My 1972 F7 Dart Swinger

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regarding seat frames: when doing the seats for my 1970 Dart, I needed the bottom springs and frame for the drivers side and found them offered new from OER. They were a perfect match for the broken frame and blown spring on the originals. They were listed for a 1970-71 Challenger. Those complete seat frames and springs are currently listed from Classic Industries for $360 a side - a real bargain. They also offer the seat latch/release mechanisms. I THINK that these are the same bucket seats for your Dart, different models having different foam resulting in different shapes. It's at least worth exploring.
 
From what I understand, you can use a/b/e buckets in a body. The seat itself is the same. The tracks are different of course. I have been looking for any good seats in the area.
 
76-77 F body seats are also the same with plastic seat backs just the foam is different
 
str12-340 said:
regarding seat frames: when doing the seats for my 1970 Dart, I needed the bottom springs and frame for the drivers side and found them offered new from OER. They were a perfect match for the broken frame and blown spring on the originals. They were listed for a 1970-71 Challenger. Those complete seat frames and springs are currently listed from Classic Industries for $360 a side - a real bargain. They also offer the seat latch/release mechanisms. I THINK that these are the same bucket seats for your Dart, different models having different foam resulting in different shapes. It's at least worth exploring.
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Interesting, str. I think you may be right. Unfortunately the foam is one year only and to my knowledge, nobody makes it. Hopefully he can find some seats with soft enough foam that can be patched in where necessary.
 
ajarofclay said:
Interesting, str. I think you may be right. Unfortunately the foam is one year only and to my knowledge, nobody makes it. Hopefully he can find some seats with soft enough foam that can be patched in where necessary.
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PG Classics sells the foam. you could use a 70/71 frame and foam with a 72 cover. I'd do a new frame but then I'd still have to buy the handles, tracks, seat backs, foam, etc. hoping to find some with decent foam then I'll just pick up some tracks. If I can find 72 seats, the foam will need to be in good condition since those aren't remade
 
j_anderson said:
do you know if those have the springs integrated to the foam or are they attached to the frames?
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Hey J, from my understanding the original foam in '72 had some kind of spring in it, ergo the one year only foam. I actually had to redo mine because the "acquaintance" I had install mine did a God Awful job and I had to do it over. That said, I really didn't find anything too obvious as far a "spring" inside and they were Original '72 seats and foam. I do think there was 2 straight rods that ran front to back back though to keep the recessed contour aligned. I didn't have the backs apart though I did cut the hog rings off the driver back to align it better.
 
j_anderson said:
PG Classics sells the foam. you could use a 70/71 frame and foam with a 72 cover. I'd do a new frame but then I'd still have to buy the handles, tracks, seat backs, foam, etc. hoping to find some with decent foam then I'll just pick up some tracks. If I can find 72 seats, the foam will need to be in good condition since those aren't remade
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A side note: I don't have much good to say about most of the aftermarket stuff I bought to bring my interior back. I have issues with legendary door panels but the seat upholstery was good considering all the hell I went through with twisting, moving hog rings, pulling some areas Really tight etc., It held up very well to the fight.

One thing to know. I had to buy new seat backs because I went back to my original color which is white. I don't know if there are different manufacturers but the ones I bought I would not buy again if I had a choice. They look really good BUT they are not the same type of plastic as the originals and that seems inexcusable. The originals are thicker and a forgiving softer plastic where these are very stiff and somewhat brittle. the bends at the bottom where they cover the pivot bolts are a little off and when I flexed them a slight bit I put a small crack in the bottom which isn't really noticeable but there none the less. the material at that point was extremely thin. I really couldn't complain to them because I had this stuff for at least a couple of years before I got to it. Be sure to verify that in your search.
 
for future reference if plastic panels need a tweak give them some gentle heat (on the 'blind' side) in the area before bending. it'll soften it and reduce the chance of cracking. but yes i agree why not make them right if you're going to make them at all.
neil.
 
j_anderson said:
Does anyone know If the drip rail stainless trim is the same between vinyl top and non-vinyl top cars?

My 72 originally had a dark green top but I am not putting it back on. It seems like I read somewhere that the trim was different but now I cant find where I was reading that.
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I have heard the vinyl top trim is slightly larger and has a green stripe on the inner side. I've seen a lot of trim and none has had that green stripe. So I don't know how true that is. I would think yours would have the green stripeif it had a vinyl top.
 
mygasser said:
for future reference if plastic panels need a tweak give them some gentle heat (on the 'blind' side) in the area before bending. it'll soften it and reduce the chance of cracking. but yes i agree why not make them right if you're going to make them at all.
neil.
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Yep, agree. I can't understand why you would cheat on material type. If it's about cost, charge a little more. It's tough all over but your customer base for the most part is much more concerned with quality than cost. And this isn't coming from a wealthy man by any means.
 
RAT ROD AL said:
I have heard the vinyl top trim is slightly larger and has a green stripe on the inner side.
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I have 2 1970 darts that originally had vinyl tops that I removed. I think that all the trim is the same and that trim installed over a vinyl roof just expanded over time with the additional material. It took me about 15 minutes per side of careful work to squeeze down the trim to fit tight without the vinyl.
 
