Hello good people -- I have a "barn find" of sorts. While cleaning out my late father-in-law's garage, I came across two plastic trash bags each containing a car seat. A little bit of elbow grease cleaned them up rather nicely, I think, but I don't know where they came from. Photos are attached; the seats themselves are not perfect, but they are in good shape. My FIL had a couple of interesting cars back in the '60s; his favorite was a '63 Studebaker Avanti, and these sort of match the photos I've found online, but they're not exact. I haven't seen any, for example, that have the little chrome ****on for folding down the seatbacks. He also had a '57 Chevy, a Corvair, and a '70something f-body at some point. These seats could have come from one of those, or from none of them. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
With the release ****on being low, it must have been something with a back seat. If it were a two-seater the release would have been higher up. Also, the low backrest and no headrest puts the date at no later than the late 60's before headrests were required.
I don't see how they couldn't be 1963 Avanti seats. Granted they look a little flat ... stuffing wise ....but maybe original 8 pleat centers with a res***ch on the bolster surround ? Almost looks like a non factory recover anyway. I don't mind being wrong .... but with many an *** in a fifty year old seat ... and with vintage covers near impossible at one time ... how wrong exactly could I be ??? No more then you maybe. Good luck !
I want to think they're from an Avanti, but two things trip me up: the number of pleats in the seats, and the seat folding latch/****on ***embly. The ****on, in particular, seems to be unique to a particular car, and I haven't seen any Avanti photos with a latch like that. I doubt a reupholstering job would have changed out the latch hardware. Agreed with above regarding the low seatbacks, placing these seats in the mid-'60s at the very latest. That still leaves a lot of possibilities...maybe someone out there will see the latch hardware and set off the ol' light bulb?
Ignore the emergency brake handle ... but just behind it, is an adjustment lever similar to yours ... same number of pleats, and side seat hinge escutcheons. I can't find the rear push ****on yet ... but these are vintage VW seats supposedly. I believe the seats are what you have ... but not banking on the source yet.
Yup, they do appear to be the correct seats. And now my wife recalls that one of her dad's good buddies had a dune buggy; I wonder if these seats were related to that project! I looked up the photo you copied up there and went to the thread where it was posted on a different forum...the guy actually says they're British seats, not VW. Either way, this is the best lead so far. Thanks!!! The mystery continues...
Maybe some sort of Triumph seats ? TR250, TR3, Spitfire, MG ... who knows ? Pictures that appear to be the seat frames, near approximations to the sewn pattern ... but material is different. As well, no rear photos showing the mystery ****on. I'm thinking yours are earlier. Found some seat belts that may work ... I'd use black ones though.
Those seats do look very English. And the low mounting release ****on, is just putting them in the right era, fir the HAMB. British car industry ran a lot of the same seats, in different makes, in an attempt to keep the price down. So they ran the same stamping and added different pleat or patterns. And some time also colors on the same seat. And then add 40-50 years of mix and matching in the aftermarket, stuff looks different. I agree with them saying it's a nice British seat, now go and put them to good use!! And regarding the young gal with the happy restraints; couldn't you have found some Vintage belts? Simpson, WW2 belts, britax or Britton? ;-) FYI British cars often had the battery's below and behind the seats, so even a two seater had to flip the seats forward.
I have looked at the seats for the last few days and I think they are Jag. I know I have covered some at sometime in the past. Also have covered Avanti , and don't think that is what they are. The way the bottom is attached with card board tucked in just says British to me. Wish my memory was better. And yes very nice belts
Thanks for the history lesson. It may end up being impossible to find the exact source. That said, I definitely intend to find them a good home. I don't have any projects at the moment, but there has to be someone out there who will put these low-back seats to good use. Gotta keep 'em out of the s**** yard!
UPDATE: I found a new home for the seats. If you like a good story, read on... My father-in-law was an honest, long-haired, hard-working machinist who worked literally until the day he died. He absolutely loved hot rods and customs, and he surrounded himself with the paraphernalia of the culture -- piles of magazines, die cast miniatures, Rat Fink books, and so on. I grew up in a different era, of course, but I also loved cars well before I met his daughter. In the too-few years we had together, my FIL taught me a lot about his hobby, and I "joined the fold" as a result. Don't get me wrong, I still love the cars that I cranked, sweat, and bled over, but I think rods and customs are awesome, too. Unfortunately, he died before he ever had his first rod or custom. He was six months(!) away from retirement, which was when he planned to clean out his modest garage and make way for something truly kool. And while I also want to start something of my own, I currently get moved around far too much for work to make it practical. (That, and I can't seem to decide where to start! I'd love a '50s style slab-sided taildragger just as much as I'd love a '32 roadster, and there are days when an old Suburban or a '50 GMC pickup sounds perfect. Maybe it's just a matter of which project finds me first, instead of vice versa?) So fast forward to last night. I was sitting next to a coworker at a second job when I remembered that he had shown me some photos of a '40something pickup he had just bought to tinker with. I asked him, "hey...you don't know anyone who needs two low-back vintage seats, do you?" It turned that that he did! He's putting together a weird VW coupe that I'd never heard of before, rat rod style, and he had just spent the past day mocking up a bench out of plywood...but after all the work he put into the rest of the car, it didn't seem right to him. He was on a budget, but I wasn't out to get rich, so I showed him the photos of my seats and we made a deal. I really wish my father-in-law were still around to see where these old seats are going. I really want to know where he got them and where he intended for them to go. I am, however, very happy to see them being put to use in someone's dream car, which is something my FIL sadly never got to do himself. Even though I never figured out exactly what they were, these seats found a good home and I think it makes for a cool story. Thanks to everyone who helped out in this thread.
Unfortunately no. That photo of the Manxvair up there...I found the thread in another forum where it was originally posted. I registered and replied to the thread, but no response so far. Was possibly my best lead.
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