New seats...old blazer

[Critter]

I got these 99-05 Chevy seats the other day at an embarrassingly cheap price. I want to put them in the Critter, but I have a few questions. Previously, I have done this on trucks and it was easy to drill new holes and put some angle or square tubing under the floorboard for extra support. I want to do the K5 a little more professional and I will most likely fabricate some brackets. As far as the support underneath can I just remove the rocker box to get underneath the floorboard? I want these seats to be sturdy so that the seatbelt will be functional and so VT won’t rag on me What’s the easiest way? Anybody got pics of brackets they have made?

and I know, I know...I need to fix the rust on the floorpan also.

[Yukon Jack]

Even though I did this in my 69 K20, rather than my K5, here is a link to photographs of the reinforcements I incorporated. My version won't work easily of course with the rocker boxes.

[JWPOORE]

Critter - I am looking to possibly upgrade my 70 K5 Blazer from it's factory utility buckets to seats similiar to the ones you have because of the 3 point seatlbelts because I'm not sure of the safety issues of mounting new 3 point belts on each side of the fiberglass top (double wall top with mounting holes).

My question is did you lose any leg/height room with these newer seats? Reason for asking is that I need all the leg room possible and cannot afford to sacrifice any leg or even more importantly; "stomach to steering wheel" space. Thanks

[Yukon Jack]

I definitely lost some leg/height in my K20 with similar seats. But I think in a K5 it probably wouldn't be as big of a problem. With mine, I can't recline the seats enough as it hits the rear of the cab. In the K5, wouldn't have that problem and could sit the frame back a bit more too.

[Critter]

It’s hard for me to say exactly. The PO had some seats from a later model K5 in it when I got the blazer. They were the high-back seats from a 73-80. Anyway, from them to the new ones there is a bit of a difference. The “step” up behind the seats is what stops you from moving back farther. After I build some mounting brackets, I should be able to tell exactly where everything sits. They are currently mocked up with a couple of bolts in the general location that they will go be. I am about 5’10” – 180 lbs and they fit just right to me. I will probably have 1 or 2 “clicks” that I could go farther back, but that’s about it. Also, I have tilt with the 73-87 style steering wheel, which helps. A standard column with original wheel might make things uncomfortable.

[raggedjim]

Critter, removing those rocker boxes is a pain... I don't think you can do it without tearing them in to little useless pieces. If your boxes are bad and you are going to put in new ones then it would be fine.

If your boxes are good you may be better off to cut out the floor in those areas, reinforce it then weld them back in. You could also pull the back cover off of the boxes, but you woun't get much room to work and welding would be almost impossible.

Good luck, Rg

[Jtrux]

Originally Posted by Critter

I got these 99-05 Chevy seats the other day at an embarrassingly cheap price. I want to put them in the Critter, but I have a few questions. Previously, I have done this on trucks and it was easy to drill new holes and put some angle or square tubing under the floorboard for extra support. I want to do the K5 a little more professional and I will most likely fabricate some brackets. As far as the support underneath can I just remove the rocker box to get underneath the floorboard? I want these seats to be sturdy so that the seatbelt will be functional and so VT won’t rag on me What’s the easiest way? Anybody got pics of brackets they have made?

and I know, I know...I need to fix the rust on the floorpan also.

Your blazer sure is nasty. Those seats are nicer than the whole dang truck.

[cstanley]

can you post any pics at more of a frontal shot? i'm interested in seeing how wide they are, and how much space is between.

