Silver Hawk Major Modifications

[Treblig]

If you are tacking the plate to the underside of the floor, remember to radius the top edge of the plate to prevent ripping through the floor in the event of an excessive load being applied during a collision. If you're running a bead around the whole perimeter of the plate this probably does not apply. Cheers, junior

Excellent suggestion!! Will do. I always (as a machinist) smooth/debur all sharp edges but a nice radius on the edges of the plates (where they contact the floor) would go a long way in making it better....and it doesn't cost a dime!!!
Here are some pics of the Chevy seat rails. As you can see the outboard bolts go into a pocket. The pocket has a hole which prevents you from using a bolt with a large head (like a 1/2" bolt hex head). Well...you can get a large bolt in there but there's no room for the socket!! I used these large bolts and had my friend jam the head with a screwdriver while I tightened the nut from the bottom. So you either go with a large allen bolt or maybe one of the stainless steel high grade small head bolts they sell at Summit. I'm sure you've seen them, a 3/8" thread bolt will have a 3/8 hex head. But I don't know if they make them in 1/2" thread. I would only need 4 for the outboard bolts. The inboard bolts are wide open as you can see (last pic).




One more thing, I realize that the seats are a little large/tall. The more I look at them the more I need to do something about it. I had added a 1 X 1 box iron piece under the outboard rail to level the seats. But now that they are in the car it is obvious that need to sit lower. I had planned on having the upholstery guy de-bulk them and shave an inch or two off the top of the head rest. But today I noticed that the inboard rails (see last pic) have a bracket with a dogleg in it. This dogleg raises the seat an inch. If I remove the dogleg and weld in a flat bracket (flush with the bottom of the rail) THEN remove the 1 X 1 box iron from the outboard rail, I will effectively lower the seats 1 inch. With that and another inch or two off the top of the head rest it would be 3 inches lower/shorter and much more aesthetically pleasing. If I mount the seat directly to the floor instead of on top of the carpet and jute I can gain another 3/4". Then I'm sure they would look much better.

Comments?????


Treblig

[Treblig]

Well the first one came off the production line: Treblig

I almost forgot, before you weld the castellated boxes onto the plates be sure an put a good used nut in the box. You'll have to grind two opposing points off the nut first). Do not use a grade 8 nut or bolt or the excessive heat from the weld might take some of the tensile strength out of the grade 8 fasteners . Anyway, you use the "junk" nut and bolt to suck the nut up against the plate so it sits flat. Then you slide the castellated box over the nut and weld the box onto the plate. This way, no matter what happens the nut will be flush against the plate when you install it on the car ensuring the full strength of the system.

Treblig

[Treblig]

A little paint and they're ready to install,




You can see the chamfer on the backside so that the bolt (coming in from the top) will easily find it's way you the nut.

Treblig

[garrilla]

Excellent suggestion!! Will do. I always (as a machinist) smooth/debur all sharp edges but a nice radius on the edges of the plates (where they contact the floor) would go a long way in making it better....and it doesn't cost a dime!!!
Here are some pics of the Chevy seat rails. As you can see the outboard bolts go into a pocket. The pocket has a hole which prevents you from using a bolt with a large head (like a 1/2" bolt hex head). Well...you can get a large bolt in there but there's no room for the socket!! I used these large bolts and had my friend jam the head with a screwdriver while I tightened the nut from the bottom. So you either go with a large allen bolt or maybe one of the stainless steel high grade small head bolts they sell at Summit. I'm sure you've seen them, a 3/8" thread bolt will have a 3/8 hex head. But I don't know if they make them in 1/2" thread. I would only need 4 for the outboard bolts. The inboard bolts are wide open as you can see (last pic).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]43396[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]43397[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]43398[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]43399[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]43400[/ATTACH]


One more thing, I realize that the seats are a little large/tall. The more I look at them the more I need to do something about it. I had added a 1 X 1 box iron piece under the outboard rail to level the seats. But now that they are in the car it is obvious that need to sit lower. I had planned on having the upholstery guy de-bulk them and shave an inch or two off the top of the head rest. But today I noticed that the inboard rails (see last pic) have a bracket with a dogleg in it. This dogleg raises the seat an inch. If I remove the dogleg and weld in a flat bracket (flush with the bottom of the rail) THEN remove the 1 X 1 box iron from the outboard rail, I will effectively lower the seats 1 inch. With that and another inch or two off the top of the head rest it would be 3 inches lower/shorter and much more aesthetically pleasing. If I mount the seat directly to the floor instead of on top of the carpet and jute I can gain another 3/4". Then I'm sure they would look much better.

Comments?????


Treblig

I too noticed the seat were somewhat bulky, if you don't have too much in them Honda Element seats have the shoulder harness in them and are compact and comfortable.

