Seat stuck - can't tilt forward
 

Hi Everyone,

After going through my new 1977 vette I got last week, I was trying to tile the driver seat forward so I can adjust the incline of the back so I'm not laying so far back. The metal plate is missing at the top of the seat but the part it pushes in is there. I pushed it all of the way in and the seat will not unlatch to go forward. If the latch will not let it go forward, is there any way I can get around this? At this point I don't care if it does not latch back. The passenger's seat does not latch.

Thanks!

Warren

May have been a while since it was last moved. You have the right idea; you need to push in at the recess (1/2 - 3/4 inch) and jiggle the seat back fore and aft. You may have to slide the seat base forward to get a better view of the mechanism. You could also shoot a bit of lube at the release button position and try to loosen up the internals. :thumbs:

Dan

Thanks, I'll give that a try tonight. I was so frustrated with it last night that I was about to take my saw and cut the part between the back and bottom cushion!! :)

Warren

It sounds to me like the seat back strap is froze in the housing! This can and is usually caused by rust on the strap. Dan is on the money in telling you to try to wiggle while pushing. You may break it loose from housing and some sort of lubrication would not be a bad idea.

The strap has a hole in the top of it that catches on the mechanism. To give you an idea of where the problem is, here is a picture of the strap. I don't have one of the mechanism on this machine.

Willcox Inc.

http://willcoxcorvette.com/images/x37672.jpg

This happened on my 78. I pushed the button and struggled with it to no avail. With the seat pushed all the way forward, I discovered that the seat back adjustment screws which should seat against each other had slipped over and the heads had locked together. After removing the seat I was able to push the adjustment screws over and return the seat to its proper function. Hope this helps. Jerry

Jerry.. That is a great idea and one that never crossed my mind.. I've seen it before but it just did not spark..

:thumbs: up!

Willcox

:iagree: Exact same thing happened on my 78... I was ready to tear it out and throw it down the street... Anyway after a cold "adult beverage" I slid the seat forward and got an inpection mirror and saw that the adjustment bumps had locked together as stated above... I did not need to remove my seat to fix though... I was able to "twist" it a bit once I knew what direction to go...

:thumbs:
Beats the heck out of taking the Sawzall to it every time!!!

Thanks for the info
 

I have the same problem with my 77, I had it in the shop and they all thought it was the seat back strap. I took it home after reading the above used a mirror and discovered it was the seat back adjustment bolts had locked under the bottom set and would not allow the seat to fold forward. This article has saved me a lot of frustration in getting this problem fixed. Thanks :canadaflag:

I was able to unscrew them with my drill.

Been thinking about making a spacer that fit over both screws and wrapped around the back of the seat.

It does not seem to be a well though out design.

R~

i took my whole mechanism out for weight reduction a long time ago, I didn't find any need for them(probably because the one side didn't work when I bought it and I found that I survived my daily commute)

WOW, I was not aware they could be adjusted, can this be done on a 76? Learn something new everyday :D

Yes. The upper bolts are long enough so that you can unscrew them a bit and make the seat back more upright. You will have to shim the lock mechanism a similar amount. I set the seatback angle to my liking, measured it, and then filled the gap between the bolt heads and the seat with flat washers. This way, the stop is more solid, and the bolts are less likely to bend and catch together.

Sorry to interject but does anyone know if there is any seat back adjustment on the '80 seats?

Cool deal, thank you :thumbs:

Well, as usual, a little bit of research on my part before posting would have been in order. It appears the easiest way to adjust the rake on an '80 seat is to put something between the seat back shell and the seat bottom shell. The suggested use of a split hose fitted over the lip of the bottom seat shell seems like a good idea to me. I think I'll spray it with my interior dye so that it doesn't stand out too much when the seat back is down.