Hi. I am just beginning a restoration on a 1966 baracuda. By restoration I do not mean I am trying to go back to original. And so my question is, rather than have my existing bucket seats reupholstered, would there be other options from something a bit more modern. I have a couple of boneyards near me from which to choose. Thanks for any replies

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If only I had the time to do what I want to do instead of what I have to do!

You can get late 90s or early 2000s Sebring convertible seats with integral seatbelts and then you have nice shoulder belts and very comfy seats. Not expensive from a boneyard. Note that you need to really beef up (and customize) the seat mounting so that things can withstand a crash and not rip the seat loose. In a crash, all the force of you and the seatbelt gets transmitted through the seat and its mount points... I had a set of these in a 64 Valiant that I no longer own.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Chev and GMC trucks in the 2000s have great seats with integral belts.

I have them in my Desoto .

The floor must be armoured.

Sounds good. Thanks guys

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If only I had the time to do what I want to do instead of what I have to do!

90's Camaro / Firebird seats. Use your original belts.

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"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

Mark, I have a set of Sebring seats, that I bought for the Cuda. Just never got around to it.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

My brother has a set of Sebring seats in his 74 Duster project. I need to fabricate some better moutning brackets, but they are a nice option. If you use them, be sure to grab the small black box that controls the seat belt retractor mechanism. It is in the console between the seats. Here is a webpage discussing installation of some Sebring seats in a Corvair. It has good info re: the electronics involved: http://www.corvairkid.com/sebring.htm

Thanks Reed.

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If only I had the time to do what I want to do instead of what I have to do!

Follow up question. Why are the Sebring seats so popular? Wouldn't pretty much any bucket seat work? I have a lead on a nice set of Lincoln seats not far from here. Just wondering what problems I may encounter.

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If only I had the time to do what I want to do instead of what I have to do!

The Sebring seats are definitely on the short list of ones to pick, because of their inbuilt 3-point seat belts. I've seen them re-covered with period-correct vinyl and cloth materials for our old cars and they really blend in well when redone that way.

You have to get the brain box (electronic control unit) for the seat belts; see here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

One of the good features of the GMC seats is the three point belts are mechanical and require no wiring.

Built in 3 point harnesses are nice in cars that don't have an upper mount for seat belts. In my Desoto it was far easier to armor the floor for the seats than to make a mount for the belt. The geometry of the belts is fixed.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I found a set of full size Ram seats from a club cab that have the integral seat belts. Not sure of the year. Will be using them in my 87 D100

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65 Dart station wagon slant 6 - now under construction
47 Dodge Custom 4 Door sedan
87 D100 Short Bed slant 6

Retired USAF 1966-1986
Retired US Postal Service 2004-2014

I ran into "fit" problems in our 75 Darts: We didn't "fit" into the car with some types of seats! Check dimensions from the firewall, floor, overhead, seat back vs seat front edge, angle of the seat back & angle of the cushion, centering & dimensions from the steering wheel, etc, etc. Check & make dimensioned drawings for your originals, then see what you can acquire that will be an OK fit for your body. Seats that fit me didn't fit my taller son. That's my esspeerience.

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"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

Back when my Aunt and Uncle used to hang with the gearheads in high school, they had a guy that was a tall dude... he ended up moving the rails on his stock duster buckets back a few inches so he could sit comfortably in the driver's seat... oddly it also helped his 1/4 time by 0.3 sec at the track....

Stratus seats worked very nice in my 67 Dart