My King Ranch seat swap - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 02:43 AM

I first saw a King Ranch seat swap on the 67-72 forums and thought it might be a good option for my truck. I was using my stock bench seat--but it was uncomfortable on long trips and placed me too high in the driver’s seat, and too close to the steering wheel. After doing some research, I learned that the rear seat from a 2006 F250/F350 series King Ranch truck would work for my application. I also learned that some seat swappers have used King Ranch front bucket seats or the front bench seats from the F150 King Ranch truck. I elected to use the F250/F350 rear seat to keep my cab as roomy as possible for my growing “Dad Bod.”

My buddy Jerami Sharkey sourced the donor seat from salvage yard inventory where it had been stored for several years. The seat was almost complete, except for one plastic hinge covers on the driver’s side. I made the purchase and loaded it up to take it home. After a thorough cleaning and several coats of leather conditioner, the new seat began to look like it might work for my truck.

IMG_0988 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_0995 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1023 by James Page, on Flickr

The next step was to remove my old seat and lay down some Hushmat. While the seat was out I decided to replace my old rubber floor mats with a carpet kit from Auto Custom Carpets. I selected a beige color carpet to go with my beige seat belts and (hopefully) complement my saddle-colored vinyl door panels, headliner, and dash pad that I planned to reuse from a Brother’s Truck interior kit that had previously purchased about two years ago.

IMG_1158 by James Page, on Flickr

The first test-fit allowed me to mark the stock King Ranch seat bracket, which I determined could be modified to work in my C/10. After cutting down the bracket legs, drilling new holes, cleaning up my cut edges, and touching up the paint on the bracket edges, I bolted down the seat using some hardware I had laying around the garage. I drove the truck for a couple of weeks to decide if I really wanted to keep the King Ranch seat in my truck.

After a couple of weeks of driving I deciding that I wanted to keep the seat. I uninstalled it and installed my new carpet. After the carpet was installed, I again placed the seat in the cab to mark where I needed to cut the carpet for my permanent grade-eight hardware.

The first real challenge was doing something to rebrand the King Ranch seat so that it didn’t look like a Ford product in my Chevy. I elected to brand some leather with the C/10 Club Idaho logo. I paid for a brass branding iron that was CNC’ed with the club logo. I practiced my branding skills ruining a BUNCH of leather in the process. It turns out that branding leather is NOT easy. The results are contingent on a number of variables including the thickness of the leather, whether the leather is natural, veg-tanned, or chemical tanned, the heat of the iron, the duration that the iron is applied to the leather, the pressure used against the leather, and whether to use a wet branding process or dry-branding process.

IMG_1115 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1121 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1122 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1157 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1159 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1160 by James Page, on Flickr

The second challenge was finding leather that matched my seat. I failed. Many times. The local Tandy Leather store got a bunch of my money as I experimented with several scraps, hides, and various tanning products. Eventually, I realized I was not going to be satisfied unless the leather was an EXACT match to my existing seats. I decided to use a professional upholstery guy and asked Joe Scarlavai at @CCAutoUpholstery Custom Concepts Auto Upholstery to help me out. Joe did a headrest-delete, which not only made the seat look more period correct, but it also allowed us to repurpose the leather from the old headrests to create panels that would hide the headrest bracket holes while having enough leftover material for my branding-patches. Joe removed the leather covers and sewed on my newly branded patches, as well as his headrest delete panels. I couldn’t be happier with his work.

IMG_1163 by James Page, on Flickr

Finished

IMG_1175 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1176 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1181 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1187 by James Page, on Flickr

IMG_1189 by James Page, on Flickr

Before and After

beforeafter by James Page, on Flickr

**dmjlambert** · 01-20-2020, 05:57 AM

Just amazing. Wow, good idea.

72 tigger · 01-20-2020, 06:24 AM

Turned out very nice. Great craftsmanship and good attention to detail. Thanks for sharing

FRCvette · 01-20-2020, 07:13 AM

Excellent!!!!

