Interior: 1974 Avanti Progress Seats - Hood

[sweetolbob]

It's beginning to seem like the Mormons made faster progress to Utah then I'm making on the 74.

The hood is finally ready for paint with just a scuff on the primer needed. I don't even want to try to count the hours I've got into it but it will be AWESOME !!! IMHO.



The rest of the body/doors/trunk need one last coat of high build catalyzed prime and final scuff for paint.

One thing I needed to do before paint was to mount the Pontiac G6 seats to avoid scratching new paint. I'll jam the doors and trunk prior to painting but the final painting will be done with them in place. Way to much trouble to install them after they are painted.

Drivers seat in and the passenger mount mocked up. It's still a lot of pieces/parts as it was assembled from two different ideas
but it'll be pretty pretty before the final installation.



Both seats installed. I pull them tomorrow and get back to painting.



Bob

[karterfred88]

Just curious, what is the seat bottom cushion depth-front edge to seat back joint, on those GTP Pontiac seats?? Being tall, I prefer some thigh support and most seats from newer cars seam to be short there.

[Dick Steinkamp]

Bob,
The seats are the perfect scale and style for that Avanti. Nice choice!

[sweetolbob]

Thanks Dick, Luckily my local yard still lets a few of us walk around with a tape measure.

As an aside, I had to find a drivers side fore/aft mechanism last week. The yard I found it in said I was lucky to find it, as in this area, the G6 has become the new Cavaliar and there is a serious demand among younger folks and college students for these cars. The prices on those seats has sky rocketed as more are going into rebuilt/salvage vehicles and less are available as salvage.

KF88 I'm 6'3" and these seats are OK for me but not by a lot probably because there is a fair amount of tilt so my thighs are supported by the very edge of the seat. Here is a comparison of the G6 and OEM 74 seats. Although the G6 seems a little shorter, They feel better than the OEM probably because of the tilt as I explained and the back bolster is much thicker and compresses more. I'll just leave a couple of pictures for posterity.



Bob

[karterfred88]

Thanks for the photos with the square, need at least 22" , but would like more--can't afford Recaro's. And the original 63's are only good to go to the store and back.

[Gunslinger]

Look into Procar seats...they're available from many retailers and online from places like Summit Racing. They have several styles and the last time I checked, they have the Avanti seat brackets listed in their database.

[plwindish]

Bob,
With the hood mods, what's going under the hood? Is the hood height now the same height as the gun sight portion across the entire hood?

[sweetolbob]

Bob,
With the hood mods, what's going under the hood? Is the hood height now the same height as the gun sight portion across the entire hood?

Under the hood is a 383 stroker SBC, relatively warm internals and a modified Trans Am Ram Air setup on the carb. The Ram Air setup seals against the bottom of the original hood which has a round opening for a higher air cleaner that will rise about 2 inches above the old hood and be fed cooler air from the base of the windshield. This is the hole in the original hood.



The upper part is a modified cowl air scoop that sets about one-inch above the high point on the original hood. I'll post a complete set of pictures when It's mounted on the car.

When I saw good ole 1963 at the SNM a few years back I knew I needed one of those hoods, just a bit lower for street use.

[plwindish]

Bob, I have an 89 convertible with a 383 stroker in it. The 383's are monster engines. My 89 was rest-o-modded before I bought it. Trans is a 4L60 AOD with a Ford 9" with 4.86 gears backing everything up. I need to get the gears around a 3.50 to have it a little more gas pump friendly when cruising.

The ram air induction hood should help it get some cold air into the 74. The seats also look nice and comfortable. I also have a 76 with the original command center seats. Next week , we are driving the 76 to CA on the Hemmings Great American Tour. We'll definitely find out how comfy those seats are doing the trip out and back from CA.