[highrisk]

I have a 1965 GTO that I am restoring. It will never be 100% original because the engine, transmission, and rear end were changed out long before I got the car. So as I restore it I am upgrading and improving it. One of the things my wife asked was if there was anyway to put in reclining bucket seats with headrest. I have found the ones on Original Parts Group but they do not offer rear seats so they won't match.

I have also seen where people take seats out of the newer GTO's, 2004-2006, and place them in the older cars for a custom look.

Does anyone know if there is a company out there that offers front and rear custom seats that match and would look good with stock door panels and dash?

Also, is there any information on how to modify newer generation seats to make them work in older GTO's?

Thanks,
Dale

[The Champ]

We bought the front and rear seats from a '95 Camaro. The front seats fit fine.



Of course the '95 Camaro rear seat back is for a hatchback, and is physically narrower - and won't fit a '72. The lower cushions worked ok - even if they are a little narrow.

What I did was have an interior shop take the seat covers off the '95, add some material and recover an orignal rear seat.



The darker material on the top and the sides is what was added. This happens to match the material on the base of the seat bottom.

Cost was about $80.00 to the interior shop for materials and labor about 10 years ago.

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by The Champ

We bought the front and rear seats from a '95 Camaro. The front seats fit fine.



Of course the '95 Camaro rear seat back is for a hatchback, and is physically narrower - and won't fit a '72. The lower cushions worked ok - even if they are a little narrow.

What I did was have an interior shop take the seat covers off the '95, add some material and recover an orignal rear seat.



The darker material on the top and the sides is what was added. This happens to match the material on the base of the seat bottom.

Cost was about $80.00 to the interior shop for materials and labor about 10 years ago.

Very nice and tastfully done. I have heard of people doing that with seats out of 04-06 GTOs. I have done some checking and these seats are hard to find and very expensive.
Thanks for the pictures,
Dale

[veet66]

I am running 2005 GTO seats in my 65 convertable. I love them. The seats are black with the GTO emblem in the upper part of the seat. Both front seats are electric and go up, down, tilt back. As you know it has head rests which makes a better resting place than the original low buckets on the 65. The only modification that I did was add 2 holes in the floor for one side of the seat. the original attaching bolts will not line up. Also you will need to add a 1 inch. spacer under each mounting point of the bottom of the seat track to the floor. The electric motor that drives the seat will drag the carpet if you don't.
I will see if I can take a picture of them tonight if you are interested.
I did not use the rear seats from the 2005 GTO because they are bucket seat style. I took the original rear seat and had it recovered in the same material as the front seats to match. This way there can be 3 people in the back seat.
What ever you do you should save the original seats in case you ever sell the car.

[GT182]

Dale, if you don't want to go with the newer GTO buckets, look up Recaro bucket seats. I had a pair in my 79 Formula and I loved them. You stayed nice and snug in the seat, they reclined, and the front of the seat bottom pulled out to give your legs more support while driving. Back then you could get electric Recaros but I'm not sure if they still have them or not. If mine hadn't been stolen I'd probably have them in my GTO today.

Or find someone selling the seats out of an 81 NASCAR Trans Am, or an 80s Mustang.

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by veet66

I am running 2005 GTO seats in my 65 convertable. I love them. The seats are black with the GTO emblem in the upper part of the seat. Both front seats are electric and go up, down, tilt back. As you know it has head rests which makes a better resting place than the original low buckets on the 65. The only modification that I did was add 2 holes in the floor for one side of the seat. the original attaching bolts will not line up. Also you will need to add a 1 inch. spacer under each mounting point of the bottom of the seat track to the floor. The electric motor that drives the seat will drag the carpet if you don't.
I will see if I can take a picture of them tonight if you are interested.
I did not use the rear seats from the 2005 GTO because they are bucket seat style. I took the original rear seat and had it recovered in the same material as the front seats to match. This way there can be 3 people in the back seat.
What ever you do you should save the original seats in case you ever sell the car.

