cptn60
Member
Hi, just got first A body. 73 Dart Sport with a fold down seat. My question is there a way to retain the fold down and still mini tub the car? Or should I just back half it and be done with it? Any ideas would help, thanks.
Minitub with Fold down seat
- Thread starter cptn60
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hawaiiandart
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2009
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I've always wondered about this. I hope someone has done it and kept their back seat and tells us of his experience. I wonder how 67-69 Barracudas do their mini tubs since they had fold down back seats. Maybe someone out there can give us some input?
Keep us informed should you decide to do yours and PLEASE post pictures!8)
Keep us informed should you decide to do yours and PLEASE post pictures!8)
coolbreeze
LoweLife
I have the same issue. I would like to do my wagon but because I haul rugrats, I can't lose the back seat! Hope someone will chime in.
I still have my back seat, and those are 18.50 M/T tires. Anything can be done but it all depends on how the car is set up to determine how much work it will be.
I cut my seat up and used a second seat for frame pieces to reshape it around the widened factory tubs. Then I reworked the seat cover to make up for the area that I reworked. I spent a lot of time thinking it out before I started cutting though.
I cut my seat up and used a second seat for frame pieces to reshape it around the widened factory tubs. Then I reworked the seat cover to make up for the area that I reworked. I spent a lot of time thinking it out before I started cutting though.
tyler_s18
k-member
dose the back of the seat just fold down? if so i would imagine it wouldnt be "to" hard to do lol. in theory just move the latches inward the distance the tubs are then move the latches on the seats in the same amount and have the seat lean back the same distance by cutting a lil outta the tub if you have to lol. i have never seen in person a fold down back seat in an a-body so i might be way off lol. that blown fish is a work of art tho lol. i would love to see it in person
grimreaper
Cross Member
That's some nice work Blownfish!
MagnumDartSport
New Member
I am working on a 73 Sport project that I had mini tubbed a few years back and also wanted to retain the fold down seat. It took some time but I figured out that the only way to do it without cutting the seat frames is to move the seat back hinges forward a few inches along with the locks. The only drawback is there is even less legroom in the rear than before. I do not plan on adding a cage but it would be easy to do. The original side panels also looked tough, but I just trimmed the lip off of them and will carpet the exposed tub anyways. I will post some pics later.
Blowfish's ride is hot. I love the Stainless trim on the interior. Maybe....8)
Blowfish's ride is hot. I love the Stainless trim on the interior. Maybe....8)
duey_roc
Well-Known Member
I know this is an older thread but is this a mini tub or full tub?I still have my back seat, and those are 18.50 M/T tires. Anything can be done but it all depends on how the car is set up to determine how much work it will be.
I cut my seat up and used a second seat for frame pieces to reshape it around the widened factory tubs. Then I reworked the seat cover to make up for the area that I reworked. I spent a lot of time thinking it out before I started cutting though.
I've got a 74 dart sport hang ten I'm looking to tub but I have the same issue. I wanna keep my rear seats
It's not a mini tub, the tires are 18.50's
I'm not sure how it would work on a Hang Ten rear seat, I had to take two rear seats and basically build a rear seat frame that would still be as wide as stock on the front, but still fit between the tubs in the rear of it, I also had to take the seat cover apart and rework it with new vinyl for the sides so they would wrap around to meet the back where the trim goes, it looks simpler than it was. I ended up making the the frame where the lower corners of the seat fold to clear the wheel houses when you fold the seat down.
gtmopar
Phuckin A!
I mini tubbed my 65 Dart conv and to my suprise the rear seat needed no modifications so I'm thinking you shouldn't have too many issues.
duey_roc
Well-Known Member
Kinda funny I actually traded my dart sport for a 65 fish so I'm looking forward to trying the same setup as blownfish. I'm gonna buy the tubs pre cut. Summit has them for $80 but it's a matter of doing it whole keeping the rear seats. If I can't keep the rear seats, then it's getting back halfed lol
440dartsport
Well-Known Member
I mini tubbed my 74 Dart Sport and kept the rear fold down seat with no modifications to the seat or the location. I moved my factory wheel tubs to the frame rail and just had to cut of the seat locks and reweld them to the tubs.
SRT_DSTRHOLC
Well-Known Member
We NEED PICTURES OF THIS!!!! I am in the same boat and so are many others that have not dealt with this issue. If you could please post a good amount of photos showing what you did that would be so awesome!
rayer:rayer:rayer:rayer:
SRT_DSTRHOLC
Well-Known Member
We NEED PICTURES OF THIS!!!! I am in the same boat and so are many others that have not dealt with this issue. If you could please post a good amount of photos showing what you did that would be so awesome!
rayer:rayer:rayer:rayer:
Since you have an early A wagon, you should be able to use a 64-66 barracuda rear seat and mini-tub it too. The wheel well mounting bolts are down low for the fold down seat and the seat latch brackets should 't be much of an issue. I did the conversion on my 65 Dart wagon to use a Barracuda interior. Have got a couple of pictures on a thread.
sent from my iPhone
Although I didn't mini tub my car, I do have a picture of the stock mounting bracket locations. As you can see in the picture, the brackets themselves are on the forward part of the tub. You'd have to cut the brackets off and re-weld them to the mini-tubbed section. If you look at the upper bracket itself, only the bottom part of the bracket that welds to the car would have to be changed, the upright part of the brackets would be pretty easy to keep in the same spot as far as the seat is concerned. The bottom bracket would have to be cut down until it was pretty much just a flat plate, but once you did that you should be able to keep it in the same spot in regard to the seat. You might have to put a small recessed section in that part of the tub to keep it in exactly the same spot, but that isn't a part of the tub that's a problem for wheel clearance anyway.
To do a full mini-tub you would have to cut down the metal pan that bolts to the floor for the pass-through, and it would make the pass through area quite a bit smaller. You'd also likely have to cut down the security panel and hinge on the trunk side, but that would be a piece of cake.
Do a quick search in this forum, with the words " mini tubs fold down seat" and see some other posts just like yours. There are several that have great pictures, and step by step instructions too. I save a bunch of the pics on computer for future reference. Hope this helps...
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