'69 Valiant 4-door w/bench seats

'69 Valiant 4-door w/bench seats - cramped at 5' 10"?

mvh said
Oh, the bucket seat mounting points will not be drilled on your bench seat car. Also, the factory reinforced those points with a welded-on plate -- you can buy the plates from several sources (AMD makes them, I think). Just FYI, when I swapped from 40-year-old factory bucket seats to a brand new reupholstered bench (it was a factory bench car), my seating position moved forward at least 4 inches, and up probably 5. I used to be able to wear a fedora while driving, now my hair brushes the headliner. That's mainly why I fabbed the relocation plates -- it was freaking me out sitting that high (because the track is sloped, back = down). I might have the upholstery shop take out some padding, too.

Interesting. That suggests the buckets would give me an extra 4" of distance from the wheel.

I found the floorpan reinforcement plates - looks as if there isn't a consensus whether they go on top or on the bottom. Some say that the factory put them on top, but common sense suggests that the forces against the seat would be best spread by having the plate welded on the bottom.

Either way, it's an easy enough modification if I choose to do it (read = If a pair of nice '69 buckets just so happen to land in my lap without trying) with the plates on the bottom, as I can plug weld the plates in from the top. A bottle jack should holding the plates onto the bottom of the pan nicely - no upside-down welding required, and it'll keep the sparks away from the fuel venting system (thus preventing the need to drop the tank and the whole fuel system, not to mention letting the whole underside air out).

-Kurt