I would like to get a set of leather seats but the drivers side always seems to be power could i swap my none power rails to the power seat? Also will the reclining part of the seat be powered also?

 

yes--power to non power rails won't be a problem--you gotta take the 4 bolts out from underneath to take the rails off.
the recline mechanism is non-power in a power seat application, so that's not a problem either.
Why don't you just hook up the power seat track? All you need is a power source(fuse panel)and a good ground.

 

I only got my power seats yesterday after waiting 4 months for transport from the US. Both seats are power but I have one problem. The left (your drivers seat) is my passenger seat(I live in Australia). I noticed that the left seat has the extra switch which looks like it does so much more. I assume it powers the seat from front to back and it must tilt the front of the seat and the rear of the seat. Am I right? If so is there some way to get all the options of the left seat to the right(my drivers seat)? It seems a big waste of such nice seats not to get all the benefits of them. Any help would be appreciated before I start on the installation. Thanks in advance.

 

How many switches do you have? I have three. The front one tips the seat, the middle one is front/back and the back switch raises/lowers.

 

He probably has lombar support and such on the driver side (his passenger side).

 

Sorry about the time delay guys I am on a different time zone as you. I have on your drivers seat three switches and on the passenger side two switches. Can you tell me drivers side and passenger side what the switches are supposed to do? Also, is there a way that I can switch the drivers seat and passenger seat around. That would make the drivers seat my passenger seat and the passenger seat the drivers seat. Would make a good tech page if we can get it to work. Lets try and give it a go. Thanks.

 

I dont want the extra weight of a power seat and I dont change the position of my seat enough to were it would be nice to have.

 

Can you show a pic of both power seats? I've never seen a power pass(US)seat before. Only kind of power pass seat I've seen is the GTA seat, and that's lumbar only not power track.
Do your seats look like these?

 

Yes, the drivers seat (pass. seat for yankeecarman) is 6-way power with lumbar and the pass. seat (drivers seat for yankeecarman) just has lumbar.

I'm sure with a little fab work, you can switch the brackets on the seats but your power buttons would still be up against the console unless you found a way to mount the buttons in a diff. location.

 

What I was thinking of doing is to change the plastics on both the seats to where they are on the other seat. Another way of saying that is to take of the plastic housing off the seat with only the lumbar and not the power track and fix it so that it will hold another switch(six way switch). I would mount that new set-up on the six-way power seat(your drivers) and mount it on my drivers side. I would then switch the other around to where the lumbar only seat without the power track on my passenger side. That way the switches are on the outer part of the seats. My question=are both seats identical especially the tracks so that they will mount on opposite sides. Any ideas? thanks. ps. remember the wait I am on the other side of the world. (I am an American but have been here 19 years)

 

The seat tracks definitely can't be swapped--they're different for each side. Sounds like you might be able to do something tho.
The lower seat cushions should be the same minus the hardware, so those being swapped won't be a problem(if that's what you were trying to do). I've never looked but can the seat tracks unbolt from the motor itself? If so it should be very easy to do.

 

This is early morning here in Melbourne and I couldnt get a good view completely, but it might be as Tonyrodz says. It looks like the bases of the seats are alike and it does look like the frame will come of the seats with the motor section coming off with the frame. A problem may exist with moving the switches to the other side of the seat=Are the motors hard fixed to the switches? Or is there wiring that will allow me to move the location of the switches? It is beginning to look like a potential success. I had been thinking if the bracket thing didnt work then I could make up a small template to change the bracket configuration to allow the switch to the other side. Hope I dont have to go that route. It will make a difference if the bracket can be switched instead. Work with me guys. Thanks for the help.

 

Maybe you can extend the harness for the switch? So you'd be able to flip it over or move it to the other side?

 

The seat tracks for each seat is completely different. The six-way power seat will need to stay with the bracket that it comes with. What I may end up doing is making up like a platform to mount the bracket on and then mounting the platform to the floor. The end cover brackets for the switches may not fit the other seat. So what I may have to do is like suggested--install the switches in the console. The switches should work perfectly that way although I really wanted them on the outside of the seats. Will know when I get the time for installation. Also, do I only need to wire them up with a hot wire to the orange wire and ground them? You guys are great to help me out. Thanks

 

You need a hot and ground wire to hook the seats up so they'll work initially--but you'll need all the wires on the buttons(not sure if I understood your question right)to make all the seat positions work. You can always put the switches inside of your console if you have no room--something like the vettes had--so to get to them you'd have to open the console lid(no biggie).

 

Doesnt one hot wire give power to operate all the switches? I would have thought that the main hot wire would allow them to all to work. I do understand that all the switches will have to be in before I will be allowed to use them. Is that what you meant? You really seem to know about these seats. Hang in there please till I have it in my mind how to tackle this problem. Thanks again.