[ABLAZN]

I have a set installed in my 1970 Blazer with the console/ jump seat option. Mine were easy because someone had put saddle tanks in and had cut the centers of the rocker boxes out to do it. I just took out the tanks and was able to get at everything from the bottom. I am now in the same boat as Critter here since I am going to put them my 1972 K5 that has good boxes in it. After looking at some other mounting options here are my thoughts as to what might work. I have found some seat belt mounting plates that are designed to be placed under the floor boards. They are threaded so that you can run the bolts in from the top like you would the normal seat bolts. My thoughts were if it is strong enough to be considered a seat belt mount, it should be good for a seat that has the belts in them. As far as getting to the bolts under the rockers I am still working on that. To outer front bolts are the only two that that need to be worried about, since the others can be reached from the bottom. One thought is to take off the rear cover and work from there, but as mentioned it is a bit tight. I have looked into maybe using some high strength body adhesive to hold the bottom mount in place. The other option would be to maybe cut a 4 inch hole in the bottom of the rocker box right below the mounting position to work through . Afterwards you could seal it off with a bigger piece of metal and use it as an inspection hole or just weld it shut.

[72CSTC5]

Holy Cripes, that floor is rusty.

[jcfoote60]

I know a guy that used a long drill bit and punched all the way from the floor pan through the rocker box and welded a 3x3 1/4" plate to the rocker box (with hole drilled in it of course). Used a 9" grade 8 1/2" bolt since the holes in that year of seat easily accomodated it. That worked for the outside 2, then the inside 2 he used shorter grade 8's with plates for the other two. The rocker boxes are pretty tough and the seats looked to be mounted very firm. I think if you were in a collision to rip those out, seat belts may not matter. IMO

JC

[JWPOORE]

ABLAZN - Did you ever have stock seats in your 70 Blazer before putting in the updated ones? If so, do they set any differently or did you lose/gain any room? Do you happen to have any pictures of them installed in the 70 K5?

Thanks for everyone's help. Here is the plates I was looking at to maybe help reinforce the floors like the seatbelt ones that were mentioned: http://julianos.com/anchor_plate.html

[jcfoote60]

JW....I have sat in the drivers seat with these seats in my truck and in the blazer I mentioned. Truck is tight for a guy my size (6'2", 290lbs), however the blazer is cool because you have more room do to the open back (no cab to hit). You can lean the seat back and there for gain leg and steering wheel room for the beer gut!! also had a roll bar which these seats just cleared. It is very comfortable to drive. My legs are 34" inseam in pants so have fairly long legs. hope that helps.

JC

[70gmcjimmy]

Hey Critter and all-
I'm not far enuff along to take pics but we are just building "adapter" mounts that bolt to the factory floorboard mounts that will attach to the seat incorporating a matched set of sliders out of whatever I can find. Aint found sliders I like yet, but I may have to use 2 similar instead of an exact pair. They are probably pretty gross lookin to most people but I am using some captains chairs from a motor home because I need armrests on both sides of the seat to comfort old fart aches and pains in the arms and shoulders. Unfortunately the original custom seats are long gone as in the mid 80s the upholstery and foam had gotten so bad Mom needed a cheap fast fix so I found her a set of those big utility buckets to trade for the tore up customs.
Just my opinion that using the factory holes would be the easiest way to go.

Later---DAC

[Critter]

Ok, lets see if I can answer some of this.

cstanley
Keep in mind that the passenger seat isn’t bolted down and the driver isn’t 100% either. I plan on some kind of floor console that will lock. Maybe something for a jeep, I don’t know. I have the built in armrests, so I’m not worried about getting a factory folding console.

72cstc5
Come on…the floor isn’t THAT bad. I think you were seeing a lot of surface rust in the other pics.

70gmcjimmy
I am thinking about doing something similar where I use the factory holes and build a bracket to adapt them to the new seats. I just gotta find someway to reinforce those mounts…or not worry about the seatbelt strength, one of the two.

After looking I realized a couple of things. The plastic at the back of the seat actually hits the rear floor “step-up” before the sliders do. I think I can remove/modify that plastic and get another inch of travel backwards. Also, I can probably remove the feet that are attached to the sliders and attach them directly to whatever I fabricate. Realistically, it will probably be a week or two before I can bet to a welder, so I have a little time to think about how I want to do it.

[Critter]

A few more...

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by Critter

I want these seats to be sturdy so that the seatbelt will be functional and so VT won’t rag on me

Yep, I jump on this issue every time I see a thread about using those seats with integrated belts and see...it's working.