35boulder · 01-20-2020, 08:14 AM

Well that's thinking outside the box. Nice job by your upholster guy. Well done.

yuccales · 01-20-2020, 08:35 AM

That looks darn nice!

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 09:49 AM

Thanks for the comments guys. Joe at @CCAutoUpholstery on Facebook does great work. I am excited about how this project turned out. He had great ideas and was very affordable too.

**maverickmk** · 01-20-2020, 10:08 AM

I love those seats. Your truck looks awesome, very nice.

Andy4639 · 01-20-2020, 10:23 AM

That sir is a great job! Very well done. The seat looks like it was made for the truck.

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy4639

That sir is a great job! Very well done. The seat looks like it was made for the truck.

Yes, it seems to match the saddle door panels and headliner pretty nicely.

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverickmk

I love those seats. Your truck looks awesome, very nice.

Thanks brother!

54blackhornet · 01-20-2020, 01:06 PM

You should be very proud of yourself...beautiful..

**Steeveedee** · 01-20-2020, 01:42 PM

That came out excellent! It gives me an option for my seat. Question- does that seat move? It doesn't look like it does. Since only my son and I drive it now, that might not be a problem.

cornerstone · 01-21-2020, 10:08 AM

Looks incredible! I’d imagine if you were to purchase that seat (after your mods) it’d set you back $3k... and worth every cent. Super nice work sir.

Redneck Rydes · 01-20-2020, 10:29 AM

That looks fantastic and more comfortable to.

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redneck Rydes

That looks fantastic and more comfortable to.

Yes, I can actually sit in it for more than 30 minutes without getting all cramped-up. Getting old sucks.

**Sheepdip** · 01-20-2020, 11:05 AM

Looks like it was a factory job....love it!

**69cam** · 01-20-2020, 11:16 AM

Top notch work. Looks to have freed up a lot of cab room.

72 tigger · 01-20-2020, 11:39 AM

You should post your seat on this thread too

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=613744&page=5

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

You should post your seat on this thread too

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=613744&page=5

Thanks. I'll do that.

Morgan in AR · 01-20-2020, 12:05 PM

That's really nice! Do you still have the tank behind the seat?

CG · 01-20-2020, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan in AR

That's really nice! Do you still have the tank behind the seat?

Looks like the tank is still there in the fourth picture.

buspilot23 · 01-20-2020, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CG

Looks like the tank is still there in the fourth picture.

It is still behind the seat. I plan to put a bed-mounted tank in at some point in the future, but probably not this year. I'm on a pretty strict budget.

**Ol Blue K20** · 01-20-2020, 12:17 PM

Looks very nice. Great idea!

old51sedan · 01-20-2020, 12:49 PM

I bought a King Ranch crew cab brand new back in 2001. It had the bucket seats front and back, with a counsel front and back. I drove it 10 years and traded it, never thought about using the seats out of one. I have a tan interior in my truck and thinking about a set of buckets, which I have, but like the room of the bench. I will be doing some measuring and checking out a few bone yards. Nice job, love the way the headrests were removed and the logo installed.

