Seat Removal Question
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,923
Likes: 1
From: The Corner of No and Where Arkansas
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
Seat Removal Question
I am trying to remove the seats from my 73 Coupe and the the door side rear bolts on both seats are a bear. I can feel them turning by reaching underneath but they are not backing out. I believe they are stripped out. Any suggestions other than knocking the heads off and going from there?
Last edited by VetteramI; Mar 3, 2007 at 08:30 PM. Reason: trying to be more clear
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 19,659
Likes: 34
From: Lenoir City Tennessee
Ci 6, 8 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Could be like mine were. Check under the car where the bolt goes through the floor and see if there is a nut on that bolt that is turning. This was present on 2 or 3 of my seat bolts. I went back with Grade 8 bolts, washers and nyloc nuts. Should never have any problems out of that
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 453
Likes: 1
From: Austin TX
I clicked on this link cause I just removed both seats out of my '78 yesterday and reinstalled today. I guess mines a bit different cause the 4 bolts are all on the inside. I would however suggest a way to apply pressure to the underneath side of the bolt, then attempt to unscrew it. I've removed stripped bolts this way before, but depending on the application and room, it may/maynot work for you. GL.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 464
Likes: 0
From: Charleston South Carolina
On my 78 there are nuts welded to the floor pan support and I had one bolt that gave me trouble and ended up breaking off the head. I soaked it with penetrating oil for awhile and grabbed it from underneath with locking pliers to turn it. I found it easier to spin it back and forth at first to clean the threads and then end up working its way out to the bottom.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
From: Cleveland Georgia
Should be a tapped plate under the body.
The factory used a tapped plate under the body that was held in place by rivets. See part number I-1204 at the Zip web site. From all the comments these must have a history of failing. That bolt on my '73 also just spins and I haven't gone to the trouble yet of crawling under the car to what's going on or what Bubba has done to it. (I've got plenty to keep me busy on the upper side.)
Later,
Johnny
Later,
Johnny
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8,000
Likes: 3,339
From: Omaha NE
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
On my 78 there are nuts welded to the floor pan support and I had one bolt that gave me trouble and ended up breaking off the head. I soaked it with penetrating oil for awhile and grabbed it from underneath with locking pliers to turn it. I found it easier to spin it back and forth at first to clean the threads and then end up working its way out to the bottom.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,098
Likes: 378
From: Las Vegas - Just stop perpetuating myths please.
Thier hiding beween the frame.
Just another awkward job that seems to get easier the more i do it. Yea, i don't know why some plate nuts aren't there but plenty of parts just ain't easy to work on in the C3.
Oh BTW u will need to slide the seat all the way fwd to access the rear bolts then all the way rear to get the fwd bolts. Funny but i can reach the front nuts to back up the wrench to turn bolts from the top.
Hope this helps.
cardo0