[gto4evr]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

I could a wee later. The only diff is the detents are clocked differently in the Posts. a 69-72 Headrests will slide-in but won't grab the 68 catch.

Frustrating also is the Seat-top catch covers are different enough that the 69 repops won't fit onto the 68 catch.

You got to match the 68 headrest stuff to play well. Just maybe 6972 catches and internal slides will graft onto a 68 seatback but my memory says the headrest internals were spot welded.

Hmmm that's interesting that there's a third type of detent then? so where's the machined slot, front or back rather than left vs right? can you post a picture of what the latch looks like? here are the 69 vs the 70-72 versions.

[gtobird]

Armed with all of this information, this now begs another question. Since 69 cars with the reclining seat had side button releases, which headrest did they get, 68 or 69 headrests? The real question is did GM just attach the 68 side button release mechanism to the 69 seat frame, or did they have to use the back of the 68 seat frame to make this work? If they had to use the back of the 68 seat frame, then I assume they would have had to use 68 headrests only "if" the frame had something different on it to accomodate the posts from the 68 seats. I looked at the repop headrest seat parts being sold for both 68 and 69 cars. This is really confusing as the suppliers sometimes include 68 in their description for 69-72 parts. I "think" the difference in how the headrests mount to the seat is mostly in the release mechanism and the post guides that mount inside the seat are the same. The 68 headrest posts appear to have escutcheon plates that don't have a release buttom. I believe the headrest goes up and down by merely having a piece of bent spring steel that pops in and out of place by yanking on the headrest. It would also make sense then that the 68 headrests may have notches in the posts that are shaped differently to make moving them up and down work without a positive lock. Conversely, the 69-72 headrests have a positive lock and the button on the escutcheon plate needs to be pressed to unlock them from the post on the headrest. It's the same difference on 68 and 69 Firebirds. If this is correct for GTOs, then you should be able to install 69 headrests on a 68 seat and even use the 69 headrest post / guide parts with the matching escutcheon lock mechanism. By the way, the suppliers call out the same headrest guide parts for 69-72 cars even though the headrests in that era have notches on opposite sides of the headrests. Makes me wonder if you then need to rotate the escutcheon release mechanism 180 degrees during install. This is truly trivia for seat gurus.

[gtobird]

I see gto4evr just poste different pics for the headrest release mechanisms dependent on year. Again, some of the parts suppliers post the same mechanicsms all the way from 69-72, so good to know there is a difference. Here is a link to what believe is the correct part for a 68. https://restorationpartssource.com/s...n-details.html

[gto4evr]

Originally Posted by gtobird

I see gto4evr just poste different pics for the headrest release mechanisms dependent on year. Again, some of the parts suppliers post the same mechanicsms all the way from 69-72, so good to know there is a difference. Here is a link to what believe is the correct part for a 68. https://restorationpartssource.com/s...n-details.html

those dynacorn latches look like 70-72. locks the post from an outside detent.

your comment about no release buttons on the 68 tickles my memory about maybe my friends 68 not having them either lending credence that his are original 68 headrests if that's the case with the different part number for the 68 only headrest. I need to refresh the power seat track on their car so as soon as they get the car out of storage in the next couple of weeks I'll go over and check.

[Carousel72TRed]

Originally Posted by gtobird

All of the information posted thus far is really helpful. Thanks everyone for the research you did and pictures you've posted along with your personal experiences. For what it's worth, my 68 Bird's headrests have some similar unique one year anomalies.

All of this dialog caused me to take a look at the pressed part of the seat covers in my wagon. They were from PUI and again, have been on there about 17 years. Other than the vinyl being cracked in one place and worn, the covers themselves look pretty good, even in the heat pressed area, though they don't look as "full" between the press lines as the Legendary front seat pictures posted earlier.

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[Carousel72TRed]

Here’s a picture of my PUI seat. You can see the lines are not as deep as the original.


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[Carousel72TRed]

Here’s the original pattern.


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[Carousel72TRed]

Originally Posted by Carousel72TRed

Here’s the original pattern.


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[Carousel72TRed]

Originally Posted by Carousel72TRed

Here’s the original pattern.


