Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area Interiors 1938 seats

Hi All,
Did the search, still looking.. I think the '38 inside is smaller than y'alls AD trucks.. Does anyone have a suggestion that tried different seats fot eh 1938 that are an easier fit without a lot of fabrication? I head s10'ss.. kinda skimpy but I would prefer a bench -type or one I could cover.. My 3rd row denalli seats look like they would take too much modification for the riser tub thing that is part of the 1938 truck cab -seat- floor... !

Take your pad and pencil and tape measure and do some serious measurements of the seat mounting area. Front to back, side to side and diagonally. Get a rough measurement of how tall the mounting brackets need to be. Once you have all that noted, head down to your local pick and pull yard and start looking for the best/easiest fit. Bet it won’t be as hard as you think.

your cab is narrower than the AD's but same as my '37. third row seats from a variety of SUV's or minivans fit the bill for a bench. I have the tank fill issue with a '37 so I wanted a split so I could tilt easier. My pull'n save charged $25 each side for a 40/60 set in leather from a Buick Encore. The Durango sitting there would have been a better choice after the fact but I fell for the leather. its a bit too wide (about 1 1/2") and I'm going to have the very corners rounded at the very front. Close your doors and measure carefully at the extreme front of where the potential seat will fit and keep in mind your '38 tapers from wider at the rear and narrows toward the front which is exactly opposite from the norm for more modern seats. It was around 50" as I recall around the front of the gas tank base. I think the Durango was perfect, an trailblazer was in the running and I've heard the Chrysler minivan is perfect and honda odyssey, pathfinder or four runner should work easily. When looking keep in mind thickness of the cushions as your cab is small, cushy is nice but no space, tradeoffs, so test sit cause some of those kids seats are just for kids! Happy hunting...then you have to figure out how to mount! lol

My local pick'n pull had a sale one day so off I went looking for seats for my '37. I had 5 sets of buckets for dirt cheap, didn't even look at benches, not a lot around in 1999. I ended up using the stock bench seat and recovering it. Larry mentioned not a lot of room, he is right about that. I went back to mine some years later and removed some padding just to get more room and I'am not that big! The back portion sets vertical, it has some adjustment but if the padding is to thick, it won't adjust. With the back vertical, I would get a stiff back pretty quick. If you lean the backs to set comfortably, the steering hits you wrong. Before making any final decisions, set in the cab for awhile with the steering and pedals in place and see how the seats feel. Also remember the stock springs are stiff and the ride will be pretty harsh without the seat springs to help. I addd some dense foam to the front of my seat bottom so the forward edge would support my legs better, it helped a lot on comfort. Maybe mine had weak spring, but the front edge was really soft and I felt like I was always slipping forward. Bucket seats tend to stop the forward slide, my extra foam does that same thing.

Thanks guys:

on the third row seats, do the chrysler and durango have the ridiculous hook mechanisms at the bottom that require a plethora of bars in which to snap into before the seats even open?? I spend $160 on those only to learn it will require way too much cab modification to justify...