1972 Duster Seat conversion - HELP!

Yeti · 03-05-2008, 08:32 AM

Hey everyone!

I am working on converting my '72 Duster from the original bench seat to modern bucket seats from a Dodge Shadow. The issue I'm having is finding the seat brackets from an original '72 bucket seat car or a suitable replacement for those. Does anyone know of a source for those? Or a good source for aftermarket seat brackets?

I'm expecting to do some fabriaction, but if there's a good solution out there I'd rather skip most of the work.

Thanks!

440roadrunner · 03-05-2008, 09:55 AM

Original brackets from original seats won't do you any good, and from what I remember, they are pretty much part of the seat adjuster mechanism.

I'd think that fabricating your own would be the thing to do. Material like square and rectangular steel tube comes to mind. Whatever you do, make sure it's "solid." Use hardware that is AT LEAST as large as what came out, and I'd use "grade 5" (3 point) bolts. Use fender washers underneath, and if the floorpan is rusted, think about beefing that up, too

Yeti · 03-05-2008, 10:35 AM

Thanks RR!

I was getting the idea from some research on my own that the attaching point was a part of the seat.

I think steel tube 'mounts' are the way to go. I'll make sure to use stronger bolts as well and maybe even consider welding a reinforcement plate to the back side. I'm pretty sure the floorpan is solid, but I'll make sure to check.

I'll post a quick how-to if I can get good pictures as well.

Thanks!

440roadrunner · 03-05-2008, 12:37 PM

It's been a long time, but it might be that the floor is not "level" between what will be the bucket left and right bolt mounts. What I'd do is something like this: Put a long straight member, either a nice straight piece of wood or steel, all the way across from one door kick to the other.

This will now give you a fairly parallel place to take measurements. You can now measure down to the existing bench mount holes, and they should be the same left/right. It's entirely possibly that the front/rear will be different.

Because of the construction of both the floor and your new seats, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the inboard brackets may well turn out to be a different height than the outboard mounts.

You can do the same with the new seats. Just set them on a bench on scrap pieces of wood, and level the seat left/right. Now you can measure the bracket height to the level workbench or floor.

Also be aware of front / back tilt, which may turn out to be different on your floorpan as opposed to the floorpan of whatever they came out of. You don't want to end up with your back pushed forward or "laying in the back seat!!"

03-05-2008, 08:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
Yeti Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3	1972 Duster Seat conversion - HELP! Hey everyone! I am working on converting my '72 Duster from the original bench seat to modern bucket seats from a Dodge Shadow. The issue I'm having is finding the seat brackets from an original '72 bucket seat car or a suitable replacement for those. Does anyone know of a source for those? Or a good source for aftermarket seat brackets? I'm expecting to do some fabriaction, but if there's a good solution out there I'd rather skip most of the work. Thanks!

03-05-2008, 10:35 AM	#3 (permalink)
Yeti Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3	Sounds like a plan... Thanks RR! I was getting the idea from some research on my own that the attaching point was a part of the seat. I think steel tube 'mounts' are the way to go. I'll make sure to use stronger bolts as well and maybe even consider welding a reinforcement plate to the back side. I'm pretty sure the floorpan is solid, but I'll make sure to check. I'll post a quick how-to if I can get good pictures as well. Thanks!

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03-05-2008, 09:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
440roadrunner Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 272	Original brackets from original seats won't do you any good, and from what I remember, they are pretty much part of the seat adjuster mechanism. I'd think that fabricating your own would be the thing to do. Material like square and rectangular steel tube comes to mind. Whatever you do, make sure it's "solid." Use hardware that is AT LEAST as large as what came out, and I'd use "grade 5" (3 point) bolts. Use fender washers underneath, and if the floorpan is rusted, think about beefing that up, too

03-05-2008, 12:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
440roadrunner Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 272	It's been a long time, but it might be that the floor is not "level" between what will be the bucket left and right bolt mounts. What I'd do is something like this: Put a long straight member, either a nice straight piece of wood or steel, all the way across from one door kick to the other. This will now give you a fairly parallel place to take measurements. You can now measure down to the existing bench mount holes, and they should be the same left/right. It's entirely possibly that the front/rear will be different. Because of the construction of both the floor and your new seats, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the inboard brackets may well turn out to be a different height than the outboard mounts. You can do the same with the new seats. Just set them on a bench on scrap pieces of wood, and level the seat left/right. Now you can measure the bracket height to the level workbench or floor. Also be aware of front / back tilt, which may turn out to be different on your floorpan as opposed to the floorpan of whatever they came out of. You don't want to end up with your back pushed forward or "laying in the back seat!!"