70 bench seat, is there a folder available?

[Longhorn 70]

I have the stock seat in my 70. I also have a reupholster cover ready to go on. Is there a folding seat available that the cover will fit? Is it bad to change the seat on a truck that isn't 100% original? Am I asking too much for a folder that the cover made for stock seat will fit? Is there a way to convert the fixed seat to a folder?

[Mike C]

I think the 3 door Suburban middle seat is the exact same size/shape but is a folder.

You might be able to tweak the foam on a '73 up truck to fit your upholstery.

[EARNHARDT#3]

'67 folds. Not sure if the cover fits though.

[Longhorn 70]

Originally Posted by Mike C

I think the 3 door Suburban middle seat is the exact same size/shape but is a folder.

OHHH I wonder if I could just steal the hinges off of the Burb model seat.

[65standard]

My seat is a folder.

[Dakotachevy68]

65standard can you post picture of the brackets to the floor? Also is that an original seat height?

[65standard]

It is bolted in the original holes.

[65standard]

And my floor.

[Longhorn 70]

65 standard, mine has different stands than that. Were there different seats for different option packages? Mine is a Custom/20. Also I don't have the plastic cover on the bracket that connects the base to the backrest.

[67ChevyRedneck]

65 Standard, your seat is out of a 73-87 truck.

In 1968 the federal government came out with a lot of new safety requirements. One of which was turn signals. Another was that seats needed to either be fixed or have a latch so they didn't fly forward in an accident. GM got around this on the trucks by making the seat "fixed" and not having to spend money on new parts/tooling, etc, especially since nothing really fit behind the seat because of the fuel tank. When the fuel tank was moved to under the truck in 1973 and the seat was redesigned, GM added the safety latches to the bench seats for those model trucks so you could flip the seat forward and store stuff behind there.

Passenger Cars (Effective 1-1-68); Shall meet requirements for instrument panels, seat backs, sun visors, and arm rests. interior compartment doors are required to remain closed during a crash.

My 67 had the flip forward seat, wish I had kept it as my tank is no longer under the bed!. The majority of seat covers available for these trucks are the 68-72 styles that wrap over the side of the arm so you'd have to cut that part off? Not sure if you can buy 67 covers, never really looked into it.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Longhorn 70

OHHH I wonder if I could just steal the hinges off of the Burb model seat.

There isn't a "hinge." The "hinge" on the bench seat is part of the seatback.



I recently redid my 1972 style seat. If I remember right, on the 67 seats GM just used the lower hole as the pivot hole. The upper hole/screw was added in 68+ to "lock" the seat in place. You can also see the extra material that will cover the arm:



The material that folds over to hide the arm. On the 67's the arm is exposed.

[AirSpeed]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

There isn't a "hinge." The "hinge" on the bench seat is part of the seatback.



I recently redid my 1972 style seat. If I remember right, on the 67 seats GM just used the lower hole as the pivot hole. The upper hole/screw was added in 68+ to "lock" the seat in place. You can also see the extra material that will cover the arm:



The material that folds over to hide the arm. On the 67's the arm is exposed.

I wonder if you could just remove the upper bolt and make the seat fold?

[michael bustamante]

i have my 67 bench seat and its in pretty good condition. not even the foam is torn. it just needs a cover. ill have to look at it good and see the differences. i was hoping to order a cover but i cant find a 67 specific anywhere.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by AirSpeed

I wonder if you could just remove the upper bolt and make the seat fold?

I believe you can, but you won't have the "safety latch" and there won't be anything to stop the seat from going too far back.

Found this pic... don't know if an upholstery shop made the cover or if someone does offer a 67 style cover. You can also see there is a "stop" behind the arm to keep the seat from going too far back (visible right above the seat belt).

[65standard]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

65 Standard, your seat is out of a 73-87 truck.....

You might be right, but I just went and looked at an original 1977 C10 and the seat mounts are very different the way they bolt to the floor and it has the seat belts going through a slots in the lower cushion. My plaid seat has the same track mounts as the original 1970 seat that came with the truck and it was a direct bolt-in.

The guy I bought the seat from said it was for a 1967-1972 C10. I only got it because my original seat needs new uphostrey, foam, and spring repairs. If this seat is completely wrong for my truck, I will just restore my original one.