Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Figured I'd post this here for those who may have not seen it elsewhere.
Several others have performed this as well. Some may like them, some don't, but this is an easy swap that can be performed in an afternoon.

'88-98 manual seat bases bench and bucket, are comprised of of the same components.The risers are interchangable;
If you have a factory bench, unbolt the horizontal bars that go across the trans tunnel, and you have the riser for one seat.(obviously you will need a shorter spring).
You will need another bucket or bench, set of risers for the second seat. There is some variation with extended cab trucks that have rear seat entry. I have never owned an extended cab truck. You will need to drill 4 holes for the inner mountings of both seats.
I have owned 4 C/Ks since '88 (88,90,94& 99)All of them had dimples (markings) in the floorpan for factory bucket seat mounts. My '94 suburban had the un-threaded nut and backing plate welded in the proper location beneath the un-drilled floorpan.
Mid size '92-'00 pontiac bonneville (and other GM midsizes on the same platform) bucket seats will bolt directly to '88-'98 seat risers with NO MODIFICATIONS, they both share the same riser-to-seat bolt pattern. These seats are cheap, and plentiful,and come in cloth and leather,recline and power lumbar was avialible.
I purchased 4 seats for my suburban for $100.00
In the case of SUV's, the rears are not straight bolt in, new holes and mounting points have to be fabricated, but this mainly addresses the front seats.
The power seat units in '88-'94 and '95-'99 C/Ks will also bolt directly up to these seats with no modifications.
The Pontiac seat bolts directly to the C/K seat motor without modification. Therefore, the new seat is at the correct height for the truck, the riser already fits the truck, and no fabrication to make the Pontiac mechanism the proper height, or bolt pattern is necessary.

Check the pic of my '94 sub. The driver side power unit is from a '98 Tahoe, and the passenger side is my original '94 bench seat riser.
No mounting holes were enlarged,slotted,or modified in any way.

I find these seats to be EXTREMELY comfortable, and they fit the wide physical dimensions of the cab nicely.


http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/PB230030.jpg

In my '91 reg. cab...

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P5030142.jpg

These are bucket seat risers.
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/DSCN0106.jpg

Bench seat riser. The end sliders are identical to bucket risers. If you have a bench, unbolt the cross bars, and you have the riser for one bucket seat. You'll need to get another pair for the second seat.



http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010051.jpg

Use the outer two original seat mount holes from the bench as your starting point. (passenger side shown)

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/carpet-1.jpg


The inner holes that need to be drilled for the inner riser/slider need to be 13 and 3/8" inward from the original mount holes, center to center, and will end up on an embossed (raised) section of the floor pan intended for bucket seat mounting. (driver side shown)

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010061.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010058.jpg

If you are using a Bonneville seat, or a fullsize GMT 400 bucket, I strongly recommend bolting the riser to the seat, and determining your measurement this way.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010048.jpg

The hole distance from front to rear (on one riser) is 10 and 5/8" The distance on the slider portion where the seat itself bolts to the slider is 14" There is some room for adjustment, or possibly another seat option, as the front holes are slotted.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...railbottom.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/seatrail.jpg

Underneath on the passenger side, there is a knockout portion on the heat shield for the exhaust to access where the inner front hole will end up (in the recessed area)

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010062.jpg

Passenger side, inner rear hole. This area is unobstructed.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010068.jpg

Driver side inner front (I did not driil this, because in this case,I installed a 60/40 and the holes are on the transmission tunnel)

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010067.jpg

Driver side inner rear.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...i/P1010066.jpg

For safetys sake, you should weld a nut to a piece of 3/16" (minimum) plate roughly 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" square, or a very large fender washer to prevent the bolts and nuts from pulling through the sheetmetal floor pan in the event of a collision.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

good info :thumbs:

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Yeah, nice swap. Never seen that before.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Can we get pictures of the mounting components (bolt locations) of the floorboard? I understand that the seats and brackets mount up perfectly but am curious as to where the holes are that you drilled for the new bucket seats. I also have a bench seat and am looking at converting to a 40/cons/40 or a 60/40 seat configuration. I am just curious as to where the seats mount to the floorboard.

Thanks,
Rim

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

so if i find a split bench and use the passenger side so i can have the forward back movement can i use the passenger side of a split bench?

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

I am doing a 60/40 conversion ('96 truck, x cab seat) in my '89 dually very soon. When I pull that apart, I will mock up a set of bucket risers to clarify where they go.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Sweet deal! Thanks BHBurban!!
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Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Great Post, interchange info is always appreciated here! Thanks

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

I heard camaro buckets interchanged like this can anyone confirm?

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

bhburban-how much space is between thos two seats? I'm trying to make sure i will have room for a 12" sub between my seats along the back wall.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

*Additional information added to original post*

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Anyone on the camaro seats?

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

i believe camaro SEATS will but the towers/risers are different. your line of vision using a camaro riser will be right at your gauges. maybe a little above. i puit 96 bronco seats in mine, and used a set of risers from a 70's blazer. (minor modification) the only problem i have with them is they sit too high, good for a short person...not so much for me, but it works, im happy with em.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

What did the tan seats that are pictured come out of?
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Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Does anyone know what the tan seats in the pic came out of?
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Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

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Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

So, let me see if this works for me and I understand fully. I'm new to this and I have a 97 C1500 Base and I want to "spruce it up" a bit and really want the 60/40 look with the fold down thing in the middle. I don't know what else to call it but sometimes want the bench capacity and sometimes like the two seater arm rest comfort. The c1500 bench has got to go due to comfort.

Now having said that. I looked under my seats the other day and I have a riser (I guess that is what you call it) that goes from the driver side to the passenger side and to me, it looks like it only has two bolts holding it on each side with the bench mounted to it.

Do you mean to tell me that I can take the bench off of this one piece riser and bolt Pontiac Bonneville or other mid size 60/40's that i like to it and WhaLa? That's it?

Tks for you answers.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Oh, I think I understand a bit better after studying the pics....for my 97 c1500 that has a bench seat, I can take the left riser and the right riser and put them together and make one bucket riser. Then I need another bench riser to make the 2nd one. Now, I do not want just two bucket seats with some console in the middle. I want the 60/40 bench look. How is anything we have discussed so far different for that app? If I find a 60/40 bench from the 92-00 Bonneville will it bolt up to my bench riser without modifications? Tks

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Just a note of thanks to BHBurban for this FAQ. I did this project over the weekend using seats from a '94 Bonneville. Worked great!

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

I cant find any of those seats out here other then torn and burnt seats.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

I am going to do the 60/40 mod too. Once I find a pair of suitable seats - of course, the ones I want were 1992-94 only.

The biggest thing is that on our trucks, the driver's side is the "bucket" seat and in the Bonneville, the passenger side is the "bucket" seat.

http://images.cars.com/supersized/DM...08/7963/14.jpg

http://images.cars.com/supersized/DM.../509929/12.jpg

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

How much leg room do you give up when doing this on a reg cab/ Like the one with the brown seats.

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

Has anyone tried this yet for the 60/40 bench seat? I just picked up a seat this weekend, thinking all 88-98's were the same..

Re: Bucket seat options for 88-98's
 

If you got the tracks with the seats then I don't see why they wouldn't go in. Mine had a bench but now has a 60/40. Holes were drilled.