seat frame redesign w/ under seat storage area and Fab thread

[sk8er32283]

All right my next project is under way and I am going to make a thread out of it. My 71 came with a really tired seat and I tried to save it but with little success(money mostly). I ran across a guy willing to trade for a really nice set of pick truck seat cushions. Here is the picture of them.

Unfortunately they are from a late 60's International. I could not find an easy way to mount the new cushion to the old frame and have it fit correctly. So after several hours of sketches and pondering I decided to completely redesign the seat frame and include some storage below the seat. Here is the sketch to show the overall design. Key design aspecs include the bottom slides forward and tipping towards the floor to gain access to the storage area. This idea was necessary do to the type of cushion I have so I decided to make them work to my advantage. After the bottom is forward the seat back can be tipped forward to gain access to the area behind the seat.

I started by lowering the stock seat frame bracket. This is where the storage space will come from.

Next I ground off all the brackets and stuff from the Ikea drawer slides.

I then attached them to the bottom seat cushion.


That is the progress for today. I should be getting into the build of the storage area next. This will be interesting because I do not have hardly any welding experience. So here's to learning something new.(insert Beer emoticon) This project may take a couple of weekends so stay tuned for updates.