TheGreen68
Aug 21st, 05, 01:39 PM
Finally did it. Put the new Corbeau GTS II seats in my '68. Couple words of caution for others going the same route:
1) I went with the Corbeau GTS II seats and mounting brackets. Cost was about $800 for everything.
2) Seats will position you slightly higher. If you have the stock steering wheel it may be a little tight to slide the legs under when get in. I have replaced mine with a Grant Evolution steering wheel which is smaller. Another item of note is to make sure you sit in the seats before you buy. The GTS II's fit nice for me in the seat, but are a little snug in the upper area. I am 6' 1'' with 34 waist and 44 chest. Taller folks are going to have to recline the seat back further as it takes away a bit of the head room. Bigger upper body guys may find the seat uncomfortable.
3) First time you sit in the seats it feels weird as being higher you look through the window a little different. You actually get used to it pretty quick.
Couple of instalation tips:
1) I had to reverse the seats (same as I noted on a post I read a while back) due to the recliner lever not having clearance on the outside for the stock seat belt buckle retractor. Easily fixed by switching the seats so that the levers are on the inside. If it is important to you to use the back seat a good deal of the time this will be a bit of a pain. I think even with the little extra effort the seat comfort is well worth it.
2) Hardest part of the install once I switched the recline levers to the inside was doing the rear bolts. Due to the way the Corbeau bracket is shaped it is time consuming to get the wrench in there and turn about 1/4 turn at a time. Key for me was to put the front bolts in just slightly so that I could lilt the seat up slightly to get the bolt in and started. Second seat went in in about 1/3 of the time of the first once I knew what I was doing.
Overall impression is that the seats are great and definately real high on the cool looking factor. The cloth does seem a little thin and tends to show any dirt/grass a lot more. I did not get the extra cloth to do the back as I heard the cloth was a little on the cheap side. My plan was that it looks fine for now, and if the cloth wears out I will recover everything front and back to match at that point. I find that the seats look so cool that you don't really notice the back seat is different. I have a hard top. In a Convert it would probably be a lot more noticeable. Again, I looked at it as another step in the process rather than the end. Make sure you sit in them before you buy as the different models/styles seem to be targeting a certain body type. Hope this helps anyone who is considering the swap.
Tried to post a picture, but could not figure it out. If anyone can explain it I will do so.
1) I went with the Corbeau GTS II seats and mounting brackets. Cost was about $800 for everything.
2) Seats will position you slightly higher. If you have the stock steering wheel it may be a little tight to slide the legs under when get in. I have replaced mine with a Grant Evolution steering wheel which is smaller. Another item of note is to make sure you sit in the seats before you buy. The GTS II's fit nice for me in the seat, but are a little snug in the upper area. I am 6' 1'' with 34 waist and 44 chest. Taller folks are going to have to recline the seat back further as it takes away a bit of the head room. Bigger upper body guys may find the seat uncomfortable.
3) First time you sit in the seats it feels weird as being higher you look through the window a little different. You actually get used to it pretty quick.
Couple of instalation tips:
1) I had to reverse the seats (same as I noted on a post I read a while back) due to the recliner lever not having clearance on the outside for the stock seat belt buckle retractor. Easily fixed by switching the seats so that the levers are on the inside. If it is important to you to use the back seat a good deal of the time this will be a bit of a pain. I think even with the little extra effort the seat comfort is well worth it.
2) Hardest part of the install once I switched the recline levers to the inside was doing the rear bolts. Due to the way the Corbeau bracket is shaped it is time consuming to get the wrench in there and turn about 1/4 turn at a time. Key for me was to put the front bolts in just slightly so that I could lilt the seat up slightly to get the bolt in and started. Second seat went in in about 1/3 of the time of the first once I knew what I was doing.
Overall impression is that the seats are great and definately real high on the cool looking factor. The cloth does seem a little thin and tends to show any dirt/grass a lot more. I did not get the extra cloth to do the back as I heard the cloth was a little on the cheap side. My plan was that it looks fine for now, and if the cloth wears out I will recover everything front and back to match at that point. I find that the seats look so cool that you don't really notice the back seat is different. I have a hard top. In a Convert it would probably be a lot more noticeable. Again, I looked at it as another step in the process rather than the end. Make sure you sit in them before you buy as the different models/styles seem to be targeting a certain body type. Hope this helps anyone who is considering the swap.
Tried to post a picture, but could not figure it out. If anyone can explain it I will do so.