost done I wanted to make the back lean forward to make use of some storage space behing the seat, so I began on the hinge. It's a pretty simple single pivot setup that bolts the the back framework. Here's the start of it: I also wanted to make the bottom riser look decent, so I decided to make a sheet metal skirt to cover the frame. I use some 20 gauge since it's not structural. I thought it might look cool to roll an inset panel, so I marked out some lines and ran the pieces through my bead roller with a step die. Here's one side wrapped up: I finished up the back framework: The next two pics are of the wood. I used 3/4" birch plywood. For the back, I drilled and tapped the tubing and countersunk some flathead bolts into the wood. I wanted the bottom cushion to be removeable (mainly to get to the fasteners that bolt the seat down) so I drilled and installed some T-nuts in the wood. I then took some 1/4-20 bolts and turned the heads done making a pin that threaded into the T-nuts. I then drilled corresponding holes in the bottom framework so that the bottom wood is located by 6 pins. The cutouts will have a nylon material stretched arcross to provide a spring quality for the seat. I also decided to dress up the pieces that connect the seat back to the bottom by making a sheet metal cover for them: And here's a shot of the seat back leaning forward: The seat is now at the upholsters getting finished. They'll stretch the nylon webbing across the cutouts and pad the the wood with a high density foam. Total, I had about $90 in steel (with 12' left over) and $30 in wood. I'll post some pictures of the seat once I get it back from being wrapped. Just incase you wanted to know, the seat is 41" wide and the seat back is about 26" tall.
great craftsmanship? It is nice to see projects getting done, w/o having all the high dollar tools. This is what hotrodding is all about.
Sweet!!! That gives me a lot of direction on a '32 coupe I'm building. I have been postponing even thinking about it, but I really LIKE this! Thanks
I like it, that's really cool! I'll tell you what tho, you shouldn't be too afraid to try upholstry work yourself. It's not nearly as difficult as people seem to think it is.
I did everything else, I've never attempted a seat yet. It's futher along than this pic. I added a welting strip and sewed up a boot for the shifter.
The Jalopy Journal
