49-51 merc savvy?

so don't tell me what I should do, tell me what you did. Stock seats , bucket seats, or other modern seats ? I am torn cause I am an auto trimmer[ upholsterer] and would love to do a super flashy interior but struggle with that because I think it should look old timey, tuck and roll and bench seats.Buckets are more adjustable which makes long drives more enjoyable.What did you do?

 

well my buddy has a merc with cadillac buckets, and personally i tihnk it ruins the whole interior, and that goes for most with similar applications.

stick to the stock benches, you cant go wrong.

 

I think 50's T bird buckets would look great!!

 

I have a 60 or so rambler wagon front bench.It reclines, I had to do some reworking, so they would fold forward too. Its a little narrower, but I think it will be fine.

 

T-bird buckets are 60's not 50's. Even thought the 58,59,and 60 came with buckets,it's still considered a 60's deal.

 

this is a very good question. I am in the same boat with my mercury. I want to keep the old school look and I like the bench seat too. I also like the Thunderbird seat so I want to follow this thread to see thoughts.

 

I started with the seats that fit the new floor (we wont go there). I ****canned those red 81 Cadillac seats and Stole??? from a friend a full set of 64 Cad interior. It doesn't fit well but it fits and looks kinda cool. I'm a big tall *******, so there is no foot room in the backseat, but I dont sit there. I wish that I'd saved the stock seats , but I canned those too back in high school. When I started the build , there was no such thing as a freshly built traditional custom, and I'm not that old.

 

Well I was talkin' about 50s Bird buckets... bobby!

 

I was originally gonna do my whole interior stock and original. I decided to go with white tuck-n-roll,red seat belts,black carpet. Right now it still has the black stuff I bought from SoCal Merc. The plan is to have it all done by the end of the summer,but we'll see. I'm not a fan of buckets,unless you are doing a full Custom. I have seen some great interiors,fancy ones,but not my style.

 

Yea I was thinking about white interior with the bench seat and use blue piping and blue sticking and I love the tuck and roll ****

 

I at first had my stock bench up front,and bought some buckets (which I thought I wanted.....) Then came time to find a cool console to "flow". I ended up going back to the stock bench,and glad I did. As for the rear,65 T-Bird wrap arounds with a modified merc bottom=eliminated the arm rests,and widened the seat to snug against the door pannels. Front is comfy,rears are comming out good,just the T-Bird tray is a lot more work than I expected.
Your ride..... Do what you think is best.

 

Here's some interior examples...

 

I actually retract my statement about buckets... go with a split bench!! Nice pic bob!

 

Here's a crazy one...

 

Every time I put buckets seats in a car, I'll turn around and replace them with a bench seat. Buckets are very comfy but lack room, besides tuck n' roll looks better on a bench seat. I've learned my lesson, I'm going with the bench seat and good old tuck n' roll to get that perfect era look.

Bench seat with some fine tuck n' roll is my vote for your ride.

CRUISER

 

buckets?

 

Well the comparison of all those bench seats to that last pic of the buckets basically confirms in my mind that bench seats rule!!

 

I have to say, white tuck and roll and a stock bench seems to be the right call. I used to have a baby 50 lincoln and the seats were so much nicer than the merc seats and would be a direct bolt in, the front seat is so much cl***ier and the back seat has a fold down center arm rest, however there aren't many of these seats around.I have already bought a stock front seat and scrounged up a rear seat so I will probably use them but another thing about the traditional tuck and roll thing is you just never win best interior in a car show cause the judges have and usually select an interior the looks like it was styled after a mercedes or some japanese car interior. Bunch of braindead bums anyway.

 

I hear what you are saying streamliner, it's just that it seems like sacrilige.

 

Bench is the way to go. Have a olds 88 bench full power split bench out of a 74 olds 88 2 door .Bolted into factory holes

 

Mine came with buckets out of an 85-ish Buick and a home made console. White pleats and green piping make it not stand out quite as much, but I will be replacing them with a stock bench one of these days.

 

I really like bucket seats so I think when I rip out the ones in the car now I will just find some that fit the look of the car better, like something from a 50's Corvette or 60's Corvair.

 

Factory baby maker front bench ALL THE WAY!!!

 

I see they call you BadBob.