Lower the stock bench seat?

[BigSky71]

I have shortened my steering column to get the steering wheel out of my lap, but now with my seat refurbished with new foam and cover I think it sits too high compared to my steering wheel. The new seat is way taller because its not broken down like the old foam.

I am not a tall guy and I am not trying to hide behind the dash but I am wondering if anyone has lowered the stock seat and if they liked the results? I am thinking about going down about 1.5".

[68gmsee]

I'm thinking that the only way you can do that is by manufacturing your own brackets or cutting the existing ones and rewelding them. I'm sure it can be done, but I haven't seen a post on it.

I also would like to know since I also was thinking of buying a new bottom foam.

[69halfton]

i was sorta thinking about something like this just the other night. to me, i think it looks real cool when you can barely see a driver past the window (think of Milner in american graffiti (spelling? ) I've though about going to a big rig junk yard and pulling the guts out of a couple of air-ride seats. and fitting them under the bench seat of my truck.

you would have to use an air-ride load level control, which would let air in and out of each bag (two sides) to adjust for passenger/driver weight differences. you could then have a switch mounted to control the seat height/ride quality.

and when you pull into a show or something, you could be sitting almost ON THE FLOOR.

...just thinking out loud here...

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by 69halfton

and when you pull into a show or something, you could be sitting almost ON THE FLOOR.

...just thinking out loud here...

I don't think that would look too cool in my case... Picture a 60 year old dude low riding in a 40 year old pickup truck... Now that would be funny.

[BigSky71]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

Picture a 60 year old dude low riding in a 40 year old pickup truck... Now that would be funny.

Well how about a 40 year old dude low riding in a 40 year old truck? I promise I will wear my baseball cap straight forward not off to the gangsta side...

Anyhoo, I have planned to make my own seat brackets at the new height. I will lose the movable seat. When I sell it some day I promise to give the new owner the seat brackets with the truck.

[FIVE 0]

Hey BigSky, not to get off topic but what area are you in? I looked at your build thread link, Very well done. We live in Priest River and travel to Missoula often. Have considered relocating in a couple areas in NW MT.

[BigSky71]

Thanks FIVEO and for checking out my build picts. I presume from your username that you are a man with a badge? The chief of police of my town lives right next door to me, which is great, I have a nice quiet neighborhood! I am in the Kalispell area, about 120 miles north of Missoula.

[FIVE 0]

BigSky, That I am. I run the Narc unit here for the SO. We were in Kalispell a few weeks ago for a meeting. My wife liked the area. Stayed at the Hampton Inn. Ive looked on line at Flathead County but thinking if we go that way we would like to be closer to Missoula. I have a couple friends in Eureka so we go there some too. Next time we get to your area Ill try to let you know, Id like to see your ride.

Back to your seat dilema. Only suggestion would be to section out the mounts. May only need to cut and overlap instead of removing and butt welding. Good luck. Ror

[Super-Dave]

I am cutting my brackets and rewelding, I have removed the front lower bracket from the slide and going to cut 2 inches out of it and rewelding, and removing the rear top bracket and laying it flat on top of the slide and seeing how that lays the seat. Will post pics when I get it all welded back.

[cdowns]

by lowering the seat i'd think you'd be loosing legroom/but if your short and cant reach the pedals i guess thats an easy fix

[69halfton]

...i geuss my idea wasn't such a big hit.

well if you forget the lowriding thing, i think it'd be cool to be able to adjust the height of the seat on-the-fly.

[duane67c-10]

here is a seat i got from a buddy, it just sits on the floor in the back but here are the brackets he cut down for the front.

[BigSky71]

Originally Posted by cdowns

by lowering the seat i'd think you'd be loosing legroom/but if your short and cant reach the pedals i guess thats an easy fix

Well even at 5'-9" I think these cabs are just plain little and I yea I will lose leg room but I want to feel like I am "in" the truck rather than perched high atop my very stiff new foam. Plus because I shortened the steering column nearly three inches the wheel went down too.

Originally Posted by duane67c-10

here is a seat i got from a buddy, it just sits on the floor in the back but here are the brackets he cut down for the front.

Duane, thanks for the picts. I wish I could go that low with my seat but I will need to keep up some to clear a couple of amps. I am going to try and re-situate the sub amp and hopefully I can bring the seat down like 3" or so.

[BigSky71]

To give you guys a feel for how tall my seat is; when I sit in the truck my line of sight is above the rear view mirror [and remember I am not a tall dude]. Just sitting in the truck I am looking right at the bottom edge of the tint at the top of the windshield.

What I should do is buy a hard bed cover, put my sub box and amps in the bed, port the cab, then sit the seat on the floor like in Duane's picts .

[retodd7711]

I had a seat from a 73-87 in my 69 at one time. They sit about 3 inches lower than the 67-72 seats. My wife is 5 foot nothin' and she couldn't see over the dash!

[BigSky71]

Originally Posted by retodd7711

I had a seat from a 73-87 in my 69 at one time. They sit about 3 inches lower than the 67-72 seats. My wife is 5 foot nothin' and she couldn't see over the dash!

Hmm, makes me wonder if the seat brackets from a later seat would bolt on and lower my seat, investigation I must do...

[Ford Assassin]

If the '73-'87 seat really does sit lower I'll be picking one up in the wreaking yard pretty quickly.

-Cable

1969 C10 SWB 350/TH350 Stock except headers
1975 Datsun Z Big Block Chevy 454/TH350 swap
2007 Dodge HEMI Charger R/T

[yote1234]

interesting... any updates?

[Hubscrub]

if my thinker is working right the later 73-87 cabs do have rise in the floorboard under the seat were ours is flat so the brackets would be shorter.......?

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by BigSky71

Hmm, makes me wonder if the seat brackets from a later seat would bolt on and lower my seat, investigation I must do...

Spoken in your best Yoda voice?

[Sinister]

When I got my seat redone I was sitting pretty tall in the saddle. Eventually the foam eased up a little so my head wasn't hitting the ceiling.

[treveiger]

I seen a video on youtube(cant find it now... imagen that!) that this guy took a seat from a newer truck and cut the brackets and put it in his 67-72 chevy truck that looked awesome, i wish i could find it lol.

[Tx Firefighter]

I run 73-87 seats in my junk. They are lower profile. You can even use a Suburban middle seat from the same year range and it's a bit narrower so the seat has more clearance between it and the door.

[71sierragrande]

Well, I have worn out foam on my original bench and was considering the opposite. The legroom in these cabs is terrible and I'm only 5'10", so I thought raising the seat 2" would get me a little further from the pedals. I have all kinds of headroom to go up, and have tilt and a smaller steering wheel to keep it out of my lap, so I think it will be better. But I may refoam the seat first just to see if that helps the problem.

[treveiger]

Im around 6`4" and weigh around 160 and my leg room is good. I dont have tilt steering either...
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