I spent a bit of time on the seat base, separating it from the back and chopping it all up. I chose a spot in front of that bend where I could weld and grind easily. The base is taped so it is wider at the back, that meant making an additional cut in the center to align the sides...more welding. I also decided to pull the seat support braces that span the pedestal to both brace the frame while I weld it up and to ***ure that it will fit once I'm done. Plus they needed a trip through the drill press as the seat mounting holes are 3" closer together now and I scooted the seat forward 3/4". Ground off the powder coat and beveled my work areas to get good penetration but a smooth finish when I'm done. You can see the small piece under the clamp that I had to cut to fill the front bar in order to line up the sides. I decided to wait until tomorrow to fire up the welder. I have a Dr. appointment in the AM so maybe when I get back. I will brace the center to make sure it doesn't sag when I melt it back together. And yes, that is a box of 8 track tapes that needs to go in the trunk of the Olds. It doesn't hold many but they the selection is excellent. Opinion: should I powder coat the base? Do you guys sand blast the old coating off or go over the top of it? I have had people make errors and re-coat parts before, so I don't see the need to blast everything. And this is only seen when the cushion is raised, so there's that. Sadly, I think this is the easy part. That cushion frame will be challenging and require my daughter's handiwork. She will be over tomorrow afternoon to take the upholstery off, then I can see what I am up against in shortening the springs and frame.
Daughter made it over and we stripped the upholstery off the lower cushion. She says her job is simple so she can get after it. A lot more glue than I would have expected was used attaching the upholstery but we have a plan. For those of you planning to install a Wise Guys or Glide seat, pay attention and tackle this prior to upholstery. Or not, up to you.
I enjoyed this thread, the truck, the work, and the humor. Thanks for sharing-cant wait to see the results. I know pics will come, but if you can also try to recreate the angle of the open door pic showing the change in cab space, that would be great. -rick
This is good info, I wouldn't have thought the aftermarket seat would need those modifications. For the frame I would spray it black and forget about it. For the powder coat to adhere you really need to remove the old coatings.
It's not necessary to powder coat the base, as you know....but your bar is set pretty high (expectations-not the bar in your house). So the front of the seat will require a slight tuck in to avoid the door, or just moving it back will create enough space? This has turned into quite an involved project...I'm sure you'll get it all sorted out.
I think the move backward will give me all the room I needed. I am barely making contact now, it is much wider 3" back.
I welded up the base and finished it with the flapper. It looks good. No distortion from welding. Using a tip from the Wizzard, I clamped a piece of steel square tubing to the base prior to welding to ensure it didn't turn into a pretzel when heat was applied. I also welded in the studs as the base frame will lie directly atop where the front bolts would go. After they cooled down a bit, a quick test fit...this will look much better. You can see I basically flushed the front of the seat frame with the pedestal like Henry did. The pedestal on these trucks are radiused slightly, out in the center and back on the ends, I had to find a happy medium (gay fortune teller?) as the base is dead straight. Being the seat is a bit wedge shaped, top to bottom; this should bring the seat cushion close to flush with the pedestal. All of this so I can access the kill switch and toggles that run the seat heaters, stereo, and under seat cooling fans. Measure twice, cut once is great advice but I forgot to do either when I built it. You can see the seat hinge points extending past the base frame, they must remain ahead of the pedestal to allow the seat to open fully. I think I nailed it. This is before surgery; You can see the seat braces that run front to back extend beyond the pedestal above, they got a haircut. This is post op. Mr. Powder Kote is dropping by in the morning with the finished skid plate (40 bucks, love that guy). I am going to show him these pieces and get his opinion on re-coating them. His brother does all my sandblasting (Mr. Sandman) on the stuff that doesn't fit my cabinet. If they need blasting, they can handle it. If he doesn't think it will turn out I will paint them but heck, for what he charges me...why the hell not? When my upholsterer covered the seat, I wanted a cell phone pocket in the front of the cushion. He forgot. I am thinking about having my daughter add it back in. Tomorrow, I tackle the cushion frame. I need to take 3 inches out of the back this time and shorten the springs in the process. Then it is off to upholstery.
I got the cushion frame shortened 3 inches and s***ched back together. Now...seat springs. Mr. Powder Kote dropped off the skid plate And it is in. I still have a little cleanup to do under side. The paint did not adhere well to the transmission for some reason.
Any chance you could post a picture of this mounted? It's a flat out delicious piece! Great imagination and execution, I love it! BTW, I have my battery cut off in a similar position, easy to get to handy to have.
