1967 bench seat repair questions

[arcticman]

Hello everyone,
I have several questions regarding my bench seat. I have 67 k1500 WS SWB
The seat is a bare bones seat with a minimal foam pad. Several of the spring straps are broken, (4) total I believe. I thought maybe I could weld them back together but it looks like over the years some of the actual coiled spring has come undone and is missing.
Questions:
1) Is there a company out there that makes replacement springs?
2) Is there any way to rebuild these seats?
3) Is the 1967 seat a "year specific seat"
4) I see American cushion has several foam options depending on what your truck is set up with can you interchange foam I.E. add 6" molded foam to a seat with a thin foam pad.
Thanks, Scott

[thehata1]

In for some learning...

['68OrangeSunshine]

I will answer #3.
'67 and '68 used the same bench seats. They differed from the later years '69-'72, by having nuts [wingnuts on mine] at the hinges between the seat and back, both sides, so you could pull the nuts off and fold the upper bench forward. After that it was considered a safety risk if the driver forgot to put the nuts back on, so they came from the factory fixed -- no movement.
I no longer have the original seat on my '68 C/10 Stepside. I traded it for an electric bench/bucket-back seat out of a '69 T-Bird, in the late '70s.
On my '67 K/10 Suburban, the bench seat is just like the one in the pickup was, [except for PO's choice of re-upholstry fabric] and it would swing forward. The back panel on the Suburban is covered of course. The back side of the pickup seats had exposed springs. The hinge nuts are 6-sided on that seat as there is no need to fold the seatback forward, since you can use Door Number Three for rear access.

As to your other questions, I would ask them at a seat upholstry shop, about rebuilding. I don't think the full-foam replacement they offer in the catalogs works for the thin foam-spring seats. I'm not a seat shop pro, however.

[arcticman]

thanks

['68OrangeSunshine]

One trick I used on the folding-forward seat -- when I was a PFC in the Marines and thought I was hot stuff -- I mounted a rifle scabbard on an angle behind the back with bunji cords and slid my .30-30 lever-action Marlin in there. With the seat up, no one knew I had a rifle. Great security -- what they can't see in the window on a gunrack, theives can't covet, but the legality was highly questionable.
Hence the wingnuts.

[michael bustamante]

also with the 67 seats, the swing arms that the back rest folds forward on are not covered with vinyl or fabric as with other seats from 68 and up.

[Freddo]

Not sure if this will help, but I put a new cover on the bench seat of my 67. Once I got everything off, I had several springs that were broken. (Especially the side support springs that flex when you are getting into the truck. I went into a local upholstery shop and the fellow did his best to dig up a couple of springs from the back. Those helped. I ended up going out to a local pick a part wrecking yard They had a couple of 67-72 pick ups. One had an old torn up seat and I was able to take the springs off of that old seat. The springs were identical. I was also missing several of the clips that hold the seat cover on and I was able to use those as well. Not sure if they have any wrecking yards where you are at but hope that helps.

[arcticman]

thanks

[Keystone_Hate]

Go to an upholstery shop and buy zig-zag spring for like $2 a foot. Then cut it to length and replace your broken springs. Then tell them you need new foam cut for your seat. They will do it. Because that is what they do. Upholstery.

These trucks are not space ships with impossible to find parts man. You need to look around you for useable stuff.