I just got a 1953 chevy pickup. All original, plus untold # of years sitting as a rats nest. Every bolt is rusted and break ratio is six out of seven So anyways, I need some help on how to remove the seat. I noticed on someone's thread that is comes apart in pieces. or there are shroud pieces that are separate from the seat frame. Can someone please help a girl out and explain it a little...
Old rusty truck First of all, rodent feces carries Hanta virus. Can make you VERY sick and dead. Killed a colleague of mine after he cleaned out his shed. The virus get airborne when the feces becomes dry and dusty and you breathe it in and then it's all over. Really bad shit...no pun intended. Wet down everything with a solution of soap and water and clean all rodent feces out WET. Do NOT shop-vac it out dry. Treat it like it was Asbestos. Difference is Asbestos kills you in 30 years. Hanta kills you in 30 days...or less. I'm serious. Be careful. Back portion of the seat has two little clutch head screws that hold it in place at the top of the frame. You will see the little tabs that the screws go through. Take out the screws and the back of the seat comes out. Bottom cushion can be removed by pulling up and forward from underneath of the front of the seat . Hope this helps. Be careful. Andy
Excellent post Chiro. We recently had oil field safety training about the Hanta virus. We were told to flush everything with water while wearing a respirator. Kudos to you for bringing this safety issue front and center. There's a reason they call rats and mice vermin... John
I have over the years cleaned up the nastiest of pack rat nests out of old trucks with no protective gear at all & I have lived to tell about it... un-scathed..... I guess I am one of the lucky ones. A buddy of mine recently got stuck with a cactus that was used by desert pac-krats in their nest under a truck seat, while he was cleaning up the mess. Long story short.... he contracted a staph infection from the rat infested nest & had to do some time in the hospital with kidney failure & he had to wear a colostomy bag for 6 months. I now treat all rodent nests in old trucks as toxic. Lots of gloves & a respirator & lots of water & bleach is the only way I tackle these jobs nowadays. http://www.mrpackrat.net/packrats.html http://www.ehow.com/how_8081181_remove-rat-nest.html http://ryngargulinski.com/2010/08/27/pack-rats-poised-to-rule-the-world-outlive-humans-cockroaches/
Good information rat virus Thanks fore bringing up this information about the rat virus and the way to avoid getting infected. Although our climate is Cold in Winter they are still around as they find there ways inside building there nests. I am going to use your advices in the future ! Thanks Martinius.
Welcome!!!! Sorry~ "rats" sparked a topic drift. WELCOME!!! BTW, we don't generally give info unless you post pictures of your truck. (It's like a secret handshake or something...) It seems to me that Ken had posted pictures of your very question not that long ago. Truly, you need to remove the screws that are in the bent over arms along the top of the back seat. (My GMC had 3 screws) Once they are out, so is the back of the seat. Now you have he bottom portion. It should lift out from the front. It may be rusted in place, in a place or two, but it will come out. Once this is out, you will see the metal frame work. Time to bust more screws! Anywho~ This is where Kens50 pictures really help. There is not much left holding things in. You should be able to remove things and paint/lube as needed. I did the same thing, but didn't document so well with photos... Post some pictures of your ride for us, okay? We like pictures!
Back to the seat frame disassembly OK '53 Luver I went out to the shop and took a couple of pictures of my seat frame, as it's not yet complete. If you remove the seat back by removing the three screws at top of seat frame and lifting seat back out like Zig says, then pull up the front of the seat bottom and slide it forward you can remove it as well. Now you have exposed the seat frame, adjusting rails, and fascia. First picture, taken on passenger side, shows the bolts you need to remove, (front and rear, both sides), and the middle one loosens to slip the cable out from under. You can then lift the seat frame off of the adjusting rails. This pic also shows a couple of the screws holding the fascia onto the frame. Second pic, taken of driver side front of frame, shows one of the two nuts holding the front (on each side) of the adjusting rails to the seat pedestal. Third picture, taken on passenger side, shows where the two rear bolts (on each side) hold the adjusting rails to the seat pedestal. The nuts are behind the arrows in pic. Get some PB Blaster, or Liquid Wrench Penetrating Oil (in Yellow can) from Wal Mart or your local supplier... Spray ALL the bolts on the seat frame. Let them soak for as long as you can tolerate, over night is good. I sprayed mine, let set for a couple of hours, sprayed again, and did the same thing. When you get ready to try and loosen a bolt, try it a little, and if it doesn't move, try and tighten it a little. Work it back and forth 'till it starts unscrewing. If it binds, run it back on a little and spray it again. Forgive me if I'm telling you a bunch of stuff you already know.. It's pretty important not to twist off the seat adjusting rail bolts as they're part of the rails You can try and help the screws in the fascia by using good Channel Locks in addition to the screw driver. On those, you can rap them with a small hammer too as it helps bust up the rust. Hope this helps. If you have other questions or need clarification, just ask. I've gotten so much help from all the guys here, I'd like to pass some of that on if I can. BTW, Welcome to the forum! Check out the top Thread on "How to Assemble an AD". It's very thorough and answers a lot of questions in it's text. A very good Restoration Guy named Russ did it...