01-20-2020, 02:43 AM	#1
buspilot23 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 26	My King Ranch seat swap I first saw a King Ranch seat swap on the 67-72 forums and thought it might be a good option for my truck. I was using my stock bench seat--but it was uncomfortable on long trips and placed me too high in the driver’s seat, and too close to the steering wheel. After doing some research, I learned that the rear seat from a 2006 F250/F350 series King Ranch truck would work for my application. I also learned that some seat swappers have used King Ranch front bucket seats or the front bench seats from the F150 King Ranch truck. I elected to use the F250/F350 rear seat to keep my cab as roomy as possible for my growing “Dad Bod.” My buddy Jerami Sharkey sourced the donor seat from salvage yard inventory where it had been stored for several years. The seat was almost complete, except for one plastic hinge covers on the driver’s side. I made the purchase and loaded it up to take it home. After a thorough cleaning and several coats of leather conditioner, the new seat began to look like it might work for my truck. IMG_0988 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_0995 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1023 by James Page, on Flickr The next step was to remove my old seat and lay down some Hushmat. While the seat was out I decided to replace my old rubber floor mats with a carpet kit from Auto Custom Carpets. I selected a beige color carpet to go with my beige seat belts and (hopefully) complement my saddle-colored vinyl door panels, headliner, and dash pad that I planned to reuse from a Brother’s Truck interior kit that had previously purchased about two years ago. IMG_1158 by James Page, on Flickr The first test-fit allowed me to mark the stock King Ranch seat bracket, which I determined could be modified to work in my C/10. After cutting down the bracket legs, drilling new holes, cleaning up my cut edges, and touching up the paint on the bracket edges, I bolted down the seat using some hardware I had laying around the garage. I drove the truck for a couple of weeks to decide if I really wanted to keep the King Ranch seat in my truck. After a couple of weeks of driving I deciding that I wanted to keep the seat. I uninstalled it and installed my new carpet. After the carpet was installed, I again placed the seat in the cab to mark where I needed to cut the carpet for my permanent grade-eight hardware. The first real challenge was doing something to rebrand the King Ranch seat so that it didn’t look like a Ford product in my Chevy. I elected to brand some leather with the C/10 Club Idaho logo. I paid for a brass branding iron that was CNC’ed with the club logo. I practiced my branding skills ruining a BUNCH of leather in the process. It turns out that branding leather is NOT easy. The results are contingent on a number of variables including the thickness of the leather, whether the leather is natural, veg-tanned, or chemical tanned, the heat of the iron, the duration that the iron is applied to the leather, the pressure used against the leather, and whether to use a wet branding process or dry-branding process. IMG_1115 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1121 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1122 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1157 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1159 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1160 by James Page, on Flickr The second challenge was finding leather that matched my seat. I failed. Many times. The local Tandy Leather store got a bunch of my money as I experimented with several scraps, hides, and various tanning products. Eventually, I realized I was not going to be satisfied unless the leather was an EXACT match to my existing seats. I decided to use a professional upholstery guy and asked Joe Scarlavai at @CCAutoUpholstery Custom Concepts Auto Upholstery to help me out. Joe did a headrest-delete, which not only made the seat look more period correct, but it also allowed us to repurpose the leather from the old headrests to create panels that would hide the headrest bracket holes while having enough leftover material for my branding-patches. Joe removed the leather covers and sewed on my newly branded patches, as well as his headrest delete panels. I couldn’t be happier with his work. IMG_1163 by James Page, on Flickr Finished IMG_1175 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1176 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1181 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1187 by James Page, on Flickr IMG_1189 by James Page, on Flickr Before and After beforeafter by James Page, on Flickr

01-20-2020, 05:57 AM	#2
dmjlambert Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 3,859	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Just amazing. Wow, good idea.

01-20-2020, 06:24 AM	#3
72 tigger Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Berne IN Posts: 3,250	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Turned out very nice. Great craftsmanship and good attention to detail. Thanks for sharing __________________ 71 C10 72 K20 72 K10 Super Kirk

01-20-2020, 07:13 AM	#4
FRCvette Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: cincy Posts: 694	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Excellent!!!! __________________ There's something women like about a pick-up man 1967 c10 swb Stepside 2004 SSR 2013 Silverado swb

01-20-2020, 08:14 AM	#5
35boulder Registered User Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Dallas Texas Posts: 1,383	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Well that's thinking outside the box. Nice job by your upholster guy. Well done.

01-20-2020, 08:35 AM	#6
yuccales Registered User Join Date: May 2011 Location: Northern Calif. Posts: 3,770	Re: My King Ranch seat swap That looks darn nice!

01-20-2020, 09:49 AM	#7
buspilot23 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 26	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Thanks for the comments guys. Joe at @CCAutoUpholstery on Facebook does great work. I am excited about how this project turned out. He had great ideas and was very affordable too.

