'77 K5 Rear Seat Thingamabob Technology Question. Thingy.

[thr3efi5ezer0]

Long story short... I have a '77 K5 and I'm not sure what the rear seat is out of, but it's not stock. It has 2x4's sandwiched between it and the floor, and some half-arsed lapbelts rigged to it. Not ok for hauling the kids.

I use the truck primarily for work, hauling the tailer, etc. Planning to leave the top off for at least 6 months at a time. During the week it hauls a mower (which barely fits in the rear with the seat out) and other stuff. On the weekends the kids want to cruise around in it with the wind in their hair. As it should be.

So I have a couple of questions:

11.a) I saw a picture of an unknown K5 somewhere (no I can't remember where) with a rear seat that folded down/forward, so it basically doubled over, then folded up towards the back of the front seats. This would be ideal if it also came out without any unbolting. I have no idea if this was a factory option for later years or if this was something someone put in him/herself. Anybody got the skinny on rear seat technology? Or if this setup wasn't stock, what it might have been converted from?

XIV~ Shoulder belts. Gotta have'm for the kids. I don't plan on rolling it any time soon, but I find that the wheels go up generally when you least expect it so I want to be ready. Ideally I'll eventually have the cash to put a rear rollbar in it and put shoulder belts on that, but for now even something attached to whatever rear seat is in there would be better than nothing. In later years where the truck should/would have come stock with rear shoulder harnesses, what did they attach to???

Subsection b.) Women. What the??? Probably a topic for a different post/forum, but I figure any time there's even a remote possibility of acquiring knowledge on this mystery... can't hurt to ask...

 

[chevy wrangler]

my '73 blazer had the seat mounted down on all 4 points. i had a parts '78and it had the fold down seat and i cut the floor for the hooks on the seat and welded em on the '73.. it involved alot of but i like it

 

[chevy wrangler]

oh and BTW i was pretty scared to cut a '73 blazer tub

 

[rjpastor]

Can't help with the seat, but I can tell you that after 40 years of marriage (same woman) and four daughters -- I still don't have a clue. I can anticipate what they're going to do based on experience, but the WHY is still a mystery!

 

[cdoggwsu]

The folding rear seat has always been a factory setup in the later models and I'm fairly certain it is the same for all years but could be different for the older ones. As far as shoulder belts go, perhaps you could rig something of a seatbelt frame using the existing bolt holes for the top.

 

[blowedupmotor87]

My 87 has a folding rear seat so, I'm guessing it must have been a later model feature? As to the belts, IDK where to mount them (other than a rollcage), maybe some sort of removable bar going from side to side? For the belts, clarkjw24 pointed out to me that a set of stock truck belts (retractor is floormounted) might would be easy to mount and route for rear shoulder belts.

On a totally separate thought, what about a folding rear third row seat from like a minivan or SUV? They are usually kinda narrow so, they ought fit between the wheelwells and I think some of them have shoulder belts integrated into the seat? Might be a good idea to poke around at your local salvage yard and see what you can find?

 

[AZ79K5Project]

My 79 has the folding feature - Rear of the back seat fold forward and locks. The whole seat then folds forward to just behind the front seats. factory item.

The seat has lap belts only - The clip is bolted to the floor. Questionable design. There is hard plastic that sits over the flat steel. Just by chance I noted some flexibility when I was redoing my interior. The metal broke and was being held in position by the plastic.

In order to do shoulder belts - you'll need to fab something up to have the harness high enough.

Let me know if you need any pics.

As far as women - Been married 11 years and she gets crazier everyday. I was going to trade her in but you know, resale values are down right now...

 

[thr3efi5ezer0]

Can't help with the seat, but I can tell you that after 40 years of marriage (same woman) and four daughters -- I still don't have a clue. I can anticipate what they're going to do based on experience, but the WHY is still a mystery!

As much as the seat issue is bothering me, I'd much rather unravel the mysteries of women.

40 years of marriage. Oy. I hope it wasn't as bad as the 15 years I put in... I guess the up side to my poor marriage choice the first time is that I get to trade in for a younger model without losing my house.

And daughters!!! Holy! My daughter is only 4 and she already owns the bathroom, talks on the phone as long as I'll let her, and is so beautiful that I'm already working out and practicing my kick-boxing in preparation for all the teenage boys I'll be beating the hell out of!!!

I hope the seat issue ends less stressfully.

 

[thr3efi5ezer0]

my '73 blazer had the seat mounted down on all 4 points. i had a parts '78and it had the fold down seat and i cut the floor for the hooks on the seat and welded em on the '73.. it involved alot of but i like it

I'm not afraid. My tub is already in need of replacement, so cutting/welding/etc is probably a good thing!!!

So is mine the last year being a '77, and in '78 all the seats folded, or was the folding thing an option? I'm wondering if my floor has hooks and someone just bolted in a different seat.

 

[thr3efi5ezer0]

My 87 has a folding rear seat so, I'm guessing it must have been a later model feature? As to the belts, IDK where to mount them (other than a rollcage), maybe some sort of removable bar going from side to side? For the belts, clarkjw24 pointed out to me that a set of stock truck belts (retractor is floormounted) might would be easy to mount and route for rear shoulder belts.

I thought that any vehicle in 89 or later had to have shoulder belts for all passengers, so maybe the 89-90-91 Blazers might have them that I could fab in. Not sure this applied to trucks though, or how the Blazer was categorized as far as a passenger vehicle.

And I've swapped in lap belts like you said above, before, the thing you have to get right is that you have to mount them basically the way they were mounted from the donor vehicle so that the inertia mechanism works to lock the belt properly in a crash. I think. But if anyone else has done this please chime in.

