Bench to bucket conversion, need help please

[joes68340s]

If your going to do it do it once. The po that had mounted the buckets without reinforcing the floor was a so called fat *** and my floor has the cracks to prove it. And all that working back and forth caused not a single crack but multi directional cracks. Do it once the right way even over do it.

 

[eduardostewart]

so are two or four needed for each bucket?

 

[Dartn440]

If your going to do it do it once. The po that had mounted the buckets without reinforcing the floor was a so called fat *** and my floor has the cracks to prove it. And all that working back and forth caused not a single crack but multi directional cracks. Do it once the right way even over do it.

Americans in general were a smaller people when these cars were built. Obesity was uncommon, morbid obesity rare, and super obesity didn't even exist, so there was really no need to engineer for it. I just have not seen anything that addresses seatbelt yet.

 

[72bluNblu]

so are two or four needed for each bucket?

Two, if you're going to be factory correct.

I used 4, because I've seen what happens to people when the seat brackets tear through the floor in an accident.

Americans in general were a smaller people when these cars were built. Obesity was uncommon, morbid obesity rare, and super obesity didn't even exist, so there was really no need to engineer for it. I just have not seen anything that addresses seatbelt yet.

You don't need to add anything for seat belts unless your car is pre-'67. The seat belt mounting locations are the same for both bench and bucket seats.

 

[eduardostewart]

ok, that makes sense. but wouldn't adding all 4 make the seat lean to one side?

 

[RedFish]

If your going to do it do it once. The po that had mounted the buckets without reinforcing the floor was a so called fat *** and my floor has the cracks to prove it. And all that working back and forth caused not a single crack but multi directional cracks. Do it once the right way even over do it.

They can have cracks in the seat itself too. The short back bucket bases have a hole drilled through side of the base frame for some unknown production purpose.
Cracks most often found at farest left side. Heavy driver in and out ? Clutch pedal operation ? Both ? Look for and repair any cracks found before recovering.

 

[zigs]

Its always good to reinforce when ever possible. When I put my buckets in I used plates on the top and body washers underneath . You want to sandwich the floor sheet metal . My seat studs were toast so I replaced them with 5/16 ready rod and made them long enough
so that I could level the seats use a jam nut to hold position.

 

[72bluNblu]

ok, that makes sense. but wouldn't adding all 4 make the seat lean to one side?

In theory I suppose. The plates are only like an 1/8" thick though. I seriously doubt your floor is level within an 1/8". The tolerances on the frame/suspension points are only within a 1/4", body tolerances are even worse than that. Not to mention the tolerances on the seat.