'64 Valiant Convertible, Chrysler Sebring seat install

-
BobW

BobW

Curmudgeon At Large
Joined
Jun 26, 2020
Messages
545
Reaction score
547
Location
Central, FL 34705
The bench seat in my Valiant was pretty much trashed, you had to close the door to keep from falling out!
Chrysler Sebring buckets are the right width and have integral shoulder harness'.
Found a set at the local wrecker from different years (based on the plactic trim) but with the same tan upholstery. Driver seat is power! Even got the matching rear seat thinking I could use it to recover the stocker. All in for $150.
Used 2x2angle across the front and made a spacer to keep it level1st pic, 2nd pic is bolted to the seat. Yes I know the wels are crp, but they are inly to hlod the spacers in place and keep the bolts from turning.
The seat will lift out just undoing 4 nuts from the bottom.

20200803_111952.jpg


20200803_145455.jpg
 
The inside rear mount got a spacer welded to the bottom, and the outside rear mount used another piece of angle to bolt to the frame and then through the floor.

20200803_145505.jpg


20200803_145530.jpg
 
I started working on mounting these seats, but noticed right off that the while driver seatbelt works fine, the passenger belt was locked, it would retract, but not pull out.
What I thought was a seat belt buzzer/warning turns out to be a solonoid connected to the airbag/G-force controller module. Apparently it's supposed to lock if the airbag is deployed or 0.7G is sensed.
Applied 12V to the wires and it released the belt. The belt will lock tight if pulled quickly, like your torso going forward, so still fully functional.
I wired it through a fused relay that is activated by an accessory hot lead . I also used the same relay activated power lead to wire the power driver seat. Both leads use an SAE connector that can unplug to pull the seat.

20200805_150939.jpg
 
Looks great so far , I like the idea of using donor seats with the integral seat belts built into them. really convenient for convertibles. and others. No seat belts to mount. :thumbsup:
 
Factory bucket seats got reinforcement plates on the floor inside the car. We see examples of the floor sheet metal cracking at the perimeter of that factory scab plate too.
These seats with integral seat belts should be anchored as securely as they were in the donor car. More than a bolt and flat washer through sheet metal at every corner.
Nobody plans to crash but... brake failure, black ice, hydroplane, chit happens. You wouldn't want the weight of the seat to go with you if. Adding underneath the floor could be well worth the effort.
 
RedFish said:
Factory bucket seats got reinforcement plates on the floor inside the car. We see examples of the floor sheet metal cracking at the perimeter of that factory scab plate too.
These seats with integral seat belts should be anchored as securely as they were in the donor car. More than a bolt and flat washer through sheet metal at every corner.
Nobody plans to crash but... brake failure, black ice, hydroplane, chit happens. You wouldn't want the weight of the seat to go with you if. Adding underneath the floor could be well worth the effort.
Click to expand...
Should have mentioned, 4x4x1/4' plates at each bolt. The outer ones are offset as they are close to the rockers.
 
I got the rear seat from the same car, it's basically the same width as the stocker.
The stock seat base springs were pretty much rusted, but it turns out the Sebring seat with it's molded foam is too thick to mount on top of the springs, so off they went. This left me with an uneven base, but some heavy canvas and soft foam leveled it out. Cushion attachment is just a few hog rings here for mock-up. New skirting will be sewn to the cover to attach to the frame properly.

20200823_092150.jpg


20200823_095928.jpg


20200823_100034.jpg


20200823_100743.jpg
 
The seat back had the same issue with thickness, so those springs were jettisoned as well. The Sebring back has a wire frame molded in that matched some points of the stock frame and I was able to attach it with hog rings. This cushion will also have material sewn to it to finish covering the frame.
The gaps in the corners are where the fabric is pulled tight for mock up, they will be eliminated when fabric is sewn to the cover and it is not pulled so tight

20200823_111526.jpg



20200823_112342.jpg
 
Last edited:
BobW said:
I started working on mounting these seats, but noticed right off that the while driver seatbelt works fine, the passenger belt was locked, it would retract, but not pull out.
What I thought was a seat belt buzzer/warning turns out to be a solonoid connected to the airbag/G-force controller module. Apparently it's supposed to lock if the airbag is deployed or 0.7G is sensed.
Applied 12V to the wires and it released the belt. The belt will lock tight if pulled quickly, like your torso going forward, so still fully functional.
I wired it through a fused relay that is activated by an accessory hot lead . I also used the same relay activated power lead to wire the power driver seat. Both leads use an SAE connector that can unplug to pull the seat.

View attachment 1715573448
Click to expand...
Do you have any more pics/info on this? Trying to get my drivers seat powered up and not having any luck.

*Edit* I got the seat motors all to move, now I guess I need to get the seatbelt module from the donor car
 
Last edited:
75slant6 said:
Do you have any more pics/info on this? Trying to get my drivers seat powered up and not having any luck.

*Edit* I got the seat motors all to move, now I guess I need to get the seatbelt module from the donor car
Click to expand...
The module has a G-force sensor that will cause the belts to lock up immediately, before your body starts to move forward.
I just put 12V to the rachet mechanism, it's the wire that comes down from the seat back. That releases the belt rachet. On my seats, both belts lock up with a fast sudden pull, like when your body moves forward.
I didn't know about the sensor when I got my seats, the wiring on both were just cut at floor level.
If you can get the module and mount it that will work.
I'm OK with the way my belts lock up with motion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top