Hey y'all,

I just got my 67 painted, and its time to go to work on the interior. A buddy of mine just bought a Sebring convertible, and I noticed the seats have the seat belt attached, with the shoulder retracting into a mechanism next to the headrest. I am thinking of buying a set of these seats for my car, since I've wanted a shoulder belt, and more updated seats for a while, and I figure I can kill two birds with one stone.

Couple of questions: has anybody dyed leather, or had it done? How does it hold up? The seats are dark charcoal (which I can live with since I have a black interior) but have a tan insert which I would like to dye dark blue (to match the exterior). What are my options, how long does dye last?

Has anyone tried to replace the rear bench with anything other than originals? I searched the archives, but couldn't find much other than the occasional attempt at using 4th gen seats in a first gen. I have a deluxe interior, and the way the armrests come out on the back panel makes me think I have some wiggle room for fabricating something.

How hard is it to hook up power seats? Can it be done off of my existing harness? I am pretty good at the electrical stuff, but there is no substitute for experience, and I have none with power seats.

Thanks for any help you can offer. I can't tell you how much I've saved because of this site.

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Mike J.
67 406ci named "Gideon"

For the power seat part... it is very easy. Normally, you only need to supply positive & negative leads to the seat power connector. You will need to make sure that the wires you provide are the same gauge as what the seat power connector uses (to handle the amperage required). Normally, the power is always on, so that the seat can be adjusted without turning the ignition key.



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David
Camaro - '68 327 Coupe (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/68camaro.htm), '86 Z-28 IROC 305 TPI (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/86iroc.htm), '89 IROC-Z 350 TPI (B2L/L98) (http://www.makoshark2.com/djunod/images/img_1141.jpg)
Corvette - '73 Mako Shark II (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/), '82 Cross-fire (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/82vette.htm), '01 Coupe (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/01vette.htm)

Gideon,

Why not take the seats to a trimmer and have him replace the tan panels with blue ones? That would seem to be less of a hassle. No?

Chad

Thanks for the replies, guys. I appreciate the help with the wiring, David. I will follow your advice.

Chad, decent trimmers aren't cheap around here, so I was just trying to assess my options. By the way, where in western PA are you from? I lived there until I was sixteen, in Pittsburgh. I just drove my car there to show my grandfather.

Mike J.

[This message has been edited by Gideon (edited 12-18-2002).]

What year sebring??!! I have been looking for a coupe with these kinds of seats for a while. I have seen A lot of trucks(HUGE SEATS), but no cars!! This seems like a great way to get a shoulder harness in an older car.

Thanks
Jason

http://www.chrysler.com/sebring_convertible/features/colors_wheels/img/main_seatcolors.jpg

These are the seats for the new Sebring convertibles. I think seat style 1 or 2 would look pretty nice in a first gen Camaro. And for those of you who live up North, I'd go for a set of the heated ones. http://www.camaros.net/forum/biggrin.gif

If anyone makes this swap please let us know how it goes and post some pictures.

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Donald
68 Camaro convertible (L30/M20, L48, or neither?) (http://www.dre-si.com/68ss)

[This message has been edited by MytMini (edited 12-19-2002).]

It would be interesting to disassemble one of those to see how they engineered it to properly provide protection in a crash.


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David
Camaro - '68 327 Coupe (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/68camaro.htm), '86 Z-28 IROC 305 TPI (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/86iroc.htm), '89 IROC-Z 350 TPI (B2L/L98) (http://www.makoshark2.com/djunod/images/img_1141.jpg)
Corvette - '73 Mako Shark II (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/), '82 Cross-fire (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/82vette.htm), '01 Coupe (http://makoshark2.com/djunod/cars/01vette.htm)

David,

I was wondering the same thing. Wouldn't the seat want to fold in a crash? But I figure they had to design for that, and hey... its better than only my lapbelt.

By the way, other model years have different colors. This year, the limited has one called deep royal blue that would look great with the dark blue 69 interior.

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Mike J.
67 406ci named "Gideon"

I am still looking for other models with these kinds of seats.The sebring are certinely not bad(compared to the truck seats), but i would still like to find some a little sportier!

Any interior guys here able to tell me how hard it is (or if it possible) to change the way seats look by changing pads or something?

Perhaps if I had a coupe I could go for a more traditional way for a shoulder haness, but on a convertible this is a godsend!

David,

I was wondering the same thing. Wouldn't the seat want to fold in a crash? But I figure they had to design for that, and hey... its better than only my lapbelt.