On a totally separate thought, what about a folding rear third row seat from like a minivan or SUV? They are usually kinda narrow so, they ought fit between the wheelwells and I think some of them have shoulder belts integrated into the seat? Might be a good idea to poke around at your local salvage yard and see what you can find?

I like this idea too, if anyone else has done this please let me know what/how. I really don't need the folding part, mostly the removability of the seat... I tend to either need it or not need it, the folding would be cool but not necessary in my case so maybe I can find a minivan seat...

The only thing I'm not sure about here would be the seatbelts integrated into the seat, that would be ideal but I've never seen one like that. The ones I've seen usually have the belts mounted to the floor and walls of the vehicle. I haven't had much newer stuff though. Maybe that has changed.

 

[thr3efi5ezer0]

My 79 has the folding feature - Rear of the back seat fold forward and locks. The whole seat then folds forward to just behind the front seats. factory item.

The seat has lap belts only - The clip is bolted to the floor. Questionable design. There is hard plastic that sits over the flat steel. Just by chance I noted some flexibility when I was redoing my interior. The metal broke and was being held in position by the plastic.

In order to do shoulder belts - you'll need to fab something up to have the harness high enough.

Let me know if you need any pics.

Pictures are always enjoyed as well as appreciated! If you have any of the seat itself and how it folds that would be great, but also of the floor mounts/hooks thing would be good to see too.

As far as women - Been married 11 years and she gets crazier everyday. I was going to trade her in but you know, resale values are down right now...

Oh balls. Mine went noteably batschnitz at about the 10 year mark, then at 14 yearsish went full-tilt completely batschnitz. Fortunately she left us or we probably would have all suffered similar fates. Still no cure for, or explanation of for that matter, the batsschnitzness.

Count your blessings on the resale value... even if you get nothing on trade, you still drop a major expense. Depending on your situation. But seriously though hope yours works out better than mine did. Seat and marriage both...

 

[Desert Yeti]

The "double folding" (fold down and then forward) seat must have been an option for some years as my '79 does NOT have it and near as I can tell it's got the original back seat. The back folds down, but that's it...the whole thing doesn't then fold forward in any way.

A lot of later model vehicles 2003-ish+ have seatbelts integrated into the seats... that's your target era if you're looking for a 3rd row seat out of something else that might fit the bill.

Your best bet, at least in the long term, is probably a late 80's K5 seat (the fold forward kind) and a roll bar/cage for your shoulder belts. My fear for a 3rd row seat out of something else is that it's going to sit too high so that when your top IS on the truck they'll be a severe head room shortage in the back seat.

That being said, I'm a HUGE fan of retro fitting late model junk yard stuff into these trucks, so if you make something like that work, post pics!!!

 

[AZ79K5Project]

Excuse the leaves and debris. I had the top off for a while and haven't vacuumed it up yet.

Here are some pics of the seat and hardware:





This is the underside of the bed.




This bar locks the seat in the folded position.



Here are pictures of the rear seatbelt I was talking about:

This is the way it looked for the most part. There was no indication by looking that the metal was broken in two places. The plastic was not broken when I found it. I just happened to move it and noticed it had a lot of play like a fabric seatbelt. CHECK YOU SEAT BELTS!!!

I pulled the plastic apart to find the severed metal.

These two pics are of the 2nd break. I didn't pull the plastic apart on this one. Just broke one side open to see the damage.

 

[kevin400ex]

I thought that any vehicle in 89 or later had to have shoulder belts for all passengers, so maybe the 89-90-91 Blazers might have them that I could fab in. Not sure this applied to trucks though, or how the Blazer was categorized as far as a passenger vehicle.

.

the removable top blazers never had rear shoulder belts

 

[throttleissues]

The box body 'burbs(73-91) never got shoulder belts for the third seat, either, unless I've somehow just never seen it.

 

[Desert Yeti]

I stand corrected! It appears as if my '79 DID, at one time, have the fold-forward rear seat. After seeing these pics, I went poking around and it has the slots in the floor where the seat used to lock down. I can no longer claim counter-evidence to the "'78 and up had fold-forward seats" theory.

My bad!

 

[4X4HIGH]

the removable top blazers never had rear shoulder belts

You are incorrect. Starting in 1990 shoulder harness's were available. I'm not sure if it was an option or they all came with them. Tori89k5 has a 1990 blazer with the rear shoulder harness's IIRC.

 

[kevin400ex]

You are incorrect. Starting in 1990 shoulder harness's were available. I'm not sure if it was an option or they all came with them. Tori89k5 has a 1990 blazer with the rear shoulder harness's IIRC.

lets see a pic

 

[4X4HIGH]

PM Tori89k5. He has them in his blazer. They bolt to the topper, i've seen them in his rig and also a few others. They aren't very common to see so i'm guessing they were an option. Also starting in 1990 you could have had power mirrors on the blazers.

I've PMed Tori about this so either he'll post pics here or i'll get them from him and post them up for you.

 

[kevin400ex]

PM Tori89k5. He has them in his blazer. They bolt to the topper, i've seen them in his rig and also a few others. They aren't very common to see so i'm guessing they were an option. Also starting in 1990 you could have had power mirrors on the blazers.

I've PMed Tori about this so either he'll post pics here or i'll get them from him and post them up for you.

i had never seen them and have known several people with 90 and 91's, thats why i didnt think they had them. i finally found a pic on google, doesnt show very clear how they are mounted but they are there. if they are bolted to the top i dont see how they can hold up in a crash unless the tops is different for the 90 and 91"s.