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Rear seats Denali/Tahoe ect in 75 blazer install info please

I have the Tahoe seats, had a fab shop make the frame, used the factory hooks and welded them on the frame so it can fold/remove.
 
I used stainless steel stock and my father-in-law welded. He suggested stainless so it dosen't rust. Get quite a few drill bits and find a drill press and get ready to sharpen bits.

To stay low I got two 1"x1" (I don't remember exactly but enough for a stock bolt to pass through between tube walls). Those formed rails that I bolted on the left and right with factory bolts.

I then welded two 1/2" round stainless steel cross-members (again, I don't recall exact size but it was a good fit for seat latch claw). These went from wheel well to wheel well front and back.

We didn't trust welds so I made brackets that slide over the round stock and then gave more surface to weld to the 1x1 square stock.

My daughter is 12 and she is asking me to slide the seat back for more leg room on longer drives. But, if I do that the cargo area is shot (front of seat is about even with start of wheel well).

Tahoe seats with three shoulder belts click in and out. They have a couple inches that they don't completely come together in the middle but it is not a big deal.

I kept the 1"×1" square stock longer than the seat in case of an accident I don't want the seat rotating and the stock cutting through the floorboard. I gave it as much surface area as I could.

If they make stainless steel angle stock, I think that would have allowed the seats to fit tighter together.

When it is done it is basically a big H frame but that is because I left the ends long. I measured everything but the round stock bends enough that it didn't have to be perfect as far as being perfectly square.

Tahoe seats are $$

Edit: I will post a photo later. Also, I am 6'1" and I could sit in the backseat comfortably for a shorter drive. My daughter is tall for her age, she is the tallest in her 6th grade, for boys or girls.
 
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Looks pretty good
How far off the floor are the patches.
Any particular reason for the gap in the middle or.
I really like the simple approach
I'll be trying the same
1" square tubeing with
1/2" rod or something else
 
Anyone using the K5 factory fold and tumble latch worried about it failing in a crash? The OEM seatbelts were tied to the floor , not the seat. That latch did not have that much stress on it with floor mounted belts. Adding shoulder belts really increases the leverage.
 
What will you attach the shoulder belts to? I'm assuming you do not have a 90-91 top.
 
bassackwards said:
The OEM seatbelts were tied to the floor , not the seat. That latch did not have that much stress on it with floor mounted belts. Adding shoulder belts really increases the leverage.
Click to expand...

That drove some of the design. I extended the square tube well beyond the bolt locations to provide more leverage and distribute force across the floor--that resists rotation. Brackets reinforce the round stock welds.
 
The shoulder belts are built into the seat. The late model hardware is crash tested with those seats so as long as the bracket bolts don't pull through the floor they should be good.

My concern centers around the old fold and tumble latch. It was only designed to hold the seat down when empty. The belts bolt directly to the floor. tying the seats with the shoulder belts pulling from 2 feet up will exert a huge amount of stress on that latch, way more than it had before.
 
Dang, that's right. I got caught up in the fold & tumble latch and forgot what you were talking about. :doah:
 
MEMO43 said:
How far off the floor are the patches. Any particular reason for the gap in the middle
It sits tight to the floor. The round stock is tight to the square.

The gap is because the outside seat latch falls right where the square stock is, so I had to move the seat over and latch the seats outside the square stock. So there is a gap. My youngest has a booster seat so the gap isn't a problem. The only thing I would want to add are cup holders.

The one thing I am not certain: The seats are secure on the outside, they latch right next to the square stock, all that isn't going anywhere. On the inside latch it is at the midpoint of the round stock, that is just freefloating. In an accident, that round stock will bend until the rod goes into tension. Maybe the triangulation of latches and bars braces each other.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I just looked at Merrick's brackets. If I am seeing it correctly, he uses 2 bolts and the original K5 rear latches to tie the seats to the floor. The GM engineers used 14 bolts in their design ... And, I don't see a bar to catch the 2nd set of hooks on the front :confused:
 
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