Removing stuck Bertone seats....argh

carl

carl

True Classic
The 83 is now in my garage and both seats (black leather) are majorly stuck. Has already had the PB blaster treatment to no effect. I'm all for a full destruct mode removal since I have no plans for the seats but Ed wants them if they can be safely removed.

Is it possible to remove the bottom cover and foam with the seats in place to get to the four screws that hold the seat pan to their tracks? Is it possible to remove the seat back while the seats are in place?

I have several Bertone seats with trashed seat covers, is it possible to put the leather covers on my car on the non-leather seats?
 
Have Ed remove them. :) Problem solved... for you anyway!

IIRC 83 is the switch over year from welded in rails to bolted in rails. If you can see the bolts then you have the newer rails. The front hole on the rail is a "keyhole", so you only need to get the fronts loose. Then remove the rears (which should be easier to access) and shove the seat and rails forward about an inch or so till the large end of the keyhole allows the bolt head to pass thru. Hopefully that will get the whole unit out and let you (or Ed) work on the rails later.

I think you would have a hard time removing the seat back while installed in the car. I think the mounting screws will be up against the cent tunnel. (going from memory here.) Without the seat back off, successfully removing the seat bottom cover will be tedious.

The covers from 83-88 should fit any 83-88 seat. I think they will fit the 80-82 too, but there has been a lot of talk of thinner seat cushions in the later cars. I don't know about that. I bought a set of new "79-88" upholstery from Vicks last year and it fit my 85X really well. In short, I think mixing and matching seats and covers from the 1500 years is doable.
 
Tell Ed the leather is shot. The seat foam is now powder. Tell him to buy Henk's leather seat covers. Than take the sawall and remove the seat in 38 pieces.
 
Are the seat rails rusted? If the seats aren't locked in the full back position you might be able to break them loose by sitting in them and pushing the seat back with your legs.
 
Already tried the sitting in the seat and pushing method...these turkeys are truly stuck. Todd gave the correct answer, by the way....but I thought I would ask.
 
I usually put a floor jack behing the seat, then crank. It might remove the seat, it might do a hole in the floor or a bump in the fuel tank.
 
JimD said:
Have Ed remove them. :) Problem solved... for you anyway!

IIRC 83 is the switch over year from welded in rails to bolted in rails. If you can see the bolts then you have the newer rails. The front hole on the rail is a "keyhole", so you only need to get the fronts loose. Then remove the rears (which should be easier to access) and shove the seat and rails forward about an inch or so till the large end of the keyhole allows the bolt head to pass thru. Hopefully that will get the whole unit out and let you (or Ed) work on the rails later.
Click to expand...
As JimD said, late model seats don't slide off the tracks, the tracks get unbolted from the floor. This thread has a couple of photos.
 
I guess I wasn't clear, the seats don't move and the front and rear mounting bolts are not accessible as the seats are in a mid extension position. I could get under the car and cut screw driver slots in the bottom of the rear track mounting bolts but the fronts are in a double skin and not accessible.

I'm having too much fun playing the engine bay at the moment.
 
Large (deadblow) hammer applied the front edge of the rail, followed by more penetrating fluid, then same from the rear... The seats in the parts car were frozen like that. Otherwise, rip the cusion off, cut the wire grid, sawsall the lower frame & gain access that way. Assuming the floor needs to remain intact, otherwise air chisel will get them out quickly :D
 
carl said:
I guess I wasn't clear, the seats don't move and the front and rear mounting bolts are not accessible as the seats are in a mid extension position. I could get under the car and cut screw driver slots in the bottom of the rear track mounting bolts but the fronts are in a double skin and not accessible.

I'm having too much fun playing the engine bay at the moment.
Click to expand...

Are you able to see if the release lever is disengaging the catches that secure the relative position of the upper and lower seat tracks?
 
IMG_2777.JPG
carl said:
The 83 is now in my garage and both seats (black leather) are majorly stuck. Has already had the PB blaster treatment to no effect. I'm all for a full destruct mode removal since I have no plans for the seats but Ed wants them if they can be safely removed.

Is it possible to remove the bottom cover and foam with the seats in place to get to the four screws that hold the seat pan to their tracks? Is it possible to remove the seat back while the seats are in place?

I have several Bertone seats with trashed seat covers, is it possible to put the leather covers on my car on the non-leather seats?
Click to expand...

This is what the stock seat pan looks like with the cover and foam removed. The fasteners that hold the upper rail to the seat pan go in bottoms up so I think it would be difficult to fully loosen and then remove them from the top.
 
Cut screw driver slits in the end of the rail attaching bolts and start undoing them, as the screws get looser, you can lift the seat off the rails to gain more clearance for the screw heads. or just get an angle grinder and cut a square around each welded nut and lift the seat pan off the rail.

The integrity of the floor has to be kept...the seats not so much.
 
carl said:
Cut screw driver slits in the end of the rail attaching bolts and start undoing them, as the screws get looser, you can lift the seat off the rails to gain more clearance for the screw heads. or just get an angle grinder and cut a square around each welded nut and lift the seat pan off the rail.

The integrity of the floor has to be kept...the seats not so much.
Click to expand...

I'm confused Carl - is this what you did, or are you offering advice (to yourself) :D
 
If you do decide to remove the cover and the seat foam, before you start attacking the fasteners, operate the seat track release bar and see if it is disengaging the locking mechanism. If it is not, then maybe it would be better to spend some time trying to free up the locking mechanism.
 
Hey @carl, don't worry about saving the seats for me.... How do the door cards look? Maybe ill do the Vicks seat covers with those door cards...
 
Ed, you have the door cards, they were not attached to the car when we got it. If you don't have them then Todd does.

The seats are no longer stuck...they are at the local landfill. Only took my angle grinder, air chisel and three foot pry bar to "remove" them from the car.
 
carl said:
Ed, you have the door cards, they were not attached to the car when we got it. If you don't have them then Todd does.

The seats are no longer stuck...they are at the local landfill. Only took my angle grinder, air chisel and three foot pry bar to "remove" them from the car.
Click to expand...
So the upper and lower tracks on both mounting rails were rusted in-place?
 
I'll be honest and admit I have no idea why the seats would not move. I pulled up the carpet today and I'm not happy with what I saw but nothing terminal.
 
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