Sebring convertible seats revisited...for the chrysler tech..

[dkn1997]

I've always wanted to do what this guy did, except they would be going in my charger

http://www.corvairkid.com/sebring.htm

the local wrecker has a set, but they are out of a 2004. would it be possible to get the seatbelt control timing module out of a 96 or 97 and use it on the later seat?

or can they be used just powering them up without the sctm? from that link I posted, it seemed like the seats already have some sort of inertia restraint..

As described above, the SCTM holds the occupant in place during airbag deployment, which we don't have to worry about with a Corvair installation, but it also helps keep the occupant from making contact with the interior of the car by holding them more firmly in place than the inertia wheel can do on its own

I've always wanted these seats because I hate my stupid seatbelts. my stock seats are nice, but the foam is shot and is disintegrating and falling onto the carpet, plus they have no adjustability or support.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Kevin

[dkn1997]

come on guys...nobody here works for chrysler?   

[mauve66]

doubt it, the guys that work for chrysler now have absolutely no idea about heritage and commitment

[runningman]

doubt it, the guys that work for chrysler now have absolutely no idea about heritage and commitment

[b5blue]

Well said Matt!

[runningman]

 

[rustafarian]

I don't have your answer,  but I've driven/bought/sold plenty of Sebring convertibles and I'm not very impressed with the seats themselves.
You can really feel the seat frame in your butt & back on those,  the padding seems to fail before 100K miles.  I'm 5'8" and 170lbs, so it's not a size/weight issue on my part.
I suggest you take one for a ride before picking those seats.  Of course, maybe you have and it's just me.

[mauve66]

come on guys...nobody here works for chrysler?   

doubt it, the guys that work for chrysler now have absolutely no idea about heritage and commitment

in other words there out of touch with the older cars and stuff so they probably wouldn't be here

[Mike DC]

     
Just in case anyone ever reads this thread with ideas about putting belts into the stock Charger seatbacks . . . DON'T. 


The stock seatbacks will seriously bend in a wreck with even a moderate body weight passenger.  The frames are not strong enough to be safe in stock shape, let alone adding on any additional duties like a shoulder belt mounting method. 

[b5blue]

Runningman/Matt works there and is building a Charger......so his"  " is WTF. Why stereotype ma mopars workers just because corporate has there head up their butt.

[Aero426]

doubt it, the guys that work for chrysler now have absolutely no idea about heritage and commitment

That's pretty strong.   I know some guys over there who would disagree with you on that.

[Hemidog]

I would think some workers know their heritage?

[Ghoste]

Attend one of the Chrysler Employees club events in Detroit and you'll quickly recant that statement.  For that matter, the Chrysler Museum is largely staffed by volunteers who are also Chrysler employees. 

[runningman]

Runningman/Matt works there and is building a Charger......so his"  " is WTF. Why stereotype ma mopars workers just because corporate has there head up their butt.

Thanks Neal    Yes I have worked for Chrysler for about 15 years now, my dad, dad's mother, mom's father also retired from Chrysler.  I also just found out that my great grandmother also did interiors for Chrysler cars, probably before they were Chrysler though.  Anyway yeah most of us would take offense to comments like that.  I get to hear how lazy and uneducated we all are everyday from people that have never stepped foot in a plant.  They have heard stories from the 70's or something.  

I work as an electrician...well worked as...at the 3.7 plant.  We are doing some amazing things here with a minimal amount of manpower.  I am getting laid off and getting picked up working production starting Jan 4.  I believe I will get to stay here in production until the plant closes though.  I am also a veteran (4yrs USAF, 6yrs MIANG) working as an electronic warfare tech on A-10's so I have been doing what I enjoy here at Chrysler up until now.  Sorry to hijack this thread, just wanted to add my  

[mauve66]

nothing personal to these guys but thats 2-3 out of thousands, yes most of it seems to be corporate but not all of it, not by a long shot, engineers, designers, product planners, they are responsible for getting the right stuff out there, corporate just picks and chooses, i stand by what i said, been very disappointed for many years with chrysler in general and there are dozens of threads here that say the same thing from people on this thread

[runningman]

I can agree with that, the majority of employees are also disappointed with many of the products that Chrysler has put out in the past.  There is also no excuse for quality problems that seem to plague the company.  The frustrating part is that we (shop floor) have absolutely no control of these issues.  The one thing we can control is making quality engines which our facility has done.  The majority of problems that are realized are caused by outsourced parts which we also have no control of.  These contracts go to the lowest bidder or who has the best contacts at corporate.  I am sure this is common of any large company though.