Maybe a 'mini' cage tied into your existing roll bar?
Sorta like in the pic.
Two bars running side to side where the seat mounts would be.
Instead of doing a front hoop, just do a short tube out of the floor and call it a grab rail.

[Critter]

VT - I don't think I want it to get that involved. Besides, I have thought about removing the roll bar one day, but not sure. I think my best bet is to remove the "feet" from the sliders and go get a couple joints of 1" square tubing and maybe some angle iron. I will just start from scratch and take my time. Besides, I am an engineer not an artist, I work better with 90 degree angles than I do with round tubing.

[cstanley]

adapter plates is the way i went with my previous bench install in my pickup. worked a treat. just 1/4" flat plates with holes punched to match the factory holes, and the new tracks just welded to the plates. no big, only took a few moments. my new seats might be a challenge, though...

[ABLAZN]

I am not sure that I would trust the factory seat bolts alone. They are smaller then the factory seat belt bolts. I would at least step the bolt size up to the bigger bolts. Also the main point of concern for me is the chance of the bolts pulling through the floor in an impact. That is why putting plates under the floor is so important. I did buy a set of the seat belt anchor plates today to see what they were. Also I took a look at the factory plates under the floor board to compare the two. As you can see in the picture, the new plates are about a third bigger in surface area. I think that these will do the the quite nicely. Also, they are rounded on the edges to help avoid pull through and have a nice big 1/2 inch bolt for mounting. My plans are to start mounting the seats in my '72 this weekend.

[Critter]

Originally Posted by ABLAZN

I did buy a set of the seat belt anchor plates today to see what they were. Also I took a look at the factory plates under the floor board to compare the two. As you can see in the picture, the new plates are about a third bigger in surface area. I think that these will do the the quite nicely. Also, they are rounded on the edges to help avoid pull through and have a nice big 1/2 inch bolt for mounting. My plans are to start mounting the seats in my '72 this weekend.

That looks like a pretty good way to do it. The question is whether or not our rusty floors can hold up? I will replace the rot on mine hopefully sooner than later, but I would really like to get the seats in so I can at least drive around the neighborhood in the meantime. Where did you get those?

[KAILUAZ]

I have the same seat type and here is what I did. I used angle iron under the floors. I cut them long enough to sit flush at the front and back as you can see in the pics. The seats sat right on the factory humps in the front. I drilled three new holes and drilled out one of the stock holes.
The big issue was how to get a bolt in the brackets and tighten them down. I used some grade 8 hex bolts/washers, as you cant get a wrench in there at all. I used a long allen wrench and a piece of tubing to hold it while I tightened the bolts.

[ABLAZN]

Critter,

This is the link to where I got the plates. There may not be any left though, I bought 4 sets to do my front seats.

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....Z5Z5Z50000014x

I am not to worried about rust on my '72 since the floor boards look great on it. I the picture on my '70 because it has the rocker boxes off and it was the only way to take a picture of the factory seat belt mount that actually sit on the floor.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by ABLAZN

Also the main point of concern for me is the chance of the bolts pulling through the floor in an impact. That is why putting plates under the floor is so important.

Those plates are a great start but now consider the cantilever effect on the front seat mount trying to go DOWN through the floor during a frontal impact.

With your torso weight being held back by the shoulder strap all that force is pushing on the front seat mounts as well.

The plates are a huge improvement against pulling up for sure but what's going to stop the front of the seat from ripping into the floor?

[KAILUAZ]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

Those plates are a great start but now consider the cantilever effect on the front seat mount trying to go DOWN through the floor during a frontal impact.

With your torso weight being held back by the shoulder strap all that force is pushing on the front seat mounts as well.

The plates are a huge improvement against pulling up for sure but what's going to stop the front of the seat from ripping into the floor?

If you set the seat on the original floor "hump" I don't think the seat is going anywhere. As shown in these pic's, the front seat mounts sit in the original position. If you just mounted the seat on the floor board you might run into that issue.




In this pic you can see the original rear seat mount hole. This stock point goes right on the frame rail under the cab for support.