I remember when I was a kid having to sit on telephone books to clear the top of the dinner table... Just keep some throw pillows in the cab for those short legged types~ Or in some cases, to be able to comfortably sleep.
Seat Upgrade This is an extremely well thought out and written article . I am sure it'll get a whole lotta views and copies made .
I need to pull the seat again for paint work on the sheet metal seat skirt pieces that are part of the cab floor. I'll try to get a couple more pictures of the finished product.
Porch Bill, At the yellow arrow in the below picture, how is the new rear 1" X 1" tubing attached to the porch? Does it lay in the exact position pictured? If so, how is it attached to the porch? Is it welded or is it attached forward of where it is pictured laying over the bolt protruding upward and using the old bolt hardware? Andy
The 1"x1" tubing is welded to the 1/8" thick by 1 1/4" wide tab. The tab is about 2 1/2" front to back with a 5/16" hole that drops over the original bolt. Tubing is to the rear of the bolt. Here is a better picture. Same picture with purple marking the welds. The dashed purple is welds on the back side where you can't see them in this picture. The tab is welded to the tubing along all 4 edges. Hope this helps.
VERY nice! Thank you for the excellent pictures and captions! I can't help but wonder if it would just be simpler to do this than reupholster the original bench (stripped and ready). My neighbor has an Astro van she pulled the rear seats out of for room to fit dog crates... I think a call is in order. Looks like the Astro/Safari twins are good for more than just their Hydroboost! My "night job" is cutting into my old-truck time (snow-removal guy).
I don't know what the going price for used astro seats is, but, I imagine low, at a PAP. Well, maybe not for a leather one as good as Bill's. I'm hearing $400 and up to recover a original seat, with fabric. That is for custom work, not the ready made seat covers you can buy. Snow plowing? I gave that up, except for friends, family, and the church. Here in Indiana, no money in it, too many farmers and jobless guys doing it CHEAP. Of course, with the winter your having, it's probably not an option.
I paid $299 for the leather seat on eBay. I was the only bidder. The "flat" version of the Astro/Safari van seat is available at many auto parts recyclers in the Houston for $75-$100 dollars depending on how worn they are.
I know I'm dredging an old post up, but... Bill, its been a year. Still happy with the seat? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks!
Still love the seat. Bill Brubaker (Bilbo) helped me put 3 point belts in the truck last summer. Work well.
Time marches on! I just picked up a seat identical to this one and hour and a half away at a salvage yard. It needs a good scrubbing, but the price was right. The neighbor seems to think hers are worth a MILLION dollars (she has the middle AND the rear seat- as new, never used).
Nice work guys. All cuts are clean and smooth and the flat fold on the perch (or porch) shows you can either work with yellow hot metal or have some really BFH's. Much tidier than pieced together and welded. The shot from the passenger side shows the back of the seat (not the side "rolls") to be at least even with the rear door pillar which is a good max room goal on an AD. Expect to see more of these installs.
I have been actively looking for one of these seats in leather on and off for quite some time now. I drive my truck a LOT and the currently 80's Monte Carlo seat is a real pain in the butt. Hey 52 Wasp, I wouldn't mind driving up to NH to pick up one of your neighbors seats if they aren't too pricey. What do you mean by she wants a MILLION dollars for them. What is she asking? Thanks, Andy
I realize this is an old thread, but after reading this post a while back, I did a search and almost immediately found the exact seat for my truck and bought it. Same color, leather, etc. Later on, I decided on a transmission that won't let the shifter clear a bench seat. If anyone is looking for a seat like this, mine can be had for $100, pickup only. I'm in Bardstown, Ky.
A word about shift levers and seat clearances : Fuller used to make at least _5_ different shift levers that I l knew of to suit one transmission when fitted to multiple different rigs . For some reason they'd occasionally snap off right were they entered the gear box so one or twice a year I'd order a new one specific to that model truck . Then came the day when an un bent one came from the supplier, we had to have a Welder heat it up and bend it to match the old one so it didn't hit the seat . I'm sure you could find a competent Welder with some searching who could make you a shift lever that clears that seat . I have a broken back and found the stock M A.D. seat *very* comfy and supportive when it was properly re covered or had the original covers and stuffing .
Thanks for the response, Nate. The first time I restored this truck, I went the old school, original look. It had a T-5 transmission from an S-10 truck, and that worked fine with the bench seat. This time around, I'm going a little more modern. I've already got a 327 engine in it, but didn't feel good with the S-10 transmission. I found a guy who rebuilds T-5s, and he had a WC T-5 from a '92 Camaro with a V-8 and bucket seats. It's a toploader, and the tailhousing where the shifter mounts is about 3-4" into the bench seat, so there really isn't a good way to make a shift lever work. I have a couple of really nice leather bucket seats from a 2021 Toyota Camry and the shifter will fit nicely between them. I could have exchanged the Camaro shifter tailhousing for the S-10 tailhousing, but I have arthritis in both shoulders, and didn't want to reach any further than necessary to shift.