Oh what a project! I called Glide and they said they don't do springs shorter than 17". There is a good reason for that I found out. Tension! What it takes to open a 17" spring is multiplied many times over when you chop 3" out of those springs. I tried building a couple of different tool designs and this is what I decided on. Basically, a spreader, lots of steel, 7/16" bolt. I had on everything but a coat of armor as I used this the first time. Scared the bajeebies out of me. Hook it as close to the ends as possible and crank the nut until it fits. Surprising how much pressure is in these seat springs. All in, all done (like they say at the roulette table). Tied them down, ready for upholstery...again. That is a lot of work for a 3 inches shorter seat base! But I am very happy that this part of the job is behind me! If this was easy, everybody would do it. They don't!
Very nice work and praying you get back to normal soon. I'm sure it is somewhat frustrating to not be able to drive at minimum.
Looks good Billy. Get well soon, my friend. Looking forward to more updates. I have to live vicariously through your posts, since I can’t work on anything here for a while.
Thanks Gents! I haven't driven in so long my DD went flat. Battery is 5 years old but wouldn't come back. Biggest, heaviest battery I have ever replaced. I was surprised by the 4 hold-down bolts until I realized it weighed as much as a SBC, at least it had two little plastic handles. Did I mention the top of the fender is 5 feet off the floor? Oh well, it is back on its feet, and I am going to try to drive a bit and see what progress I am making. My powder coater just dropped off the seat base so I can install that later today. These things don't build themselves.
We talk about customer service on here from time to time, most of it pans rather than raves. I will add a rave. I just hung up with David at Glide, he called out of the blue to check in with me and see how the spring install and frame shortening went. He also requested some pictures of the seat before and after modification which I will send once the upholstery is back on the seat. In this day and age of Amazon, Temu, and made in China, here is a US company that actually cares about me as a consumer. I butchered their product, modified it to my needs and they still want me to be happy with my seat purchase. Don't be surprised if they add a 3" shorter seat base to their catalog. If you're currently sitting on the fence trying to decide what seat to sit your *** on, put your buns in Glide's hands. You won't regret it.
Sorry this is slow...No. 38... I think that its a 'smiling prognosticator' rather than a 'gay fortuneteller'. That would be a 'queer seer'.
I’ve had great results using an acid aluminum wash on aluminum parts. I’ve had problems over the years painting aluminum parts that I didn’t sandblast, cast parts can have a thin layer of oxidation and on top of that transmissions can have oil soled into the layer making it impossible for paint to adhere. Good luck
That's great info, thanks for sharing. I think one of their seats would be great in my RPU, right now while building I have a Caravan seat for mockup and to see if it will work, what's shying me away from Glide is the cost (especially with the exchange). Great customer service goes a long way in my book, though.
I am excited to see the seat cushion back in. I like the seat back leaning back an extra notch. I'll take any room I can get. I think the seat will look more at home (meaning more original) than before. I have also lost nearly 50 pounds since September, that ought to make me fit in my cars a bit better too.
I bought the Glide seat for my '39 p/u at the LA Roadster show several years ago they were having show specials. The guy I initially talked to quoted me a price but when I went to pay it turned out the guy misquoted the price. But not to worry because they rang up the sale at the originally quoted price without even blinking an eye. 3 weeks or so I got a call saying it was ready for pick up. Drove down the I-10 freeway and picked it up at the factory. Great people to deal with and excellent product as well .
Oooh! Looking at your picture, it seems I forgot something, the support ram. I wonder if it has to be 3 inches shorter as well? I need to do some measuring in the morning. Anyone ever cut them and weld them back up? Maybe keep the ram in a bucket of water so the heat doesn't get to it?
Don't know about shortening it but you should be able to buy one that is 3 inches shorter. They aren't all that expensive. If you want I can measure the one in my seat to give you a stock length if that would help?
For the price of them and risk of welding on one of those hydraulic cylinders, just replace it with a shorter one.
I have the stock one so I guess I just subtract 3 and order one. Problem is they are made for something, vehicle make, year and model. I guess I get to go to Napa and do some shopping.
These gas struts/gas springs are used a lot on RVs for cargo doors, under bed storage. Here’s another source they are relativity cheap.https://www.g***pringsshop.com/configurator/
I’ve also found them at places that make/repair truck toppers and box covers. The ones for the rear cap doors (lighter lift) work very well.
The Jalopy Journal
