[jnchahn]

I need some advice with a couple of things that I have run into trying to change over to buckets.
First off, I bought some seats out of a 68 LeMans and the tracks seem to be slightly longer than the ones from the bench seat. Is this normal? Should I bend the legs slightly to fit?
Next, the seats seem to sit too far outboard when sitting over the holes in the floor. This causes the arm rests to hit the seats when the door is closed and the seat belt retractor will ride on the lower seat trim and wear it out. Should I use only one bolt in the inboard hole then drill a new in the front and another in the rear?
This car has the interior code on the trim tag of 765 158, so it has the Buick interior. It was built the first week of April in Fremont, Cal. Could the Buick floor pan locations be different?
Finally, will a Chevelle rear seat cover work on the Buick rear seat? I think it may be a bit narrower than a real Chevelle seat.
I know some body has the answers to the mind boggling questions, and I am in the best place to get the answers!
Thanks, John

 

[Merlin]

John,
I'll help you with what I can... First, bench seats and buckets use different tracks, so it stands to reason that one may bit slightly longer or shorter than the other. I would not recommend bending either one to make them fit. Second, the ouboard mounts for a bench are not the same as the outboard mounts for a bucket. At least not in the front. You will use only one of the rear outboard holes to mount buckets... I believe it will be the inner hole in the floor pan and the outer hole in the seat track. No need to drill an additional hole. You should really get your hands on a set of bucket seat brackets and weld them into place. The set includes a new bracket for outboard front and of course, both mounts for inboard tracks. This will eliminate your clearance issues. You can of course, just bolt the seats directly to the floor, but the correct/safe way is to use the brackets.
I doubt very seriously if the bolt holes are different for a Chevelle with a Buick interior than they are for the Chevy/Chevy combo.
Finally, I cannot say for sure about the rear seats, but I believe that the only thing you would need to be careful of, is convertible vs. coupe. If I'm not mistaken, convertible rear seats are narrower than coupes. Hope this helps...
Patrick

 

[Clark68]

Just bought a set of 68 buckets out of a GTO, dealer has been selling parts for 20 years and assured me that 68 buckets are 68 buckets... the only differnce is the seam patterns on the covers. GroundUp sells bucket seat covertion brackets at $52.00 (Bench to Bucket Conversion)

 

[three85stroker]

I am also going to do a bench to bucket conversion in my '72 chevelle malibu. I've got a parts car that has original strato bucket seats and a console. Do I still have to buy parts to make the seats work in my bench car, or are there parts in the bucket car that I can just transfer over?

 

[72ElCaminoSS]

I just got done with mine.
Exactly one hole will work from your bench seat (the rear outside one.
For the insides, you will need to buy some brackets. You can get some cheap ones on eBay or the "real" ones from Good Mark (these are actually 4 pieces).
The last bolt (outside front) sits a bit forward and I believe inside of the hole used from the bench.
Mounting them, I used the "correct hole" as a starting point. I put a long bolt in each and tied a string from one side to the other. I then used a T Square against the door jam to make sure it was straight.
Next, I measured the distance between the outside rear holes on the seat (the one's you'll use), measured in that distance from the other bolt and marked it (actually tacked the corner of the bracket)
Next I measured the distance from that mark to the door jam.
Then I measured that distance in (minus the offset from 2 holes for the rear to one in the front, I think it was 1 inch or so) and marked the spot for the front hole (tacked the other side).
Finally, measure back, the distance between the front seat holes. I drilled a hole for this one and will make some spacers to give the little bit on lift that the original style Danchuck would have created.
THis is pretty confusing. but, I'll try to clarify it ASAP and can post some pics this weekend if needed.

 

[EkS]

Originally posted by 72ElCaminoSS:
I just got done with mine.
Exactly one hole will work from your bench seat (the rear outside one.
For the insides, you will need to buy some brackets. You can get some cheap ones on eBay or the "real" ones from Good Mark (these are actually 4 pieces).
The last bolt (outside front) sits a bit forward and I believe inside of the hole used from the bench.
Mounting them, I used the "correct hole" as a starting point. I put a long bolt in each and tied a string from one side to the other. I then used a T Square against the door jam to make sure it was straight.
Next, I measured the distance between the outside rear holes on the seat (the one's you'll use), measured in that distance from the other bolt and marked it (actually tacked the corner of the bracket)
Next I measured the distance from that mark to the door jam.
Then I measured that distance in (minus the offset from 2 holes for the rear to one in the front, I think it was 1 inch or so) and marked the spot for the front hole (tacked the other side).
Finally, measure back, the distance between the front seat holes. I drilled a hole for this one and will make some spacers to give the little bit on lift that the original style Danchuck would have created.
THis is pretty confusing. but, I'll try to clarify it ASAP and can post some pics this weekend if needed.

I'm doing the same thing, if you would please post pics that will be greatly appreciated by all of us!

 

[72ElCaminoSS]

I'll try to get some pics this weekend when I tear evcerything apart again

 

[EkS]

Originally posted by 72ElCaminoSS:
I'll try to get some pics this weekend when I tear evcerything apart again

Were you able to get those pics?

 

[72ElCaminoSS]

Sorry, a lot of stuff came up. I'm going to try to dedicate this weekend to my car. So, we'll see.

 

[72ElCaminoSS]

Actually, this link
http://www.buickperformance.com/buckconsole.htm
that I found in the console thread shows a pretty good picture of the brackets and placement. Mine is just a tad more secure (My friend welded them solidly around the entire bracket!)
The outside back holes are the bench seat ones and the front outsides are placed and drilled measuring from the other 3 mounts (use the same spacing as the bracket, same distance between as the back (correcting for the 2 bolts vs 1 thing)).

 

[72ElCaminoSS]

Okay, here you go...
NOTE: The back mounts are farther than the front, don't get the brackets backwards like I did the first time.

Here's how each of the mounts are placed:

2) the original bench seat hole

4) measure in from 2, the distance to match the rear seat mounts (outside to outside), tack in place (use a T-Square to make sure you're straight)

3) measure the distance from the door sill to 2. Correct for the fact that the fronts are closer (subtract the difference between the front mounts and rear from your measurement). Measure this distance, then tack (Use T-Square)

1) Measure from 2 and 3 the correct distances (same as the seat), make sure it's all square and drill the hole (or tack the Goodmark mount).
Notice the original bench seat hole up and to the right of the new bucket one.

Do a test fit first, then if everything is perfect, weld everything down permanently.

 

[EkS]

Thank you very much for the picture!