Lower the stock bench seat?

[BigSky71]

I have shortened my steering column to get the steering wheel out of my lap, but now with my seat refurbished with new foam and cover I think it sits too high compared to my steering wheel. The new seat is way taller because its not broken down like the old foam.

I am not a tall guy and I am not trying to hide behind the dash but I am wondering if anyone has lowered the stock seat and if they liked the results? I am thinking about going down about 1.5".

[68gmsee]

I'm thinking that the only way you can do that is by manufacturing your own brackets or cutting the existing ones and rewelding them. I'm sure it can be done, but I haven't seen a post on it.

I also would like to know since I also was thinking of buying a new bottom foam.

[69halfton]

i was sorta thinking about something like this just the other night. to me, i think it looks real cool when you can barely see a driver past the window (think of Milner in american graffiti (spelling? ) I've though about going to a big rig junk yard and pulling the guts out of a couple of air-ride seats. and fitting them under the bench seat of my truck.

you would have to use an air-ride load level control, which would let air in and out of each bag (two sides) to adjust for passenger/driver weight differences. you could then have a switch mounted to control the seat height/ride quality.

and when you pull into a show or something, you could be sitting almost ON THE FLOOR.

...just thinking out loud here...

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by 69halfton

and when you pull into a show or something, you could be sitting almost ON THE FLOOR.

...just thinking out loud here...

I don't think that would look too cool in my case... Picture a 60 year old dude low riding in a 40 year old pickup truck... Now that would be funny.

[BigSky71]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

Picture a 60 year old dude low riding in a 40 year old pickup truck... Now that would be funny.

Well how about a 40 year old dude low riding in a 40 year old truck? I promise I will wear my baseball cap straight forward not off to the gangsta side...

Anyhoo, I have planned to make my own seat brackets at the new height. I will lose the movable seat. When I sell it some day I promise to give the new owner the seat brackets with the truck.

[FIVE 0]

Hey BigSky, not to get off topic but what area are you in? I looked at your build thread link, Very well done. We live in Priest River and travel to Missoula often. Have considered relocating in a couple areas in NW MT.

[duane67c-10]

here is a seat i got from a buddy, it just sits on the floor in the back but here are the brackets he cut down for the front.

[BigSky71]

Originally Posted by cdowns

by lowering the seat i'd think you'd be loosing legroom/but if your short and cant reach the pedals i guess thats an easy fix

Well even at 5'-9" I think these cabs are just plain little and I yea I will lose leg room but I want to feel like I am "in" the truck rather than perched high atop my very stiff new foam. Plus because I shortened the steering column nearly three inches the wheel went down too.

Originally Posted by duane67c-10

here is a seat i got from a buddy, it just sits on the floor in the back but here are the brackets he cut down for the front.

Duane, thanks for the picts. I wish I could go that low with my seat but I will need to keep up some to clear a couple of amps. I am going to try and re-situate the sub amp and hopefully I can bring the seat down like 3" or so.

[BigSky71]

To give you guys a feel for how tall my seat is; when I sit in the truck my line of sight is above the rear view mirror [and remember I am not a tall dude]. Just sitting in the truck I am looking right at the bottom edge of the tint at the top of the windshield.

What I should do is buy a hard bed cover, put my sub box and amps in the bed, port the cab, then sit the seat on the floor like in Duane's picts .

[retodd7711]

I had a seat from a 73-87 in my 69 at one time. They sit about 3 inches lower than the 67-72 seats. My wife is 5 foot nothin' and she couldn't see over the dash!

[BigSky71]

Originally Posted by retodd7711

I had a seat from a 73-87 in my 69 at one time. They sit about 3 inches lower than the 67-72 seats. My wife is 5 foot nothin' and she couldn't see over the dash!

Hmm, makes me wonder if the seat brackets from a later seat would bolt on and lower my seat, investigation I must do...

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by BigSky71

Hmm, makes me wonder if the seat brackets from a later seat would bolt on and lower my seat, investigation I must do...

Spoken in your best Yoda voice?

[Ford Assassin]

If the '73-'87 seat really does sit lower I'll be picking one up in the wreaking yard pretty quickly.

-Cable

1969 C10 SWB 350/TH350 Stock except headers
1975 Datsun Z Big Block Chevy 454/TH350 swap
2007 Dodge HEMI Charger R/T

[yote1234]

interesting... any updates?

[Hubscrub]

if my thinker is working right the later 73-87 cabs do have rise in the floorboard under the seat were ours is flat so the brackets would be shorter.......?

[Sinister]

When I got my seat redone I was sitting pretty tall in the saddle. Eventually the foam eased up a little so my head wasn't hitting the ceiling.

[treveiger]

I seen a video on youtube(cant find it now... imagen that!) that this guy took a seat from a newer truck and cut the brackets and put it in his 67-72 chevy truck that looked awesome, i wish i could find it lol.

[Tx Firefighter]

I run 73-87 seats in my junk. They are lower profile. You can even use a Suburban middle seat from the same year range and it's a bit narrower so the seat has more clearance between it and the door.

[71sierragrande]

Well, I have worn out foam on my original bench and was considering the opposite. The legroom in these cabs is terrible and I'm only 5'10", so I thought raising the seat 2" would get me a little further from the pedals. I have all kinds of headroom to go up, and have tilt and a smaller steering wheel to keep it out of my lap, so I think it will be better. But I may refoam the seat first just to see if that helps the problem.

[treveiger]

Im around 6`4" and weigh around 160 and my leg room is good. I dont have tilt steering either...
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