65 C-10 Bench Seat Question

[Daron Craig]

I bought a bench seat from a 68 C-10 for my truck. It went in just fine. I still have and use the behind the seat gas tank for reference. My question or problem is, I'm 6'-1" about 265, and I already put in a shorter steering column with tilt, but I still feel like I'm not sitting comfortably in the truck. I feel like my knees are way up when I'm working the pedals and I'm a little close to the wheel. Is there a way barring having a custom shaped seat made to remedy that? Thanks for any input.

[Southcity]

Is your shortened/tilt using the stock sized steering wheel? If it is, one potential option without having to modify the bench seat - run a smaller diameter steering wheel

Bench Seat - These trucks (60-66, 67-72) along with the stock bench fit most folks well during their time, but today, they don't offer much for room or adjustability even with your shortened/tilt column installed. I have a friend in the same boat as you, he ended up cutting some length out of the bench seat mounting posts to lower the stock bench seat some and this worked out pretty well for him. I have also heard some folks removing the stock bench springs and replacing with high density (but lower height) foam inserts to bring the driver down some in position.

This is about all you can do without moving to a custom bench seat. btw - removing the gas tank does nothing to improve room or adjustability for the bench seat, the bench seat back-rest is already resting against the back of the cab.

[AcampoDave]

Brother's Truck has some ready made lowering brackets for factory seats, but you loose the sliders. However, sitting lower raises the knees even higher than the hips which may or may not be good. In my '66, a pair of buckets from what the seller said was a Nissan Hardbody compact truck suit me decently as a tall skinny guy. I did have them reappolstered and they are all foam construction, no springs. But, being less bulky than a stock bench they do get me back a tad farther and I fabbed up the height just a little lower than the stock one. But mostly i just drive a 2017 Silverado these days anyhow so my classic seems weird to sit in at first, then I seem to settle into being kind of cramped as i drive it.

[Daron Craig]

I guess a thinner backrest portion of the seat would be better.

[scottofksu]

You could always customize your seat a bit on your own... The pro interior guys I have seen who do custom work use an electric turkey carver to sculpt the foam as they want it (e.g., cutting in back pockets to push lumbar support out farther) and then sow up covers to match the contours. To avoid having to have custom covers made you could always fill the sections you remove (e.g., a pocket for your butt to fit perfectly in and a notch in the back to get you the wheel distance you need and more lumbar support) with less dense foam to keep the same shape and covers but to provide the most comfortable possible sitting position. First I would establish what your ideal position is in the truck. You could build a very simple little mock up seat out of wood to get your primary seated height, lean, and distance from the wheel measurements. Then replicate them on your bench through sculpting and/or changes to the mounts. This would all be easier with a full foam bench (e.g., Deluxe Seat) as it would give you more foam to work with on the seat portion though the backs will be the same