Sac religious bench swap.. Hear me out.

[SpeedyDV]

As I mentioned in my introduction I have recently had an ‘83 C20 dropped in my lap. My wife’s uncle who she and even I was very close with, unfortunately passed away. When he passed we found out that his truck. Yes, the one mentioned above became mine!!!

So, now I do want restore it completely back to original. However, I don’t have the funds to do that quickly. So, as a place holder while I find an upholstery shop to revamp the original bench, and save the money to do so. I was wanting to know if there is a cheaper bench anyone knows of that has the same bolt location/pattern? Any make or model new or old. I just need to have something to sit on, in order to drive it.

Thanks for any advice. Again I am returning to its original glory, but am in search of a placeholder for now.

 

[SquareRoot]

Wow. Words fail me but it looks like @AuroraGirl has some competition. lol. Welcome to the club.

 

[SpeedyDV]

Yeah, it’s.. uh.. pretty rough but it runs and drives. I have a ton of work to do I see that. My wife loves this truck and she remembers riding in it before it looked like this. When she was a young girl.

 

[Bextreme04]

The sun does a number on those seat covers. There are several van bench seats and also modern GMT-400 and -800 2nd row benches that are the same seat width. You would have to make up some kind of adapter to bolt them to the existing bench seat mounting frame though.

 

[SpeedyDV]

The sun does a number on those seat covers. There are several van bench seats and also modern GMT-400 and -800 2nd row benches that are the same seat width. You would have to make up some kind of adapter to bolt them to the existing bench seat mounting frame though.

Thanks for the info. I enjoy a good puzzle.

 

[Bextreme04]

Thanks for the info. I enjoy a good puzzle.

There are a few threads on here with people doing the 2nd or third row seat swap from GMT-800 tahoe/suburbans. Do a search and you will be able to see exactly what it entails. They are so prevalent around here that I can get a bench seat for $40-50, but you would most likely only find them in tan, grey, or black.

 

[Grit dog]

3rd row seats (makes 2 bucket seats) are dime a dozen and generally like new from the ex-soccermobiles/ mommy missles.
They’re cheap (cause no one wants them) and more importantly they mount up short in height which is necessary as most newer vehicles don’t have the floor humps for the outboard gas tank(s) and therefore the mounts are much taller.
Downside is they don’t generally have hard mounting holes as most of them clip into the floor for easy removal. Although if you could get the floor mounts out of the same scrap suv it may work. I can picture cutting the floor section out of the back of a junk suv and just screwing them down with (short) self tappers to your floor.
Haven’t tried it but think about it every time I have to move the damn 3row seats to a new spot in the shop!
2nd row seats are pretty popular as well because they make a full bench and are more adjustable.
About anything you get will likely require a little fab work to mount up but I’d say could be accomplished without welding at least as an ad hoc solution.
Or if you’re a gun guy and have a Pelican type rifle case, they’re just about the right height! Lol. It’s what I used for moving the truck around before I put the new seat in.

Otherwise, you’re in a pretty populated area. Keep on the lookout for a squarebody seat in better condition.
Note that even the nicer ones, the foam is usually pretty sacked out. Especially drivers side. And folks generally want too much money for them if they even appear useable.

 

[tadslc]

Why don't you just throw a rug or blanket over whats left of the seat and call it a day...

 

[85K304SPD]

Foam, duct tape and an indian blanket seat cover over that. I always hate when they have modern seats in them.

 

[Juggernaut]

There are some pretty good videos on YouTube on how to repair seat cushions. I cheated a bit and used part of the cushion from another bench seat to repair mine. The foam cuts easy with a razor knife. Then use 3M spray glue to fit it back together. Reupholstery kits are very easy to install on these bench seats. I suggest you don't waste your money and time trying to fit a different seat. Fix the foam, you can do that with the seat in place, and throw a blanket over it. When you have the time and $250 or so, get the kit from LMC and do it yourself.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Yep, just band-aid cover it until you get the funds to take the seat to an upholstery shop.

 

[WP29P4A]

I wouldn't waste your time on upholstery shops, the prices are ridiculousness. It's not that hard to do it yourself, with a little help from youtube videos. I priced out the shops to have my motor-home reupholstered years ago. It was less than half the price to buy brand new seats, that's how outrageous upholstery shop prices are.

My youngest son and I replaced the upholstery in his Mazda Miata, it was not hard to do and the seats looked factory new when we were done. Pulled the seats out of the car, stripped the covers off, repaired the foam in a couple small areas, then slid the new upholstery over the seats and installed new hog rings to hold the covers in place. Everything you need to make the seat look new again is available online.

Back in the 70's you could head south of the border to get some custom upholstery done at reasonable prices, not sure how that works in today's world. LOL

 

[SpeedyDV]

I wouldn't waste your time on upholstery shops, the prices are ridiculousness. It's not that hard to do it yourself, with a little help from youtube videos. I priced out the shops to have my motor-home reupholstered years ago. It was less than half the price to buy brand new seats, that's how outrageous upholstery shop prices are.

My youngest son and I replaced the upholstery in his Mazda Miata, it was not hard to do and the seats looked factory new when we were done. Pulled the seats out of the car, stripped the covers off, repaired the foam in a couple small areas, then slid the new upholstery over the seats and installed new hog rings to hold the covers in place. Everything you need to make the seat look new again is available online.

Back in the 70's you could head south of the border to get some custom upholstery done at reasonable prices, not sure how that works in today's world. LOL

Thank's for the info! I have been all over YouTube looking for ideas. The only question that I keep having and seemingly unable to find is: What thickness and density of foam would work best. The last thing I would want is to have the covers droopy or not appear fitted appropriately.

 

[skysurfer]

The foam cuts easy with a razor knife.

Even easier with an electric carving knife. Goes through it like a lightsaber. The Mrs. didn’t like seeing hers go out to the garage so I found a used one at a thrift store for a few bucks.

 

[WP29P4A]

Thank's for the info! I have been all over YouTube looking for ideas. The only question that I keep having and seemingly unable to find is: What thickness and density of foam would work best. The last thing I would want is to have the covers droopy or not appear fitted appropriately.

I searched "new bench seat foam for 1983 Chevy pickup" and it is available, molded like the original ones. Classic Industries and Speedway Motors came up in the search. If you are thinking about saving money on the foam and buying non-molded foam, you just have to shape it yourself. As far as density, squeeze what you have and find new foam that feels close to what you have. I have seen people use 2 different density foam pieces, a little softer on top with a firmer piece of foam under it. There is also a mesh fabric option that is wrapped around the foam before the seat cover goes on to firm up the edges of the foam and to help shape the edges of the foam. (Just like couch cushions)

The store in my town that sells foam, uses a thin wire hooked to a car battery to cut the foam in perfect straight lines.