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.
The Jalopy Journal
