i'm looking for a couple of bucket seats to put in my 39 ford tudor. just plain good old fashion bucket seats with manual adjusters . no high back or heated . just plain ol buckets. i'm wondering what kind of seat to use with just flat mounting to the floor . what did you ol hot rodders use ? the car isn't a show car or likely to win any awards but it's mine and I have a ball with it and don't really car when someone says a 39 ford didn't come through with bucket seats. thanks for the help.
I wasn't there, but if you pick your era, that'll dictate the answer. Way back in the '40's, hot rodders kept the stock seats, since they were only a few years old, there were few or no stock or aftermarket domestic buckets, and replacing them didn't make the car go faster. Later, surplus WWII aircraft seats were used in race cars. Then, as foreign cars (VWs, Austin Healeys MGs, etc.) became common, they were used in late '50's and early '60's hot rods. Corvair buckets were also popular. Corvettes got 'em in the mid-late '50's. Big sporty American cars started getting bucket seats in the early '60's (my mom's '64 Impala SS had 'em). Aftermarket bucket seats became common as drag racing got popular in the early-mid-'60's. Hope that helps.
Hard to beat the early 60's Galaxie & T-Bird buckets. I find them comfortable, they aren't that difficult to locate and I believe they would fit, but don't have first hand knowledge on that. -Dave
I know you don't want to here this, but put seat covers on the original seats if you still have them....
Check these out. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Procar-Pro-90-Lowback-Vinyl-Bucket-Seats,8932.html Low back, can put their sliders on them, comfortable. A little more plush than Mustang seats. Be honest. You find old buckets, they need re-upholstered and you will have more than this in them. Have them in my '62 unibody. SPark
If you have an import salvage yard around you take a look at two door Toyota echo seats. The passenger side moves forward when the seat back is folded forward. I used these in my 32 sedan. I know Toyota isnt traditional but these seats have a nice round shape that looks right in an older car.
you cant bolt buckets directly to the floor, you wont be able to see out over the dash. you would need a riser under them. I'm assuming this is for the car in you Avatar. If you have the stock bench just have it recovered. no pair of bucket seats ever looked right in 39 or 40 Ford. The front seat is sought after for people building these. if you have it use it. The bench will win in everyway. unless you just have to have buckets in it, if that is the case. find a set of 35 36 ford sedan delivery buckets. they will look right and almost bolt in. I have a pair for my 31 sedan, if you would like pictures of what to look for.
Possibly a small truck bench seat that tilts forward for access to the back may not look to bad and be a viable alternative.. Also some larger junk yards have a lot bucket seats to choose from.. Cool sedan by the way...
When I was young & dumb, & just got my '39, I was planning to pull the front bench & put in buckets. After several failed attempts at making any of them look something close to decent in there, I recovered the bench. Best decision made. 40+ years later, still glad I did. Look for an original.
I have a rough but recoverable original split front seat from a 1939 Ford Standard 2 door sedan that I'd sell for $100 but only if I don't have to ship it. Don't know if you might possibly be heading to Wisconsin for some reason any time soon but it's here if you needed it.
Right there is what I would use. If you have an import salvage yard around you take a look at two door Toyota echo seats. The passenger side moves forward when the seat back is folded forward. I used these in my 32 sedan. I know Toyota isnt traditional but these seats have a nice round shape that looks right in an older car. View attachment 3822629
I used the seats from a 86 Mustang GT in my 39 coupe and made a pipe frame to mount the tracks of the seats to. One nice thing about using the mustang seats is the upholstery kits and foam are easy to install and I eliminated the head rest. Also I should mention buy the foam and covers from the same company or they may not fit. .
Take a look at Jaguar XJS bucket seats, '88 and older. These are very comfortable seats and foam/recover kits are readily available in both vinyl and leather. Look similar to early Mustang buckets with the removable headrest gone, lack the cheesy plastic trim found on most later seats, have adjustable backs, and they're manual tracks too. One thing you need to check is the lower seat 'spring'; Jaguar used a rubber 'membrane' for the spring, make sure that's not torn. I'm pretty sure the XJ sedans used the same basic seat (with slightly different covers), look at those too.
saw your interior.....What are you using for your armrests, and what did you use for backing to screw to? I have a 40 tudor.
Hi Rick, I used the 86 mustang armrest also, they are the same from 77 thru 86 mustang and screwed it to the inner door panel. I drilled a 3/32 hole in the sheet metal then use a center punch to put a dimple in the sheet metal to give the screw more contact to the metal, it looks like a bullet hole if you know what I mean with the metal stretched in. The red ones were used for mock up till I found the black ones that are in the car now. You can buy new ones from Mustang unlimited but they don't fit like the factory parts do.
Along with what Nailhead Jason said , except that 35-36 Tudors also used bucket type seats. I had the originals in my 36 for awhile till I got the brainstorm to put the seats from my Grams wrecked 87 Escort in it. They are comfortable and look right BUT I shoulda left the stockers in. I ended up selling them to DJANGO for use in his 36 sedan delivery. Just look for either the 35-36 seats or get a stock 39 seat and redo the cover, thats definitely you best choices. Mitch.
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