I am definitely interested in some pictures. If you don't mind me asking, how much does a set of front 04-06 GTO seats set you back?

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by GT182

Dale, if you don't want to go with the newer GTO buckets, look up Recaro bucket seats. I had a pair in my 79 Formula and I loved them. You stayed nice and snug in the seat, they reclined, and the front of the seat bottom pulled out to give your legs more support while driving. Back then you could get electric Recaros but I'm not sure if they still have them or not. If mine hadn't been stolen I'd probably have them in my GTO today.

Or find someone selling the seats out of an 81 NASCAR Trans Am, or an 80s Mustang.

I will look up the Recor site and see what they have.

I did some more digging and I found out who makes the seats sold by OPG. They are Procar seats and are made by Scat. When I went to their web site I found that they actually have a lot of different seats and material options to include leather and velour. They even have custom mounting brackets for a variety of vehicles that makes their seats bolt in capable with no modifications or fabrications. They even have rear seats and kits for VWs, Mustangs, and Camaros. I am going to contact them and see if I can buy their material in bulk to make a back seat for the 65. Summit sells these seats for a lot less than OPG does. But I will be interested to see what I can find on the Recaro seat. It would be nice if someone made matching front and rear seats for the GTOs.

Here is their web site.

Procar by Scat

Dale

[veet66]

Sorry about the picture color. Took them tonight. best in the sun. The seats cost me $300.00 I could have gotten the back seat but I did not want only 2 people in the back as they were rear buckets. I have seen them on ebay, junk yards and Craigs list from 200. to 900.

[hookemdevils22]

veet, those seats look awesome in there! I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain a little. Any way you could get a couple pics of the spacers you made? And how about the side profile of the car, windows down? I really like the clean look of the low-backs, since you can't see them from the side, so I'd like to see how the car looks with the higher seats. Also, what was required to wire the seats in - just ignition and ground? Thanks!

[BertMac]

seats in the 65 I built..I had to modify seat brackets to get them low enough in the car and I used the back seats too

[hookemdevils22]

Bert, you just exposed yourself to a ton of questions now! What was required to get the rear seat in? And where'd you get that center console and shoulder belts? Did you do the work yourself, or was it done at an interior shop? That is exactly what I'm looking to do on my '66. Man that looks cherry.

[BertMac]

I dont mind helpin..thats what this forum is all about...
All work was done by me.
When I test fit the seats they were too high in the car..I cut the brackets off the bottom of the seats and made new ones so they would sit as low as possible in car...massaged the floor pans to make them sit flatter also.
The rear seats...I removed the filler piece between the two seats and cut the metal bar that holds them together making them two seperate pieces. then fitted those in the car. had to mess with the angle of the rear seats because of the angle of the back glass.
Wiring is not that hard on them..HOT and GROUND pretty much..I used American Autowire harness so I had fuse spot for Pwr seats and Windows..
Front shoulder belts are from a place here in Texas..the name leaves me right now....
but I welded brackets in the roof area and welded brackets in the floor also for the tie downs.
Rear shoulder belts are from a 2004 GTO.

[BertMac]

more

[BertMac]

some more

[BertMac]

and more

[BertMac]

oh..center console in out of a 70-80 firebird or camaro..I split it down the middle and widened it to fit and recovered it..

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by hookemdevils22

And how about the side profile of the car, windows down? I really like the clean look of the low-backs, since you can't see them from the side, so I'd like to see how the car looks with the higher seats.

If you like a little more modern bucket but want to keep the old school look check out this web site. The company has a lot of different seats to fit just about any taste and they have mounting brackets specifically for different cars which makes their seats direct bolt in. I really like the looks of the Pro 90s. The Rally seats are really nice as well. The second link is a 70 Chevelle with the Rally seats installed. Notice how the pattern in the seats matches the original door panels and rear seat. (play the slide show to see bigger pictures)

Dale

http://www.procarbyscat.com/Products_Pro90.asp

http://picasaweb.google.com/w8rokrad...velleInterior#