01-20-2020, 10:08 AM	#8
maverickmk Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Cocoa FL Posts: 596	Re: My King Ranch seat swap I love those seats. Your truck looks awesome, very nice. __________________ Die with memories, not dreams. Not to brag, but I don't need alcohol to make really bad decisions. 1969 GMC Short Step Side

01-20-2020, 10:23 AM	#9
Andy4639 Old member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Liberty, & Garden City S.C. , U.S. Posts: 19,945	Re: My King Ranch seat swap That sir is a great job! Very well done. The seat looks like it was made for the truck. __________________ 1971 LWB Custom, 6.0LS & 4L80E, Speedhut.com GPS speedometer & gauges with A/C. 20" Boss 338's Grey wheels 4 wheel disc brakes. My Driver Seeing the USA in a 71 Upstate SC GM Truck Club 2013,14 and 2016 Hot Rod Pour Tour http://upstategmtrucks.com/ Get out and drive the truck this summer and have some fun! It sucks not being able to hear! LWB trucks rule, if you don't think so measure your SWB! After talking to tech support at Air Lift I have found out that the kit I need is 60811. Per the measurements I gave them. Ride height of truck inside spring and inside diameter of springs.

01-20-2020, 01:06 PM	#12
54blackhornet Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Eastern Oregon Posts: 2,391	Re: My King Ranch seat swap You should be very proud of yourself...beautiful.. __________________ 71 C-20 07 Magnum RT AWD

01-20-2020, 01:42 PM	#13
Steeveedee Who Changed This? Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Simi Valley, CA Posts: 10,673	Re: My King Ranch seat swap That came out excellent! It gives me an option for my seat. Question- does that seat move? It doesn't look like it does. Since only my son and I drive it now, that might not be a problem. __________________ ~Steven '70 Chevy 3/4T Longhorn CST 402/400/3.56 Custom Camper Simi Valley, CA

01-21-2020, 10:08 AM	#14
cornerstone Registered User Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Azle,Texas Posts: 2,248	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Looks incredible! I’d imagine if you were to purchase that seat (after your mods) it’d set you back $3k... and worth every cent. Super nice work sir. __________________ Brian 1972 C10, "Loyd", LWB to SWB, 5.3, L83/6L80e, 4:11 Tru Trac, Air Ride, VA, DD, 20" Coys, 4 wheel disc, A quick LS swap turned into a 6 year frame off resto-mod.

01-20-2020, 10:29 AM	#15
Redneck Rydes Registered User Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Trenton,Ontario & South Carolina Posts: 755	Re: My King Ranch seat swap That looks fantastic and more comfortable to.

01-20-2020, 11:05 AM	#17
Sheepdip Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Waterford California Posts: 2,626	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Looks like it was a factory job....love it!

01-20-2020, 11:16 AM	#18
69cam Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Olney Il. Posts: 231	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Top notch work. Looks to have freed up a lot of cab room.



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01-20-2020, 11:39 AM	#19
72 tigger Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Berne IN Posts: 3,250	Re: My King Ranch seat swap You should post your seat on this thread too http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=613744&page=5 __________________ 71 C10 72 K20 72 K10 Super Kirk

01-20-2020, 12:05 PM	#21
Morgan in AR Registered User Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Elm Springs AR Posts: 10	Re: My King Ranch seat swap That's really nice! Do you still have the tank behind the seat?

01-20-2020, 12:17 PM	#24
Ol Blue K20 Proprietor of Dale's Corner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Vacaville , CA Posts: 16,245	Re: My King Ranch seat swap Looks very nice. Great idea! __________________ "Some Days Chickens And Some Days Feathers" Dale XNGH ECV Sam Brannan 1004 R.I.P. 67ChevyRedneck R.I.P. Grumpy Old Man R.I.P. FleetsidePaul

01-20-2020, 12:49 PM	#25
old51sedan Registered User Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Williamston, Mi Posts: 884	Re: My King Ranch seat swap I bought a King Ranch crew cab brand new back in 2001. It had the bucket seats front and back, with a counsel front and back. I drove it 10 years and traded it, never thought about using the seats out of one. I have a tan interior in my truck and thinking about a set of buckets, which I have, but like the room of the bench. I will be doing some measuring and checking out a few bone yards. Nice job, love the way the headrests were removed and the logo installed.

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