 

Heres what i did on my 84Z.Seats are from a 96 t/a.t/a dr seat track was not power,but my original dr is/pass manual.The t/a dr seat track had the manual pivot feature,t/a pass same as my 84 pass.So i switched t/a dr track to my pass side & kept my 84 power dr seat track.Now the bolt pads on the front of the tracks face forward(both cars),but the rear pads face outward(also both cars).So what i had to do was cut off the rivets that held the rear mount pads for the t/a dr seat track & make my own to match the original 84 pass side rear pads.I also had to make them shorter because the t/a track was a little taller from the pivot feature.Other wise the head rest would hit the t-top/visor.I also had to move my original power seat switches to the inside plastic cover on the t/a seat,not much room on the outer cover because of the lumbar switches(its now between the seat/console)plus the switch is from a ford tuarus(i think)its lower profile than my 84.Plus because of the 84 power track the t/a lumbar accessories(pump/relays mostly)wouldnt clear power seat track motors.So i had to swap harness sides over,in other words the t/a pass(w/relay only)is now on dr side & vise versa.That way the pump/relays will fit under the pass t/a seat track since there are no motors there.IF YOUR SEATS ARE FROM A SAME GENERATION F-BODY.ALL YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DO IS CUT THE RIVET HEADS OFF THE BOLT PADS FROM THE BACK OF BOTH SEAT TRACKS & SWAP THEM OVER.THAT WAY YOU CAN MOUNT THE SEATS IN OPPISITE SIDES(but i would trial fit b4 cutting).MAKE SURE THAT YOUR AIR PUMP WILL NOT HIT THE FLOOR BOARD.IF SO YOULL HAVE TO KEEP IT ON THE SAME SIDE ALONG WITH THE HARNESS,JUST DISCONNECT THE AIR HOSES & SWAP EVEYTHING OVER.ALSO YOUR LUMBAR SWITCHES WILL BE BETWWEN THE SEAT & CONSOLE NOW.Here are my seats installed.I will post other pics to clarify a bit.if it helps

 

this is a complete harness for the power lumbar seatsfrom an 89 gta that i have for xtra parts.its basically the bags/switches/hoses/realys/pump/etc.What you see to the left is the dr side & right is pass.the black retangular object(dr side)is the pump.The 2 wires(blk/or) in the middle is all you need to power the lumbar features.it even has it own fuse.

 

this is the front of the t/a pass side seat w/ dr seat track.the flat paddle(bottom left) is the pivot handle for the t/a dr seat track.The white object is the air pump from the t/a dr side seat track.Which would not clear my 84 power seat track motors.

 

here is the rear of pass seat.if you can see the mounting bolt pads.These are what i had to fabricate to match the originals.There just shorter though,by about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in.Left side is against console/trans tunnel.right faces door.Dr side is a mirror image of these mounts...

 

AND FINALLY.this is where i put the seat track switches from the outer side of the 84 seat.To the inner part of the 96 t/a seat cover.....

 

Just got off work and had a quick read after a few drinks and it may take me a little time to decifer what I read. But, I do basically understand what you mean and that is what I had been thinking of doing. Great to get this feedback especially from someone who has done the same thing. Thanks so much will try to take some photos when I start this project.

 

Back to it. I got up early to add this info. I did look really careful at the differences in the two brackets for each seat. The seat(left six way) has lower in height brackets for mounting and spaced 34 cm from hole to hole. The seat(right lumbar power) has the same except the rear brackets are a little taller. I think that I may be able to fabricate new rear brackets for each seat if necessary. I will know more once I pull the other seats and try a temporary fit. I think there is a good possibility for a good install. I will probably find it necessary to grind out the rivets and once the new ones are made, fix them to the brackets. Right? It looks very promising. Thanks guys. You have given me a lot of info. and the pictures are great.

 

I remember my original pass brackets being taller also about 2 in if i remember correctly.The first set of brackets that i made for the dr t/a seat track were the same height.When i nstalled them they too tall & made the headrest hit the visor & rubbed the t-top sun shade insert when tilted forward.this is because of the xtra height of the t/a seat track with its pivot feature.I would think the power seat track is also taller,than a manual one.The 2nd set of brackets i made are slightly tapered in height from barley 1/2 to 3/8in tall.Tihis is because the floor boards are not flat,but contoured.the front part is higher.So the seat track is at an angle to ground when installed,but the mounting points ARE parallel.This leaves a tapered space between the under side of the seat track where your brackets will mount to & the floor board where youll bolt down the brackets,hence the tapered height from 1/2 to 3/8in....

 

I do see what you mean. I hadnt noticed that the six way power seat bracket is taller that the manual one. I do think that what you said about the taper from the front to the back is a good idea. It did work didnt it? Everything that you said is pretty good and I think your memory is quite fantastic. Did you have success with them? Let me know and that will be my first try. Good to have a little experienced help. Thanks

 

a right hand drive 3rd gen? bring on the pics, brother!

 

Will try to get pics once I start the installation. I am getting new carpet in a few days and want to install that prior to the seat install. Also, will have to get a digital camera. Should make some decent pic to look at considering I want the most of my options on my drivers side (right). Have to decide on how the brackets need to be installed because of the difference in heights of each side. Have had a lot of help from you guys. Thanks.

 

btw Why are the seatbelt brackets at different angles on the headrests? I will have to switch headrests also I think. Would that be right?

 

Ive never noticed the diff angles on headrest,but youll have to swap them also.If you have the ones with the double bars.They can be removed,BUT from inside the seat.There are two plastic retainers(1 for ea bar).You have to pry the tips outward of the retainer to release the headrest bars.Removing the back plastic cover from the seat is the easiest way to gain access to those retainers.Then just slide your hand behind the seat material or unhook the hog rings.

 

Thanks. Things seem to be looking on the up and up. GM at least made some things easier for us. Will keep you up on the renovation.