Finally snagged me some buckets

IMG_7993.jpeg
 
Not exactly positive but I got them through Dante's. Here is a link to what they offer now claiming to be a Must for a top restoration. attaching a pic of the receipt also because the part # on it is 99W which is different. I bought them 7 years ago, as you can see by the prices! Time flies, LOL, so maybe they've changed. I can't believe they wouldn't have gotten a lot of complaints.

On another point, I don't know where you got those seats but they look Great, almost like they could just be patched up by a good shop. Mine were really rough.

DMPS-6075-70KBE Mopar 1970-1974 "Metro" Injection Molded Plastic Seat Backs A-body, B-body and E-body - dantesparts.com

Find DMPS-6075-70KBE Mopar 1970-1974 *Metro* Injection Molded Plastic Seat Backs A-body, B-body and E-body and other parts you need at dantesparts.com, Mullica Hill, NJ.
dantesparts.com dantesparts.com

thumbnail.jpg
 
ajarofclay said:
On another point, I don't know where you got those seats but they look Great, almost like they could just be patched up by a good shop. Mine were really rough.
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My nephew is restoring a 72 Dart as well. I found him a fender on marketplace and when I went to pick it up, the seller had a barn full of parts. He had these seats. I picked them up for $400. The covers are actually in decent shape but are pretty faded and they don’t smell great. I’ve got those new covers from legendary to put on but I want to refinish the tracks too. I’ll probably add 1/8” foam to all of the surfaces to fill out the covers.
 
Those seats were a steal. I paid $600 for mine eight years ago, though that did include the rear seat too but no tracks. They were in worse shape than that, also.
 
ajarofclay said:
Not exactly positive but I got them through Dante's. Here is a link to what they offer now claiming to be a Must for a top restoration. attaching a pic of the receipt also because the part # on it is 99W which is different. I bought them 7 years ago, as you can see by the prices! Time flies, LOL, so maybe they've changed. I can't believe they wouldn't have gotten a lot of complaints.
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I started taking apart the passenger seat. I've got the inner track soaking in evaporust. I'm doing them one at a time so I don't mix up any components. I took the seat back off to scrub it up. It was dirty and had some scratches on it. Unfortunately, the texture is just crumbling off. I could spend a ton of time trying to remove all the texture then re-dye them but I decided last night just to order new seat backs. I picked up the OER ones from JEGS. I don't have the best experiences with JEGS but they had the best price. I googled for a discount code and found one so, I paid $240 out the door. Hopefully they fit well and are the same or near the same thickness and fit as OE. I also ordered new return springs for the track assemblies and ordered some new latch catches since the originals look pretty corroded. I cant put them back on a newly reupholstered seat. They would be an eye sore.
 
j_anderson said:
I started taking apart the passenger seat. I've got the inner track soaking in evaporust. I'm doing them one at a time so I don't mix up any components. I took the seat back off to scrub it up. It was dirty and had some scratches on it. Unfortunately, the texture is just crumbling off. I could spend a ton of time trying to remove all the texture then re-dye them but I decided last night just to order new seat backs. I picked up the OER ones from JEGS. I don't have the best experiences with JEGS but they had the best price. I googled for a discount code and found one so, I paid $240 out the door. Hopefully they fit well and are the same or near the same thickness and fit as OE. I also ordered new return springs for the track assemblies and ordered some new latch catches since the originals look pretty corroded. I cant put them back on a newly reupholstered seat. They would be an eye sore.
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I found one seat track first and it was reasonable so I bought it, then later found a set and bought them. I'm glad I did because once I got into them, I found some of the nylon slides were cracked and partly missing. I was able to put one good set together for the most part with only one 1 slide that was cracked in a spot but still workable. I used that on the passenger side. If you end up in need I have some ball bearings and a couple of rollers also.
 
ajarofclay said:
I found one seat track first and it was reasonable so I bought it, then later found a set and bought them. I'm glad I did because once I got into them, I found some of the nylon slides were cracked and partly missing. I was able to put one good set together for the most part with only one 1 slide that was cracked in a spot but still workable. I used that on the passenger side. If you end up in need I have some ball bearings and a couple of rollers also.
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I'm going to need some rollers. I was thinking of just getting some 1/2" stainless rod and cutting it down to size to replace all the rollers. So far, I've got one that's really worn with a groove in it and doesn't roll very smoothly and 2 others that are worn a little. They roll a little better but still not smooth.
 
j_anderson said:
I'm going to need some rollers. I was thinking of just getting some 1/2" stainless rod and cutting it down to size to replace all the rollers. So far, I've got one that's really worn with a groove in it and doesn't roll very smoothly and 2 others that are worn a little. They roll a little better but still not smooth.
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Stainless rod might not be a bad idea?! I hadn't thought of that. I do have a few though so find out how many you actually need and I'll check and see just what I have here
 
Would you be willing to sell your used seat covers when you replace them ? I have a white 72 driver pair and wanted to go black ..I don't need the medallions ..
 
Mtrhead said:
Would you be willing to sell your used seat covers when you replace them ? I have a white 72 driver pair and wanted to go black ..I don't need the medallions ..
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If I can get them off without completely ruining them. I have a spare set of medallions so the plan was to leave these alone. They look ok from a distance but they def have some problem spots
 
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