Sagging seat

[73pony]

My drivers seat slowly sags at the back when you sit on it. The sag after while is so bad that you can't release the seat to fold forward. If you give a steady pull on the seat back it will pull the rear of the seat base back up into position and work properly again but as soon as you sit down and start driving it starts to sag again. Anyone run into this? Any ideas?

 

[mustang7173]

Yes, the bottom frames will have stress cracks that need to be welded to fix. I recommend to remove the bottom seat and remove the cover and foam for inspection. I have reinforced all of my seats in my 71 and 73.

Mustang7173

 

[73pony]

Thanks. That's what I was thinking but wanted a second opinion before pulling the seat.

 

[73pony]

Did you just weld up the cracks or did you weld in some xtra steel?

 

[mustang7173]

73pony,

I added extra strips of metal, inside, to re-enforce the frame. What I have found, is after many times when pushing the top seat back, it hits the plastic pads with some force. It eventually causes the area to weaken and crack. Poor design in my opinion. Once you get it apart, inspect it closely.

Another item that I have found cracked also, is the seat plat forms. I had procured two hard top seat platforms from Scotty's Mustangs, Oxford, NC and upon inspection, found cracks in the pans. I ended up media blasting them, added metal strips and welded to prevent it from cracking further.

Here is my thread on the seat platforms.

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-front-seat-platforms?pid=117598&highlight=mustang7173#pid117598

mustang7173

 

[mrmach1]

I ran into the same issue back a few years ago and upon disassembly of both buckets found numerous stress cracks. I Took them to a friends body shop and he media blasted the frames then repaired all the cracks and re-enforced areas he thought were weak and painted them with a nice satin black. All together it cost me about 150.00 but was worth every penny. With the addition of new foam my seats feel great and the rear latch work perfectly.

 

[mustang7173]

mrmach1,

Fabulous! Does anybody have any pictures? I may have some photos, before iPhones, In my photo album.

mustang7173

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Just a point of reference. Seats today are one of the critical areas in a car build. With all the crash requirements they are currently using what is know as 980 dual phase steel in lots of areas of seats. That material is 4 times the strength used in the old seats in the 60's & 70's. While in China we did a series of tools for I think Volvo that were amazingly strong. If you dropped one of the stampings on the floor it rang like a bell so stiff and rigid. All the U.S. companies are using the material also. It is used in rocker boxes and places that need to be stiff. It is not friendly to a body shop there is absolutely no way to work or straighten a part that has been bent you have to replace it.

 

[73pony]

Thanks for all the info guys. Looks like I have another project to tackle. I will have to see if I decide to do it this week or wait until next as there is a cruise and picnic on Sunday here I am taking the car to.