Finally! I have seats that I like. I hated the origInals and tried the Fiero swap. Those didn’t do it for me. Had an 81 for a short bit last year and loved the seats.

Found a redone set from a 79 that came with the rails. The 79 rails had been slightly modded at the rear pedestals so they could bolt into a 76. The seller felt they sat too high in his 76 so he went back to stock and sold me these.

I was also concerned about them being too high. I noticed the front feet of the 79 rails were noticeably taller than my 75 units. Of course using these rails would make them sit too high. Based on advice from others here I bolted my 75 rails to the clams. In order for the 75 rails to fit and still slide within the underside clam channels the front mounts needed spacers between the rails and the clam. I spaced it just enough (about 5/8”) so the rails would still operate.

Next challenge was how to make room so the 75 adjustment lever would fit and be operable without being jammed against the carpet. Hmmm. I stared at it a long time and wasn’t comfortable trimming that much of the bottom of the clam. Even if I hacked away and got room for the lever it was still going to foul on the carpet since I had the thinnest spacer possible to get my 75 rails to work on the 79 clams. So I got radical and just cut off the adjustment lever leaving about a 1” stub.

Then I drilled a small hole in the clam right above the stub. So now with the lower cushion removed one can insert a screwdriver in the hole and leverage off of it in order to move the lever/stub. Which is all moot for me since I don’t want them anywhere other than all the way back. The only time I’ll ever slide them is for removal/installation.

These babies are on the floor! When I was bolting them down you could feel/see the carpet compressing. There is just barely enough clearance that you can slide the seat with some effort. Hopefully I never lose anything under my seats since there is no chance of getting my hand under there lol.

Good lord getting those cushions clipped in was sheer pain. I learned new swear words.

Suddenly my tired original silver interior doesn’t look so bad lol.

Are these the 4” bolsters?

 

sweet !!

 

That looks very nice. I like the contrast between the silver and black. Nice job

 

Nice looking seats

 

Cool! I need a set of those for my 76. The stock seats were recovered when I bought the car, they're in great shape but they remind me of the seats in my 69 Z/28. They're like 2 slabs of plywood with no support whatsoever! Good for you, the search is on for me!
Peter

 

Here's some info on measuring I found:

How to Measure Your 1979-82 Corvette Seat Cover Bolsters
1. Locate the end of the horizontal pleats (A) on the seat back’s insert area.
2. Then find the middle of the double stitching line (B).
3. Now measure the distance between A and B. It will be either 2” or 4”.

You must specify 2 inch or 4 inch Bolster.




DC

 

Those look great!

im redoing my 76 interior and recovered the stock seats Several years ago ( new foam too). I do want something more comfortable but head and leg room are an issue. I’m only 6’1” but I have to sprawl out t be comfortable..

im worried about bucket seats pushing me forward too much though because I’m wide across the back and shoulders. Modern cars can work if I tilt the seat back a lot but obviously you can’t do that with the c3.

anyway...if I could cut down the boosters on the top part of the backs they might work. What do you think?

 

the other thing to keep in mind is getting over those bolsters entering and exiting the car. it is bad enough with the kitchen chair design the pre 78 came with.

 

I think you full size types get a raw deal in the C3 world lol. Seriously at 5’9” 175 with a 30-31”I ish inseam with the seat all the way back and literally on the floor I cannot imagine being over 6” in one of these things.

I will say the clams are such a massive improvement over stock I would do whatever modding was needed to make them work for me. Cutting the bolsters sounds like a good idea to allow you to settle back more.

 

an option is unlatching and lifting the T-top to get in. my vert hardtop is a little better than the coupe. i can scrinch my neck to the left and just get my head in. you ever wonder why ALL e-brake consoles are broken? right elbow full weight on it to lift butt into seat. i even did it to an 08 Impreza.

 

That reminds me. I need to reinforce the new console I got before I break it.