1966 Strato Bucket - Conversion to Recliner info needed
 

Several years ago, I nabbed a very good deal on a passenger seat reclining mechanism (not the seat itself.)

Looks like it is all there, but it doesn't come with an instruction sheet LOL.

Has anyone done this before? Anyone in the Detroit area who has one peeled back so I can get the gist of where the bits go?

Any help or info much appreciated.

Thanks !

Hope this helps a bit. Found them on the internet a while back. I have a recliner in my 67.

pretty sure you need the whole seat frame

I know for sure that the vertical part of the seat frame is completely different from a normal bucket seat. Years ago I recall "de-springing" the foam & covers as an assembly (back and base) so that I could swap my vinyl into one of those seat pans. I am pretty sure the whole metal tray is unique to a 66-67 recliner bucket. It is almost as if that seat has "double hinges." One is for the normal way that you tilt the seat-back all the way forward to climb into the back seat and the other set of hinges is for when you tilt it to recline. Overbuilt for sure but that's the way GM used to make things back then. Many years ago I recall those going for big money and even back in the mid-1980s those seats were very rare. I do recall one time (going back about 25 or 30 years) in a junkyard I used to visit there was a 67 or 68 Olds Toronado that had a passenger side GM recliner. The problem was the car had a full size front bench seat with a fold down center arm rest but the backs where they fold forwards looked just like a 67 GTO, A body bucket seat. I asked well known ( vendor) who I knew bought & sold those seats before about the Olds recliner & he told me the seat would only be good for parts because of the way that car had a full width bench seat base the recliner would probably never work in an A body car. Even if you took it all apart and switched over the pieces to an A body passenger side bucket seat base. Something about one of the hinges being different.

Here are some detailed pictures of a spare 67 "A" body reclining seat back I have. You can see that there is a stiffener bar welded across the center. The piston attachment bracket is welded to the seat frame. Also note the hinges have a reinforcement bar connecting them together. In board hinge has the spring. All other parts are bolted or screwed to the frame seat back. 66 is less complicated because the seat back does not have the release mechanism, but it does have the above listed items you need. The seat bottom has a tube bracket to guide the cable that is screwed to the frame and the release lever bracket is screwed to the frame. You would need these parts as well.

More pics

Let's try that again.....