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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[north]

Another slight difference between 68 and 69-72 seats are the seat back shells. Even though the 68 seat back shell looks identical to the 69-72 recliner ones there is a difference. The notch cut on the bottom lip on the 69-72.. This is because the 69-72 recliner shells were molded the same as the regular rear button 69-72 units (holes for either the side or rear button were clearly punched out after molding) and therefore the bottom flange needed to clear the 69-72 release mechanism at the lip area. This also relocates the mounting screws,

[gto4evr]

Originally Posted by north

Another slight difference between 68 and 69-72 seats are the seat back shells. Even though the 68 seat back shell looks identical to the 69-72 recliner ones there is a difference. The notch cut on the bottom lip on the 69-72.. This is because the 69-72 recliner shells were molded the same as the regular rear button 69-72 units (holes for either the side or rear button were clearly punched out after molding) and therefore the bottom flange needed to clear the 69-72 release mechanism at the lip area. This also relocates the mounting screws,

North, thanks for this info...now this is getting interesting!

though I don't have access to the car to check the headrests, I DO have what I believe are the original seat backs from his recliner seat in the basement. I just dug through my stuff and found them. yep, it's a side button but it's got the notch in it for the center button release slide bar. so these must have been 69+ seats

[gtobird]

Originally Posted by Carousel72TRed

Attachment 588274

Here’s a picture of my PUI seat. You can see the lines are not as deep as the original.


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That's really interesting. Even with my seats being recovered almost 17 years ago, my PUI seat covers look much more like the originals.

[gtobird]

Originally Posted by gto4evr

North, thanks for this info...now this is getting interesting!

though I don't have access to the car to check the headrests, I DO have what I believe are the original seat backs from his recliner seat in the basement. I just dug through my stuff and found them. yep, it's a side button but it's got the notch in it for the center button release slide bar. so these must have been 69+ seats

Just looking at the photo. I suppose this is moot as I know the point is that these are 69 seat backs and I agree with that. The hole button looks like it may have been molded in that way. That could also have been done with a mold insert where the setup person would just add the insert before operating the mold to create the void for the button. In fact, the mold could have had multiple inserts to accomodate for the 69 style back button as well. If GM had really thought ahead, the same tool could have been used to mold 68 seat backs as well by utilizing a "notch" insert for the 69 seat release, but I kinda doubt they were that far ahead of the game.

The tooling back in the day was typically American made and horribly expensive.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Gave away the spare pair of 2-post headrests a few days ago; there was 1 front-facing flat-cut on each post.

Maybe i can post a photo of the 68- post cuts in the 68 GTO

[Carousel72TRed]

Originally Posted by gtobird

That's really interesting. Even with my seats being recovered almost 17 years ago, my PUI seat covers look much more like the originals.

One additional note my PUI upholstered seat has a new seat cushion underneath while my original does not. That might have something to do with why the lines are not as deep on the PUI seat. The old original seat cushion looking at the picture I sent you has flattened or sunk because of it’s age.


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[gto4evr]

Originally Posted by gtobird

Just looking at the photo. I suppose this is moot as I know the point is that these are 69 seat backs and I agree with that. The hole button looks like it may have been molded in that way. That could also have been done with a mold insert where the setup person would just add the insert before operating the mold to create the void for the button. In fact, the mold could have had multiple inserts to accomodate for the 69 style back button as well. If GM had really thought ahead, the same tool could have been used to mold 68 seat backs as well by utilizing a "notch" insert for the 69 seat release, but I kinda doubt they were that far ahead of the game.

The tooling back in the day was typically American made and horribly expensive.

I agree with the belief that's a molded side button hole. nothing jagged on the edges and if it was punched I wouldn't expect that smooth rolled edge

[gtohurstjudge]

Originally Posted by gtobird

That's really interesting. Even with my seats being recovered almost 17 years ago, my PUI seat covers look much more like the originals.

I can clear that up for you.....when PUI seat covers first came out the heat press on them was quite good.......the very first set I bought many years ago when they first came out looked fine......then I sat on the driver's seat with a screwdriver in my back pocket and my wife's sequined dress ruined the passenger seat cover
and the replacement covers went completely flat in a few months and then I got on a merry go round I couldn't get off of until the Legendary covers finally became available.

[north]

For reference these are 11,000 mile originals.