I keep finding in parts yards 3rd gens with perfect passengers side front bucket seats. but the drivers side is always trashed. SO..... is it possible to swap them side to side?? and mount them on my power seat tracks? has anyone done this with success?

 

I highly doubt that would work.All the latches and releases would be on the opposite sides and from the looks of it(I'm looking at a seat back)the inside hinge hole,looks permanent.


these are pics of a passenger seat back,these parts are permanent

 

well dammit!! as anyone knows .you just cant find a decent drivers side seat. sure you can buy a new foam/wire assembly .and then a upholstery set. but I was hoping to avoid having major $$$ in one seat. on the other hand I cant drive it without a seat ,now can I?? so bring on the expense!!!!

 

I would look in the TGO ads for someone breaking up a car for parts.who knows,you might get lucky.

 

I have not studied the seat designs closely, but would it be possible to reuse just the cover? The seat shapes are pretty symmetrical from seat to seat as far as as I can tell. The mechanisms may be different, but the covers may be close enough to get away with. You may have the odd hole to cover where and adjuster lever pokes through....just a thought.

 

Yes the seat covers will swap. You gotta be careful with the material around the bolt holes.
Material likes to stick to any amount of rust, and being this old, it may be extremely brittle.

Take your time cutting the old hog rings off. Pay attention to the bars that run up & down the side bolsters.

We used a passenger seat cover on driver side. The upholsterer cut the panel & resewn it on.
Didnt quite get it matched but it looks better than whole with a spring sticking thru.
IMO use the entire cover, do not cut and sew.
Patience & strong hands recomended!!
As far as seat swap, mantaguy has answer, & the pic. That is exactly how ours look. IDK if yours woud be different.

 

That's what I was thinking, t-top. Thanks. I'm planning on doing the same thing on my Olds Cutlass. Driver leather seats are all shot when you find them, but lots of good passenger donors.

 

its good to know im not the only one contemplating this move. and the chances of me finding a drivers seat is slim .I may just have to buy the foam/wire and a upholstery set to get past this. BUT im gonna keep looking. im gonna post a pic of the pass side seat I bought in hopes of matching it .its from a 92 rs. its the low back seat in grey cloth with Camaro embrordered on the seat back. and ..... the search continues!!

 

I believe many people have already done this swap. I plan to do it my self when I find a good passenger seat that matches my set.

Here is a thread that may interest you:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...e-panel-2.html

 

I read that thread above and I don't know how that fellow did his seat swap,maybe Chevy's are different seat frames,I don't think they are,but,if you checkout no.6 below,their the ones I have, AR9/wYR1,you will see that frame is all one piece,there's nothing bolted at any points where you would have to remove to switch the parts over to work the swap.I checked all the years and all are basically the same thing but for one that doesn't show and that would be the 82-84 Recaro's.

 

For "normal" high-back or "head-rest" seats ( Not Ultima, Contour or PMD ),.....

For the front bucket backrest; the frame is what it is. The fabric can simply be removed and replaced, but the front bucket frame will always be LEFT or RIGHT.

For the front bucket bottom; The frame can be used for the drivers side or passenger side by simply moving the pivot bolts' nut/clip from one side - to the other side - of the frame. ( pivot bolt clip is much like a large body screw clip. ) To access the nut/clip much of the seat cover needs to be removed, but it's very doo-able. There are seat hinge bolt holes in both sides of the lower seat frame already.

As for the factory seat covers,..... moving covers from one side to the other will leave hinge bolt holes in the fabric cover exposed. These holes will be barley visible because they are blocked from view by the center console - but they are still there. ( a small price to pay for otherwise good factory seat covers. ! )

This pic shows a passenger side backrest and bottom cover that was installed on the drivers side backrest & bottom frames/padding.




* Many Firebird seats didn't use an upper plastic trim cover over the hinge because the hinge was mounted under the backrest fabric. Obviously; if your swapping seat covers on this type of seat then there are no holes in the upper fabric to begin with.

 

^^^Awesome info. Thanks for sharing.

 

That was my understanding; as soon as I find a good passenger seat that matches my set I'm going to perform the swap.

Have you or anyone you know ever used the new seat foam you can get from hawks? I was thinking about replacing the foam since mine is lightly compressed...

 

Thanx -

I've always re-used old foam when I had to replace it, never used new or repro foam before so I can offer any info about on the topic.

IIRC different types of seats used different types of foam,... Firebird seats vs. Camaro seats for instance. Just stick with similar style seats and you will be happy after rebulding your previouly shredded drivers seat !!