Bench to Buckets.....

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Dave81
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Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Well after putting both sides in I could instantly see a difference between the drivers and passengers side. The passengers side went in perfect utilising the original being seat outer slots.

The drivers was done using the same process, but it is obviously a few inches closer to the door. Basically I am off center to the steering wheel. You can also see it wen looking at the trans tunnel. The drivers seat is a lot further away from it.

Has anybody come up against this before?

It was confirmed by a quick drive around the area.
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Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

The mounting dimensions for both seats are identical. Both have been installed using the factory reinforced bench seat mounting positions.
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Blue
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Blue »

If I remember correctly, the mounting points for bucket seats are dimpled into the floor pan but not drilled through. The outer holes fall within the reinforced area but the inners don't and need a flat plate tacking in. My Barracuda was originally a bench seat car that I fitted with factory buckets and everything lines up nicely.
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Blue wrote: Mon Aug 30, 21 9:09 am If I remember correctly, the mounting points for bucket seats are dimpled into the floor pan but not drilled through. The outer holes fall within the reinforced area but the inners don't and need a flat plate tacking in. My Barracuda was originally a bench seat car that I fitted with factory buckets and everything lines up nicely.
This is why I couldn't understand why they don't align. I did both sides the same, but the drivers side is well off. Looks like I'm going to need to take that one out and move it across. Swiss cheese a perfect floor pan, so not happy. 😪
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

When I'm next out at the car I will take some internal pics and you can see...
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Blue
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Blue »

You can see here where the inner holes are dimpled, a bucket seat car would have square plates welded onto those flat recessed areas.
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Yeah that's what I did for both sides. I've put some wide flat steel in for now, but will end up getting some more to spread the load when I re-do the drivers side.

Will measure its current position from mid seat to centerline of steering wheel and see what movement is required.
I will also double check against the passenger side.

My concern is that the new position will mean the new holes are halfway down the factory outer hump and not feasible. My guesstimate is at least 1inch offset.
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Here you go. By my calculations it's just over 2"s off at near as spot on 60mm.
Measured the seat in 4 different locations to confirm and happy that though it doesn't need to be 100%, that's the number.

To me this is a massive difference and puts it nowhere near the factory mounts. I will need to check by taking it out again, but I would say that the outer mount will be near exactly at the base of the hump, so a PITA to get the seat flat, in which case I will need to raise it for a flat mounting face......🤬.
I could do an offset plate from the factory mounts.....🤷‍♂️

The right side face of the spirit level is the centerline of the steering wheel.
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Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Blue
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Blue »

I’m assuming these are not A body seats? All the seat tracks for the various body styles are supposed to be the same, is it anything to do with the way the tracks are bolted to the seats themselves?
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Dave999
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave999 »

mine have tracks and seperate brackets it all comes to bits in a jigsaw kinda way...

i wonder if you can put brackets on in a way that moves the seat across

and obvioulsy your floor pan is offset anyway. expect the passenger side to be close to both door and tunnel. think there is a seat belt stalk gap between my seat back and tunnel on the thin side (my drivers side your passneger side)

i also found that becasue my body is not configured like that of a minature Tyranosaurus, that to get my legs supported by the seat in a place that didn't cut off the blood supplty to my feet when drving, it needed to be back and tipped forward slightly
i did this by usuing all 4 plastic spacers 2 either side, at the rear mounting, on the floor, and none at the front. (ply wood hole cutter circles works just as well, to tip the whole seat forward a few degrees)

allowed me to get in between wheel and seat and sit back in an arms extended way, rather than nose resting on the top edge of the wheel, hands under man boobs, and my knees under my chin, i recon i could go with a longer bolt and/or another spacer in the mix at the back two points to achive a more modern set up

will wait until i add my new seat foams and skins as i don't want my head bouncing off the roof, i can see the end of the bonnet but it would be nice to see more... seat slumpped down to the metalwork is part of the cause.

luckily you can get seat foams and skins easily if expensivly. year one and a couple of others do em, probnably would have worked with mine just didn't fancy the expensive risk with yours a "known" seat config. no such worries.
the aussies put pleats and contours where the Yanks didn't

Dave
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Dave999
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave999 »

Having said that VW beetle has worse offset as standard... all feet point to the frame head/bonnet handle but the seats point forward...
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Blue wrote: Mon Aug 30, 21 6:19 pm I’m assuming these are not A body seats? All the seat tracks for the various body styles are supposed to be the same, is it anything to do with the way the tracks are bolted to the seats themselves?
Challenger Seats.
I checked the mounting dimensions and they are identical both sides. Being honest I didn't check the base, but nothing stuck out to me when I was putting the floor bolt into the tracks regards one seat being offset.

I will have to dig them back out of the car and check, but don't believe it to be a miss position issue.
They are the Challenger tracks. And the bolts are in the mid plane of the plate. I did check the underside of the bench and its the same, so didn't expect anything.

I will photo the base when I take them out.
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Dave81
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Dave999 wrote: Tue Aug 31, 21 11:12 am mine have tracks and seperate brackets it all comes to bits in a jigsaw kinda way...

i wonder if you can put brackets on in a way that moves the seat across. It's central around the track, so no offset.


Dave
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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Blue
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Blue »

A body seat mounts, are yours like this?
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Re: Bench to Buckets.....

Post by Dave81 »

Blue wrote: Tue Aug 31, 21 8:03 pm A body seat mounts, are yours like this?
No both are flat on the runners (so remove the offset z angle).
Weird thing is, by my view of that photo, it moves the mounting point to the inside of the factory bench hump, but still leaves the seat in the wrong position as the runner would still be 'on' the hump.
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD

I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!

"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
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