[Treblig]

I too noticed the seat were somewhat bulky, if you don't have too much in them Honda Element seats have the shoulder harness in them and are compact and comfortable.

I got the seats for free. I wouldn't mind spending some money on some less bulky (shorter) seats. I have no idea how tall the Element seats are but I can sure find out. The big reason I'm using the Chevy seats it that they tilt forward and don't have any air bags or other electronic gizmos that make the installation more complex. I went to the salvage yard last Monday and spend a few hours out there checking out all the cars with shoulder harness seat belts. Many Cadillacs came with them and so did a 99 Park Avenue I saw. One of the big challenges is finding a car that is a two door (the Park Avenue was a 4dr) so that the seats will tilt forward so my daughter can let her friends ride in the back seat. The Cadillac seats had a huge 16 pin plug connected to the seat. I got 04 Blazer seats (for a bargain price) for my son's '46 Chevy not realizing the Blazer was a 4 door. I later stripped the passenger's seat down and swaped out the frame parts from a Chevy (extended cab truck). Those seats tilt forward now as do the ones I have in the Silver Hawk. I believe the Honda Element is a van with sliding side rear doors. If that's the case the front seats probably don't tilt forward. But I'll still go out to the salvage yard and check tomorrow. That's one thing everyone needs to keep in mind when getting shoulder harness seats for their 2 Dr car...make sure the seats tilt forward before you spend your money!!!

thanks for the suggestion,

Treblig

[garrilla]

Treblig, Element seats up to and including 2007 don't have side airbags and also slide and tilt forward for access to the back seat. They appear to be smaller than the seats you have and have after-market leather covers available for them.

[Dick Steinkamp]

Like these...

[Treblig]

Like these...

Those look nice and they look shorter than what I currently have (also less bulky). I'm headed to the salvage yard today to see them first hand. I had budgeted $2400 for the interior so condition isn't a big deal.

Treblig

[r1lark]

Those are nice looking seats. I hope those headrests move back at the top though. My wife's Ford Edge has headrests like that that sort of point to the front, and I hate them. Keep thinking the factory put the headrests in backwards but can't figure out how to turn them around .

[Treblig]

Those are nice looking seats. I hope those headrests move back at the top though. My wife's Ford Edge has headrests like that that sort of point to the front, and I hate them. Keep thinking the factory put the headrests in backwards but can't figure out how to turn them around .

I agree 100 percent!! Mine are like that on my Yaris, it's annoying as hell to have that thing continuously push my head forward!! I pulled it off and turned around backwards...so much for engineering.

treblig

[Treblig]

Can you believe it??? I called every salvage yard in town, there isn't ONE single Element in any of them. I even told them that it didn't matter what year the car was. NO I don't live at the end of the world but if you walk to the highest point in the city and look off into the distance I think you can actually see the end of the world.

All kidding aside. I was hoping I could find a wrecked Element so I could measure the width and height of the seat. Do any members happen to own one or have a neighbor who owns one?? My next hope is a dealership, but it's going to look kind of funny when tell the dealer I'm interested in an Element then pull out my measuring tape and measure the seats????
They'll think that I'm a PSYCO!!!!

Treblig

[Treblig]

Ok, I was out a bunch of salvage yards today and ran across these seats. Not these exact ones, just some that are just like these. They look a lot sleeker and shorter as well.

Plan to go out tomorrow and remove them from the car. They're only asking $75 for the pair. I'll sell the GM seats for an easy $150 and get all my money back and then some.

treblig

[ralt12]

Try late -80's Mercedes seats for the 2-door large car versions as well. Comfy.

[garrilla]

Can you believe it??? I called every salvage yard in town, there isn't ONE single Element in any of them. I even told them that it didn't matter what year the car was. NO I don't live at the end of the world but if you walk to the highest point in the city and look off into the distance I think you can actually see the end of the world.

All kidding aside. I was hoping I could find a wrecked Element so I could measure the width and height of the seat. Do any members happen to own one or have a neighbor who owns one?? My next hope is a dealership, but it's going to look kind of funny when tell the dealer I'm interested in an Element then pull out my measuring tape and measure the seats????
They'll think that I'm a PSYCO!!!!

Treblig

Treblig I own an Element and got some measurements for you. The width is 20.5" at the widest point, the seat front is 12" off of the floor, the back is aprox. 32" (the rear floor is a couple of inches higher than the front) + about 4" more for the headrest and the seats are 20" deep with the overall depth of 27". Although the headrests are a little forward my wife and I don't find them uncomfortable. Hope this helps you out.

[garrilla]

Treblig, Just looked on ebay and found some seats with free shipping. Just look carefully as the early years don't have the shoulder belts.