Seat Changes

[bridgeguy]

I have a '74 K5 that is my "baby" that I am working on pretty much every second I have in the hopes of finally getting up and going (I've had it 7+ years and have yet to actually drive it where it isn't being towed from place to place around the farm).

I also have a donor '85 K5. After pulling a bunch of stuff out of the '85 (and over the years learning that it's not going to be donating too much to the '74 due to all the changes) I found out about the rear seat folding all the way forward, the changes in how the passenger seat locks down, etc.

Has anyone ever cut all the mounting sheet metal, braces, etc. out of a later year K5 and retro-ed them into an earlier K5 to use the seats from a later year or am I looking at a lot of effort for not much return? Are there other mounting systems that would facilitate having a fold-forward or more easily removable rear seat that anyone has used? Ditto for the passenger seat in particular as well.

Guess I'm looking for some input as to whether or not I'm buying too many problems. I already need to steal the rockers and some other pieces from the '85 to replace some of the rust I'm finding in the '74 so cutting more stuff out shouldn't be THAT big a deal but I'm finding that I'm biting off a LOT more than I intended overall as I now have a nearly stripped tub in my driveway (it WILL be stripped before the day is out, though.)

I have some other questions, but will post them in individual threads so I don't get myself and everyone totally confused.

 

[K85 Octane]

any better passenger access or cargo access will come at a price of hard work

whether you go with a newer rear seat out of a 2xxx tahoe, like some guys have done, or use the stuff from the '85. You can cut the floor out and do whatever you need to, but make sure to add some framework under the new seats. There is no other easier option out there that I know of.

 

[bridgeguy]

That's one of the reasons I was asking, actually. HAVING the parts is the easy part...it's the cutting, trimming, welding, cutting apart because I screwed something up, swearing incessantly, re-fitting, re-welding, etc. that I'm trying to justify.

I know that the existing seats will work....for now at least. But how long until I feel that I NEED to have a fold-up seat to increase the capacity when I'm not carrying more than 2 people, want to sleep, etc.

I was hoping that someone could point out a build thread that had something similar done so I could at least read about someone else's fun and frivolity. I would love to be able to read everyone's build threads (at least more in depth than I have been able too at this point) but my computer time is severely limited as I am trying to put all my time into the K5 project while the weather holds.

Thanks for the thoughts and I still haven't totally given up. If anything, now I need to go find some 2XXX Tahoe and Suburbans in the local auto graveyard and see how I like those. If I'm going to do it, might as well get the "latest and greatest" as the '85 seats I have are going to require some TLC to be usable (at least to me.)

 

[K85 Octane]

Yep, all depends on what you're going to do with the truck. I hope to sleep in mine, so the fold and tumble/ then quick disconnect I'm doing is nice. The front passenger seat should slide forward on yours I think, so the tilt forward is just a bonus. I don't have that, only slide.

I don't see the rear bench being that hard to adapt over to your truck. That would be worth it. The front, meh, passengers can climb over/around/through to get to the back seat.

 

[goathearder]

I have a 73 blazer and I'm modding it to accept a later model flip and fold rear seat and it wasn't too bad. So long as you have some welding skills, you can cut the subterranean latches from the donor and then just weld them into the proper place on your 74. For me, the front bolts of the flip and fold fit into my current holes with just a little bit of elongation on the seat holes. Once you have those mounted, its easy to figure out where the rear latches should end up.

 

[bridgeguy]

That part I like!! What year/model flip and fold are you using? I'm guessing there have been some substantial changes from the '85 that I have to something newer but haven't had the time to actually go see how the new ones work, much less how much I'm going to get gouged for something out of a later model Tahoe or Suburban.

 

[goathearder]

I am using one from a late 80s K5