‘66 Redux 2: Some modern seats
Article Overview:
The second article in the ‘66 Redux series of articles. Fortune smiled on me while I was at pick-a-part in Sunland, California looking for parts to finish off my electric fan conversion. I came across a 325i BMW with a pair of sport seats in pristine condition. Usually these sorts of seats are gone as soon as they hit the junkyard, but probably due to the overcast weather of the USC football game on TV these seats waited around long enough for me to snatch them up. Read along as I install them into my Chevelle.
The stock bucket seats in a 1966 Chevelle are hardly the apex of comfort or positive retention. Anyone who has taken steps to improve the handling of their classic muscle car is probably familiar with the “right hand on the wheel, left knee jammed into the door, left arm holding on to the window sill” technique for holding yourself in your seat will agree that there is much to be desired. I have spent considerable time browsing ebay, the recycler, and the summit catalog looking for a pair of seats that would strike a balance between comfort and performance. Most of what I came across was either in my price range or good, but never both. Fortunately while at the junkyard looking for electrical components I can across these seats out of an e30 BMW. They meet both the comfort and performance requirements and their covering material and color match the existing interior and the rear seat.
Follow along as I make some repairs to these seats then install them in my Malibu.
Front view of the seats after a light cleaning.
Rear view of the seats.
Close up shot of the damage on the rear of the passenger seat.