Chrysler negotiated outsourcing our janitorial services to save $$.  I agree, paying janitors $25 an hour is crazy so good idea right?  I was recently informed by plant engineering that our plant is now paying $400K more a year for janitors than having it done in house.  The contract with the company also states that they are not to clean any of the machinery only the bathrooms and floors.  I also found out that the majority of other outsourced services have to go through this company which adds another 40% to the original quotes.  There is a ton of waste going on here and it frustrates everyone.  I won't go into the company that is repairing our electrical components other than to say it is costing at least 4x what it would cost to do the repairs in house and the majority of the time the components coming in are defective.  Once again it's all about who you know.

Bottom line is that corporate makes the final decisions and they have proved to not make the correct ones the majority of the time.

[dkn1997]

ok ladies, enough   

and more of      and a lot more talking about 

weren't we supposed to be talking about seats anyway?   

[b5blue]

OK so seats are a good thing.....and I started reading this because I may not rebuild my buckets and who has alternatives (no matter where you work)

[Ghoste]

My dad claims there were a couple of dudes here in our town back in the early 60's that stripped the complete interior out of their car (they were brothers) and just used overturned tomato baskets for seats.   
Might not be what you have in mind but you have to admit it's an alternative.

[b5blue]

Well now that you mention it I have these 2 drywall mud buckets.........

[Hemidog]

I think Kenny Wayne Shepherd used sebring seats in his 72 Charger?

[dkn1997]

I think Kenny Wayne Shepherd used sebring seats in his 72 Charger?

sure looks like it from the pics I saw.  There must be something to these seats if they are being used in a high profile magazine/celebrity car like that. 

[b5blue]

The seats in the link are actually close to b5blue in color (what I would want) but seem too complex. 

[dkn1997]

The seats in the link are actually close to b5blue in color (what I would want) but seem too complex. 

He had those recovered.  I also think he complicated it more than he had to.  He actually altered the seat track as opposed to making some sort of adapter.  I was thinking of making an adapter that the seat could bolt to using the stock bolts on the seat track, then bolting that adapter through the factory mounting holes, bracking underneath with either large flat stock (like a huge washer) or tying into subframe connectors.

I did hear from a chrysler tech on another board I go to that these can be used without the SCTM, as they do have the inertia mechanism to lock the belts. 

The deal I had locally fell through so I'm still in the hunt.  I did find another set in white leather from a '98 which is perfect.  I'm just waiting to hear if he will give me the SCTM and wiring for the price he quoted for just the seats.  can't see why not, he's parting the car and I told him I would remove it all for him. 

[rustafarian]

whatever seats you go with,  go with the freshest/newest ones you can,  seat frames get tired too.

[KWS]

I think Kenny Wayne Shepherd used sebring seats in his 72 Charger?

Yup. These are the newer Sebring seats.

[dkn1997]

KW:
do you have any pics of how you mounted those seats?  and did you use the SCTM?  curious what year car your seats came out of.

I just got these off craigslist out of a 98 with SCTM and wiring for 250.00 

[ac_knight]

I have Sebring seats in my car, from a 2000.  Although they are not covertable seats, they are real nice.  I got them off Ebay several years back, real nice seats.  I had a friend weld up some brackets, and used the stock bolt holes, then drilled matching holes in the floor and re-enforced them.

[Mike DC]

 
Here's another oddball idea for restomod musclecar seats -


I've wondered about rigging up some of the modern "active" headrests in a Charger or other old car.  When you've got a pillarless hardtop muscle car then the stock headrests/highback buckets really spoil the mojo of that look.  

Some modern convertibles are showing up with pop-up rollbars when they turn over.  And some cars have headrests popping forwards so the person's head hits them sooner in a rear-ender.  It seems like a small trick to make a set of lowback bucket seats that have pop-up headrests when they get in a wreck. 

[dkn1997]

I have Sebring seats in my car, from a 2000.  Although they are not covertable seats, they are real nice.  I got them off Ebay several years back, real nice seats.  I had a friend weld up some brackets, and used the stock bolt holes, then drilled matching holes in the floor and re-enforced them.

don't come on here with that and forget the pictures!!! come on!!!!

[ac_knight]

I dont have pics of them, I will go and get them as soon as I can.  I just havent ever thought about taking pics of my seats, and it is in winter storage about 30 minutes away from me.

[Highbanked Hauler]

   I've got a PT crusier and love the seats,when I get my 68 to that point of needing seats I am going to go for a set from a PT

[dkn1997]

picked them up today. got the sctm, wiring, connectors.  for the wiring end, all i will need are relays and some wire.
took an hour to get them out.