Ready to put a seat in my 34 Ford truck and what I have does not work well. I have a great pair of old black buckets seats that look great and feel comfortable but just dont give me any room. I need something with a more upright seat back in order to get the lower cushion further back from the steering cloumn. The truck is not channeled and head room is not an issue. The issue is getting away from the column in order to straighten out my legs some and work the pedals. Has anyone figured this out already so I dont have to go to the junk yard and measure 40 dozen seats? Maybe a back seat from a compact? or a seat from a small truck? Any advice is appreciatted!
you need a seat riser then make a seat from a couple of chunks of flat plywood off an original pattern. then take it to your favorite upholstry person & waalaa i have $375.00 total in this seat the back is narrow for leg room & its comfy. its not as clean as it was in this pic but it cleans up & nope i aint sellin mine i use it.
I'm going through the same thing. We used a Ford mini van back seat, and narrowed it. When I sit in it, my legs hit the steering wheel when I push the pedals, just ****s. I think we need to make a custom back of the seat that is only 1-2" from the back of the cab. I know I didn't help any, but it might make you feel better that I'm going through the same thing Kelly
Did you make a seat riser or are they available repro? I had a 32 truck last summer that I bought in St louis and it had an aftermarket seat riser, but never could find out who made it. Bench will work for me!
If you are anX-XL or more you may want to consider small plywood base and a good boat cushion for the bottom and another slice of plywood with an inch of foam for a back rest. A comfy seat don't help if your legs are all boondoggled up. These cabs were not designed for soft stuffed modern seats. Steve
We got a caravan seat for free on Craigs List. It fits god in our 1935 Ford pickup project. We just put a top on the seat riser shell that was there. Good Luck , Bill
I used the center seat from a Caravan in my 32. I built my own seat riser and hinged the non folding seat so that it tilted forward giving access to the underneath for storage.
the riser came in the truck, ive seen some home made risers that looked nice. i have to look around here i made a pattern for the bottom wood off a nice original & im pretty sure its around here. for the back i made my own pattern the back is only 2" thick. if i find the pattern you can have it to make the riser shape from it. the picture is different than how the seat sets in the truck. the back is lower so no gap on each side. (bottom & top are 2 seperate pieces) i went for max leg room & then just kicked the bottom of the back out (lumbar) sometimes i drive this truck for hours. i have driven 4 hours straight in it.
Thats what we use. Have done several this way. The armrests fold up and out of the way into the cab corners, yet fold down just inside the doors. Plus many have set belts built in. Perfect fit, I've bought probably 30 over the years and never spent more than $25.
I just went through this on my 32 rpu. I tried one of those Caravan seats, but couldn't fit my 6'2" self in. I ended up using a Model A seat riser and made a seat out of plywood and high density foam. I just covered it with some brown cloth temporarily to make sure I like it and then I will get it covered professionally. So far so good. Neal
NealinCA, thats just the way i did mine. max room & comfy. yours looks good & i like your steer wheel & colum drop.
I have tried all kinds of combinations in the 32-34 coupe,Roadster & trucks and over all for comfort the custom bench seat provides more leg and head room and long distance driving comfort for me and I am 6'. I reciently tried a pair of custom buckets in my 33 roadster which are still there and at some point going to go with the bench seat again
They make reproduction seat springs for your truck. With the seat riser already there all you need is the clips to hold the seat back spring onto the wood braces. The springs are not cheap but by the time you buy plywood, dense foam etc. etc. it's not that bad. Get the springs upholstered and pop them in place. Just another option since you have the factory seat riser.
98/99/00 Dodge Caravan center seat, the two p***enger short one. I've got one in my model A roadster and had to do some mods to narrow the front of it about 2 inches but your P.U. is wider and it should fit almost perfect. Like choppintops said they are nice cause of the arm rests and if you look a little you can get one that folds down. I got one in perfect condition in the right color for $30.00. I then went back and bought the rest of the seats and used the material for door panels & kick panels. My Interior is done for about $125.00 total and it looks brand new.
tried the Dodge caravan seat and it worked out real well. Just took out one of the two bolts that holds the seat back to the lower so that the back could pivot and stand up straighter. Here is what it looks like:
neal the seat look great ...i've made banquette seat that way but i radiused the large holes in the seat bottom...the webbing moves more freely and no square crners to rest on..$.02
that looks good! every inch counts in a these cabs. my seat is very comfy & i was playing around after driving it a month or so & added 3/4 inch to the bottom of the back & could tell right away it had robbed some leg room.
To get the maximum room change the angled backrest supports to steel, make them follow the cab then L at the seat riser. This way you can save the extra space that is waisted with the angled braces. Then I would build the seat as mentioned earlier in this thread. Seat base out of wood, cut holes in the plywood with webbing & the foam. The backrest foam can be cut at the shape desired to give you the lumbar back support without loosing the gap area between the backrest braces & the cab. I use this way of building seats in small cab pickups & roadsters all the time to get the most room. Also it helps to make your column drop short & angled so it keeps the steering wheel close to the windshield and away from your legs. These cabs are small & every bit of extra space helps alot. www.hotrodinteriorsbyglenn
Great! Looks like the same seat I have, did you get the rest of the interior or are you gonna recover.
After seeing this post I may have to rethink my '34 truck project. I put it on the back burner because I just didn't get the room I needed in the cab. I like what NealinCa did, I may go that direction......Thanks.
Thanks! I didnt get any more of the interior other than the seat belts (which didnt work out). I am going to use the seat just the way it is for right now-low $$ hot rod!
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