How does the bench come out?

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KramerSwinger70

KramerSwinger70

70 Dart Swinger360
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i want to try and take out the front bench seat of my 70 dart. i spotted a build sheet of some sort under it and i want to try and get it out and piece it back together. plus i want to see if cleaning the rails will fix the fact that i cannot adjust the seat back or forward. but i have no clue how to unbolt it!
 
There is a track on each side of the bench seat which is bolted to the floor. You will need to crawl under the driver's and pass side. There are 2 bolts on each side. You may have to spray them with penetrating oil if they are very rusty. When you pull the seat out, it's heavy, so a helper would make it easier. Good luck.
 
There are two long bolts on each side that go through the floor pan from the seat tracks. You need a deep socket to get them off. You have to ho underneath the car to access them, two on each side, and slip the seat belt parts through the middle.
Some times it's easier to unbolt the seat belts from the floor.
 
Just a few inches inboard of the rocker, 2 nuts each side, 1/2" with captured washer. Wire brush the threaded portion below the nut to clean the threads and a quick squirt of WD40 should do the trick.
They can snap off so be careful.
Stud/bolt is replaceable.
 
73AbodEE said:
it helps to push the seats belts back through the seat
Click to expand...
Sometimes it's a pain to get the seatbelts back through the bench so you might have to unbolt them. There are two seat belt bolts on the tunnel (inside the car) and one on each rocker (inside the car)
 
Have a helper as mentioned earlier and instruct them to lift the seat high enough each time you move it on the way out and back in through the door to keep the mounting studs from dragging on the floor. They could damage your carpet and WILL damage the sill if they are dragged across it.

My wife helped me with mine after just painting the car. She tore up the paint on the sill. Not a huge deal because I hadn't put the sill plate on yet which covered the damage but if the plate is on they will gouge it.

The bench seats are heavy and awkward to maneuver alone while hunched over in the interior.

I had a sheet under the front, rear and the carpet. The rear seat one was in the best condition.
 
Robj ill kkeep that in mind, guess im takin of the sills. luckily i couldnt give 2 cents about the carpet or the paint under the sills cuz the carpets already tattered and the body needs work and paint!
 
I always found it better to take the rear nuts off first. usually the seat will fall backwards when the front are removed and if it's still tight on the rear it will bend the rails.
 
64conv65hard said:
I always found it better to take the rear nuts off first. usually the seat will fall backwards when the front are removed and if it's still tight on the rear it will bend the rails.
Click to expand...

great tip to add, i found that out the hard way with a C body bench LOL
 
KramerSwinger70 said:
Robj ill kkeep that in mind, guess im takin of the sills. luckily i couldnt give 2 cents about the carpet or the paint under the sills cuz the carpets already tattered and the body needs work and paint!
Click to expand...

I could have really played it up but she's such a sweetheart for helping me out. At first when she said she scratched the paint I felt a chill. After I looked over at what had happened I relaxed. We just picked up her long-time dream project- a 70 convertible bug. Guess I'm going to get schooled in 70's German engineering now. I rode in a bug once in about 1985 and that's my experience with bugs.
 
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