55 Fargo Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Hi all, there was the the seat frame, and possibly the back was stock, but not the bottom, there ws no material left, and the metal all rusty. I want to utilize the seat frame, any idea ,what I might be able to use for a replacement seat from some modern type vehicle. I am not too worried about being stock, as my truck is so beat, that a lot of custom things will be done. Any suggestions welcomed, I was thinking about a Dodge Caravan bench seat, but am not sure it is wide enough.....thanx Fred Quote
B1B Keven Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I've had a front seat from a Dodge Monaco and from an Oldsmobile Delta 88 in mine at times. Quote
sniggle_t Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Dodge Dakota seat might be a good width. Quote
buds truck Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 dodge dakota is a good fit for sure, I have one sitting in mine, but unsure if I will use it or the stock one. Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Posted October 21, 2011 dodge dakota is a good fit for sure, I have one sitting in mine, but unsure if I will use it or the stock one. Any pics Bud, does the Dakota seat sit on the original mounting frame? I think the seat back is OEM, but so cruddy and rusty, not using something like that, I really don't care if my truck goes back to 100% OEM, I hjave my 47 Chrysler for that.... Quote
Dave72dt Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 dodge dakota is a good fit for sure, I have one sitting in mine, but unsure if I will use it or the stock one. Ask the driver which one is more comfortable. If she's going to drive it, especially for any distance, best make her happy. I hate driving vehicles that make my back hurt or legs ache. Quote
Rusty O'Toole Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) Old truck cabs are rather cramped. They carefully designed a seat to fit in, and leave as much leg room as possible but if you are tall it is still barely enough. Fitting any kind of non stock seat results in a loss of leg room. Here is what I did with an old truck. It happened to be a 59 Ford but the same principles apply to any truck. The seat was completely beat so I measured it, stripped it down to the steel frame, and went junk yard shopping. I looked at rear seats in various sedans. Rear seats get less wear than front seats and are easy to find in good condition. After measuring I settled on a 77 Ford LTD II sedan seat as being the closest match in size and color. It cost me $20. When I got home I cut off the hog rings and peeled the upholstery off the frame. Then fitted the foam and the covering to the old truck frame. It needed a little extra padding stuffed in the corners to get a good fit. But once I hog ringed the covering on, it looked like a brand new seat. It was also comfortable and lasted as long as I owned the truck which was several years. That is the cheap way out. If you are rolling in dough you can just have the seat reupholstered or buy an upholstery kit. I recommend having a local upholsterer do the job. The kits I have seen are made of cheap material and are hard to fit right. A local upholsterer can use better material. I recommend the vinyl used for boat seats and be sure they use nylon thread. Cotton thread will soon fail in a car or boat, it should only be used on house upholstery. A truck seat is dead easy to upholster and you will most likely get a better job and more durable material for around the same money. Incidentally if you want to go the junkyard shopping route there are a lot of luxury cars today with leather upholstery, And modern luxury cars are often small and narrow. I bet you could find some real gorgeous upholstery that would fit in your truck for a few $$$ bucks. Edited October 21, 2011 by Rusty O'Toole Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 21, 2011 Author Report Posted October 21, 2011 Looked at a late 80s/early 90s Dodge full size 1/2ton seat, little wider than what I would like, but looks like it would fit nicely too. It was around 54 inches wide. Does anyone know if this would work...... Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 22, 2011 Author Report Posted October 22, 2011 Looked at a late 80s/early 90s Dodge full size 1/2ton seat, little wider than what I would like, but looks like it would fit nicely too. It was around 54 inches wide.Does anyone know if this would work...... OEM seat frame pictured, want to mount something onto this, will a Dakota seat mount onto this frame????? Quote
greg g Posted October 22, 2011 Report Posted October 22, 2011 Take a look at the rear seat from a Caravan or Voyager from the early 2000's They are easy to pull out, easy to adapt cheal plentiful and fairly comfortable. Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 22, 2011 Author Report Posted October 22, 2011 Take a look at the rear seat from a Caravan or Voyager from the early 2000's They are easy to pull out, easy to adapt cheal plentiful and fairly comfortable. Thanx Greg, I know my 2005 Caravan back seat is too narrow, going to see about a Dakota bench seat today, see what that is like. I want to have a seat, even at this point of the fix up, once running, can zip the truck in and out of the shop, do not want to push it around, if I don't have too......Fred Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 22, 2011 Author Report Posted October 22, 2011 Here is a pic of a Dakota seat I go from a neighbour, it is just sitting in the truck, the trucks seat frame is out, do I remove the Dakota seat glides, and let it sit on the 55 Dodge seat frame. Anybody have any ideas, or what did you guys do???? Quote
Dave72dt Posted October 23, 2011 Report Posted October 23, 2011 I'd start by comparing the mounting surfaces/locations of the glides, original and Dakota. Will the originals bolt to the Dakota seat? Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 I'd start by comparing the mounting surfaces/locations of the glides, original and Dakota. Will the originals bolt to the Dakota seat? Well the original glides mount to the original frame, so that is what the seat would most likely bolt to, the entrie OEM frame. The Dakota glides could be made to work, but I am waiting to hear from those who have done this , they can tell me exactly how it was done, I was hoping..... Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 Pulled off Dakota frame glides, attached seat to OEM frame, have to add some tabs for front bolts, but not a bad fit, and sits well in the truck, will tweak as needed, thanx all..... Quote
55 Fargo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Report Posted October 23, 2011 Pics of seat on OEM frame, this could be tweaked for better presentation, but is rock solid and the stock glides are employed. I gould make a bottom frame out of 1 inch square tube, to sit on the factory glides, and you would see no frame, on the outside edges, it is good enough during the resot phase, as the seat will be in and out of the truck plenty,. The good thing is, once this truck is running, do not need to use a milk crate for seat to move her around..... Quote
John-T-53 Posted October 24, 2011 Report Posted October 24, 2011 Custom like this? Hank Pimpin' aint easy... Quote
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