Anything similar to the BMW convertible bucket seats?

[showdog75]

I've got a set of BMW convertible bucket seats that I'm thinking of putting in my 63 Chevy II wagon. I love the idea of the integrated shoulder belts but I can't quite go for the headrest sticking up so high. Late model GM truck seats are similar but most likely way to big. Is there anything else out there with integrated seat belts that might not be so hard on the eyes? It looks to me the beemer seats can't be modified as far as headrest height. Any ideas are appreciated, thanks.

[badolds]

I looked at a lot of different seats before I went with the beamer seats and could not come up with anything else. I went to some junkyards and looked around, what I found with integrated belts were all way to big for my Cutlass convertible. Some have used Chrysler Sebring seats but the electronics are not located in the seats, you would have to get the electronics to go with the seats. I struggled with the look of the beamer seats but decided that having a shoulder belt for me and my passenger in a convertible was more important than how it looked. Is your car a convertible?

Dan

[showdog75]

My car is a wagon. I'm mid ls swap, ls2/t56 along with significant brake upgrade. The car is pretty solid but I know with the major increase in power I need to be safety minded. Comfort is right behind safety as I want to long haul this car. Route 66 and a Power Tour are in it's future and I need comfort and safety. Looking from the side or rear of the car the seat just looks way out of place since it sticks up so high. Of course once redone to match the interior it might not sick out like a sore thumb.

[badolds]

I love the comfort and safety of the bimmer seats but they are not the prettiest thing to look at in your hotrod. Add the wiring headache and mounting issues and I would definitely go in another direction in a hard top car. Can you anchor your shoulder belt to the roof or post like a later model car?

Dan

[cdrod]

Showdog:
Some Cadillacs have the integrated seat belts. I don't think these tilt forward like the BMW seats, but if you're going into a wagon (4-door?) you shouldn't need the tilt forward feature.

'03-'07 CTS & CTS-V
'05-'09 SRX

[morrisclassic]

Dan,
You can use the existing factory mounting holes which all GM cars have starting in FEB 66.

Good Question that a lot of people don't ask.

The proper and safe way that restoration shops put late model seats in an older car is to
use seat belt anchor plates at all mounting points in the floor. The older car floors were not designed
to hold the extreme load of a seat & driver attached to only the floor.
Therefore ripping the seat out of the floor and seat & driver being propelled forward.
Billy

[Deluxejoe]

I used the Lexus sc300/sc400 seats. They are low back and slim.

[chuckd71]

I used the Lexus sc300/sc400 seats. They are low back and slim.

If he's doing the swap for safety low-back seats without a headrest would be sort of working backwards.

Dan,

The proper and safe way that restoration shops put late model seats in an older car is to
use seat belt anchor plates at all mounting points in the floor. The older car floors were not designed
to hold the extreme load of a seat & driver attached to only the floor.
Therefore ripping the seat out of the floor and seat & driver being propelled forward.
Billy

What he said, but the existing factory holes might or might not line up with the seats you want. If your car has shoulder belts then there is no reason to mess with built in belts, and doing so would likely be less safe. In a convertible we really have no other choice. It really is less than ideal if you can avoid it.

[showdog75]

My car doesn't have factory shoulder belts obviously. I'm after integrated self belts because I feel strongly they will be MUCH safer than anything I could cobble together on the post. If you try to redneck engineer your seat belts your asking for a quick trip to the grave. Seat belts are designed with many thousands of hours of crash test and I'm no one to even attempt to engineer such a important feature of a car. I'm a welder/fabricator and I'm certain I can beef up the floor to hold the seat with no worries. Once I get done with spring outages I'll hit the local pick a part and look at the cts seats. I think from the pics the headrest could be cut down to match the lines of the seat belt portion. Even shaving down a couple of inches will be huge in the looks department.

[Autobahn-Outlaw]

Hi Showdog,

look at the Mercedes Benz CLS or Clk convertible.
They have intagrated seat safetybelts, too.
And a lot of the Mercedes 2seater Converts have their shoulderbelts in the back of the frontseats located.
Have a look or google.

[chuckd71]

Some of the Mercedes have the controls in the door or elsewhere, just something to check for.