FRONT SEAT FOLD DOWN

[FATBOY]

does anyone know how to make the front seat fold forward so that i can get passengers into back seat. im doing up a panelvan and want a back seat. i sourced one from queensland last week. will fold down flat the same as a stationwagon



cheers fatboy

[zulu]

hey fatboy, I have an FC panel van with a full set of seats, at the rear of the front seat where it normaly  bolts to the floor there is a hinge arrangement which allows the whole seat to lift forward.
It looks like a back yard solution though & probably would not pass rego.
Gary

[Burnsy]

My EK special (sedan) has a front bench that folds back to make a big bed   I just tried it and it does not fold forward but the mechanism may be able to be modified.  Apparently these seats were standard in the Specials, you can identify them easily as they have a chrome leaver on the drivers side where the back and base of the seat meet.
You should be able to get a crap one from somewhere to have a play with.

[earlyholdenfan]

Hi Burnsy, just an update on the "folding" seat that you have. Sounds like what you have is the "Lay back camping seat" that was an accessory fitted to the earlies usually through the dealers but definately not standard on all Specials (oh I wish),
I have found a contractor that supplied all of the seats for the Holden dealers in Melbourne and he has made new lay back camping seats for my FJ and EK to exact original standards! reasonably priced too! Finding an old or wrecked seat is a bit like hens teeth.

Fatboy, if you would like to PM me I can pass on the contact details and he may be able to help you out if you are in VIC?
Other than that what about contacting the Chev (or other early american car clubs etc) as a lot of the American cruisers had Split Fold front benches for the two door coupe's, you could butcher them for mechanisms or take it to a trimmer and have it modified into your seat frame??  
Cheers
Matt

[Burnsy]

Woohooo a bonus option I never new I had, it works a treat to.  
Can't wait till the weather improves so we can take it to the drives for a test run!!

[FATBOY]

just thinking out loud here the stationwagon with only the front doors (dont now its correct name)would have too have this type of seat maybe ken knows

any help fatboy

[robbzfc58]

hi fat boy    the 2dr stn wgn is a pv with a back seat...same as your building.    i used to have a hj van with access to rear from front.  the seat was a bench type with 2pc back from early falcon coupe   xm  xp.  it served the purpose extremely well...who said ford never made anything useful!!   be pretty hard to find one now...id expect
   good luck  
    trev

[RET]

This is a little off-topic, but although Holden never manufactured a 2-door wagon, some enterprising dealers sold them as if they were factory standards.  I have a price list from W.T. Coggins that shows prices for:

Holden Station Sedans - "FC" models:
Standard Station Sedan (1213.10/6)
Special Station Sedan (1276.5/6)

and then under the commercial vehicles section:

Holden Coupe Utility (1010.7/6)
Holden Panel Van (1021.15/10)
Holden Panel Van with Rear Window (1027.10/0)
Holden "Admiral" DeLuxe Panel Van (Canopy, Sliding Windows) (1097.16/4)
Holden Station Waggon (Canopy, Sliding Windows, & Rear Seat) 6 Passenger (1132.16/4)

As you can see, it was about 80 pounds cheaper to buy the pre-converted van/wagon than a proper station sedan.

cheers
RET

[mcl1959]

The most common name is vanette, but I like the Admiral deluxe panel van - now that's got class!

None of these had fold forward seats.

John Wanner in Vic with the 2 door FE convertible also has XP coupe seats
Good luck finding these at your local Ford wrecker.

The danger of the old conversion seats is that most had no really effective lock mechanism to stop the seat back moving in the result of an accident.  Most only had a simple rod which dropped into a slot under spring tension - not effective in an accident.  I did see one very nice one which pushed a rod through two holes which lined up when the seat was in the correct position.  Very clever design and very safe.

Ken

[zulu]

Crikey Ken, you Mexicans have fancy names down there!
up here they are just panelvans with windows  

Fatboy, have a look in the yellow pages under;
Motor Car Seats &/or Conversions
Motor Body Trimmers

If you are on a budget, go to the wreckers & have a look through all the 2 door cars, you might be able to convert some bucket seats to fit your beast.

Good Luck!

[Effie C]

Try HK on Monaro, they have fold forwarded seats and they don't come from a F***
John M