'73 K5 Rear Bench Seat Question...

[K5-Matt]

I recently purchased a 1973 K5 Balzer. The rear bench seat is secured with a hinge in the front but is missing the brackets to lock the seat down in the back. As it is configured the seat could flip forward if I were to stop too abruptly. I would guess that there are a couple of D Rings mounted to the floor to lock the seat into, however I'm not sure. Does anyone have an idea as to how I fix this problem and where to get the parts?

 

[BIOHZDK5]

There should be four threaded holes in between the rear wells. Usually the seats have brackets that bolt into the outer holes and and th seat belts to the inner. My 75 the brackets were moved to the center holes and welded to the seat frame. Sounds as if you need the rear brackets. Your best bet is going to look for a donor seat from a Blazer or Burb. Not unless someone on here has a spare seat that they will cut the brackets off for you. Hope this helps

 

[USSkoval]

Sounds like someone has done some "fabricating" to make the seat fold forward like a '78-up. The seat should bolt to the floor, front and rear. My '77 rear seat came with some adapter bracketry and some quick release pins to let it fold forward. It looked like it may have been some sort of aftermarket kit from back in the day.

 

[BlazerFarm]

Yep, that's not the seat that came in that truck. Folding rear seats weren't offered until 1978. 1973 - 1977 rear seats were fully bolted down with four bolts, one through each leg. That's also why in 1978 the rear deck is lower behind the cab. The seat can fold partially into it, plus it gave better leg room for the people sitting in the back.

So it sounds like someone went half way and put a folding rear seat into your non-folding seat truck. They only bolted down the hinge. There's nothing to lock the back down to.

You can see the locking tabs they added in '78 from the brochure. Plus dig the plaid seats. To fix it you'll have to fab something up whether it's finding the locking tabs and adding them to your floor or bolting something else in. Just make sure you do it right. The seatbelts and everything are mounted to that rear locking point.

 

[K5-Matt]

That's the seat... but a nice shade of gray. It will probably work... I am going to try using some D rings or U bolts to latch it down. Thanks for the help!

 

[jtrapani]

did anyone notice the girls in the picture above sitting in the back with the guys up front? the good ol days.