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Hey guys, just stripped down the seats for my 71 to recondition the seat frames and to also install new seat foam and covers. Noticed that on the left side bottom of each frame that the steel frame appears to be bent inwards and not straight like the other side. Both seat frame bottoms are the same way. Just seems weird, but maybe they are supposed to be that way for some reason? Anyone else know if they should be this way or not? Maybe they need to be straightened back out? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Yes that is how they came form the factory, why I have no clue. I am doing the same project as well. Your frames look like they are in good shape.
Thanks mjmike. That was the first thing I noticed, I could understand one of them being bent, but when I saw that both were the same way, figured it was that way for some strange reason. Just would like to understand why? Yeah the frames aren't in too bad of shape. The steel in one of the seat frame bottoms where the bump stops screw into is cracked in two places and needs to be welded back up. Might even weld in a set of those repair/support brackets that you see available on the internet, just as an added measure as I don't ever plan on restoring the seats again in my lifetime...
You are welcome, I did bend it back slightly and re-tensioned the inner springs in a vice. I found a small crack in the same spot as well, I think its a very common issue.
another bit of advise would be to bolt the top and bottom frames together so you can adjust and get the the the two pads to line up perfectly before final assembly. I will post a pic after I get the frame welded up.
I noticed the same thing when I did my seats. Both sides looked bent, but when I compared them, the bends were almost identical, so I decided they came that way and left them alone. The seats turned out nice and the bends didn’t seem to negatively affect anything.
I thought they had bent over time because they were a little weak so I straightened them and added some bracing to make them stay straight. No problems with the seat adjusters FWIW the passenger seat was worse than the drivers but I figured a PO may have swapped the seats around.
Ha! I wish I saw this before I just rebuilt my seats. I couldn't imagine them coming from the factory like that so I straightened them out. Just a FYI, I've had no clearance issues with the seat rail or handle. Does not appear to be any interference.
Great info guys. My first impression was man...these seat frames sure got bent up over the years. I need to straighten them back out and possibly even add some horizontal gussets to keep it from happening again. Very good to know that they were purposely made this way, so my OCD will just have to get over the fact that they are supposed to look differently from side to side!
I just finished my interior project on my 71BB that started with the foam replacement. Both of my frames were bent, but not just one side. I suspected they had bent with use over the years and bent both back to horizontal. Now reinstalled and haven’t had any clearance issues. A brace seems like a great idea. The rails bent back very easily to the point that I figure my 260lb *** is probably going to bring them back to the middle in no time anyway!
Bottom seat frame question