By the way, other model years have different colors. This year, the limited has one called deep royal blue that would look great with the dark blue 69 interior.

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Mike J.
67 406ci named "Gideon"

I have a 97 Conv. and I needed to pull the drivers seat for a nasty little project (another story) and that seat was Heavy ! I mean, 4 times the weight of my camaro bucket. I bet it has a serious frame in it.

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My 68 Camaro (http://www.cardomain.com/id/impzilla)

Hello,

I agree on the replacing the leather parts with blue. I own a leather tannery which produces Automotive grade leather. I can sell you and anyone else some automotive leather for your seats and interior at prices far below what the butchers out there are charging(factory direct)Dyeing the leather a different color is tough to do on automotive grade leather because they use a very tough top coat on the finishing process. Dyeing through this will get very poor results unless you start with a naked hide. If you are interested in seeing what I have email me at markor1@attbi.com I have a ton of colors to choose from.

Mike,

I'm in Pittsburgh (east suburbs). Next time your up here, throw me an email and we'll go have a beer.

Chad

Southtwnr,
They look a lot sportier in the car. I don't know how to post a picture, but here's one that I found on ebay with the color combo I was referring to.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1875261495

I think the seats look pretty sporty (and salvage dealers are asking $100 at most for ones in top condition). Also, I've measured the buckets, and they seem to be a perfect fit. My only real concern is whether I will block my blindspot with that retractor when I'm turning left, etc. "Gideon" is my daily driver.

Mark67ss,
If I decide to go through with the project, I will definitely take you up on that. I will make my final decision in the next couple of days.

Chad (or rather Mr. Squarepants, by your username),
You got yourself a beer buddy. Iron City I presume.

All,
I'd still really like to know about experiences installing non-original seats in front and/or back, if any has any advice to offer.

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Mike J.
67 406ci named "Gideon"

[This message has been edited by Gideon (edited 12-20-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Gideon (edited 12-20-2002).]

Mark67SS: Where are you located?

Mike: Is that $100 a piece or for the pair?



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-Funk
My '67 RS (http://www.funkconsulting.com/67camaro)

$100 each, for leather ones that are flawless. Also, if you can find cloth ones cheap, you can buy a whole new leather interior kit at
http://www.auto-interior.com/index.html

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Mike J.
67 406ci named "Gideon"

CFUNK, I am located 12 miles North of Boston Massachusetts. I sell all over the country. Send me an email if you want to talk about the leather I have available. Feel free to call me as well at 978-479-8319. That goes for anyone else who is interested in getting leather. If Im not there, leave me a message, Ill call you back.

I installed some seats from a 89 Chrysler LeBaron ragtop in my 69. It was pretty simple. I mounted 2 straps of 3" flat bar on the seats and atached the stock Camaro tracks to the flatbar.

They are very comfortable, but just a bit soft for my tastes. I still need to dye them black. I'd like to see how the Sebring seats mount. The Lebaron sets had a flat mounting so the conversion was easy.

Ther are some pics in my sig.

joe

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69 Rat-Infested Resti-Clone
WCA Member
Badboatdude@CS.com
69 Pics http://hobbystage.net/camaro/joeg/

Gideon,
I thought I would bring this post back because I am really curious if you have gotten these seats in yet and how they look!

Jason
Southtwnr@hotmail.com

Not to bud in on your post but you should check somthing out with those seats. The shoulder belt in the head rest are eletric. you will need to know what to hook it up to. I think it has its own controller to send power to it when it needs to hold you in the seat also to retract.
I worked for a dodge dealer when these seats came out and wanted to put them in my 69 charger but it looked like to much at the time.
They look great and are really comfortable though. Let us know what you have found out.
Also I think the went away with those types of elec belts. I just build the engines for the neons now and dont get to look in them much.
Good luck, Matt.

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67 Camaro 350 4sp PDB,PS,Hotchkis suspension,Intense Blue Pearlcoat,and lots of new metal
building it my way!!
jam2conklin@charter.net

Matt's correct - the Sebring seats have pyrotechnic seat and shoulder belt pre-tensioners that are triggered by the airbag module to cinch up the belts tight in a collison strong enough to deploy the air bags, and they're one-time-use items; once they're activated, both retractor/pre-tensioner assemblies have to be replaced. The belts will still lock up from impact if you use them in a non-airbag car, but they won't pre-tension, and if you get the seats out of a car that's had an airbag-deployed collision, the normal impact retractors won't work either (unless they've been replaced (about $400 per seat).

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JohnZ
CRG
'69 Z28 Fathom Green