63 seat tracks

[Thomas S.]

I have a 63 and it has original seats but one of the prior owners had spray dyed a couple of spots and there was rip in one seat. Not wanting to loose the use of the car, I ended buying another set of original seat and back frames and then set them out to Knoch for the full Monty. Got them back put them in and they were fine. Fast forward and the other day I had some work done on interior of the car and the seats were removed. Now I have a rocking situation cause by play in the sliding mechanism. Not sure what happened but that is not important.



Back to my original seats.

I pulled back the rear vinyl at at the base, removed the two screws that held the retaining tabs that give you access to the rear of the track mechanism and took some photos. Basically the top section of the track has an outer tube, then another tube within it, and finally the tube for the bottom track. There are no springs in there and I couldn't see how they would have acted as "bearing' if there were.

Are the 63 seats another one those 1-year only deals?

The images are shown with the base upside down. I also included a picture of the factory seat tag in case anyone else needs to see what one looks like.

12EBDCA1-D4A3-454E-BBBF-2655F4999F89.jpg45B5A908-386E-4037-9624-3FC6713F784E.jpgCE7273BC-5387-4BF5-ACF0-9F5995E356B9.jpg

[Joseph S.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Thomas, That inner C shaped partial tube holds the spring. It has a groove cut in it and the spring sits in the groove. How much is it rocking? There isn't much space there!

Could they have left the height adjusting bolts loose?

[Thomas S.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Thanks for writing back. The image shown is not from the seat with the problem.

The image is from one of the original seats that is not in the car and is basically pretty tight. I have another image shown below. I didn't see any evidence of springs in the area you mentioned although I'm not sure if that area was what you were referring to.

Assuming I'm correct, it doesn't seem to be a way to keep those springs from sliding out of place. Also, I didn't see any springs in there either.

This view is from the back of the seat with the track adjust full forward (towards front of car). It is possible that the springs are stuck down in that gap.

Do the springs go on both of sides of the vertical piece?



Untitled.jpg

[Thomas S.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Had to go off the reservation for more detail, but this post on CF is extremely helpful for anyone trying to rebuild C2 seat tracks

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3211538-1966-seat-track-servicing-info.html

[Gary B.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Tom,

I still recommend using ball bearings like Joe C and I described back in 2012, instead of those stupid springs acting as a wannabe bearings. I think the springs will invariably break after sufficient use. And I think the repro springs are apt to have slightly more slop than the original GM springs.

Gary

[Thomas S.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Ordered the bearings today. Dissembled one seat today and now it all makes sense. I could not figure out any way to get the tracks out without grinding off the the 4 seat track rivets holding the curved end of the track. Does that sound about right?

Also, not sure whether to re-rivet or bolt them back together.

[Thomas S.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

I finished the track rebuild and took the ball-bearing suggestion from Gary. You can’t get the 63 tracks out without grind off the rivets. The tracks were a one-year only and 64 and up come apart much easier.

As is usually the case, you learn as you, and I figure out you can grid off 3 out of the 4, and swing the bent piece out the way to remove the track. I have a lot of photos combined in a pdf but the total file size is too large for the site. If anyone want the images, just direct message me.

Tom

[Gary B.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Tom,

Are you happy with how it slides with the ball bearings?

The first time with such projects often results in ways of doing it more easily the next time. But then so many of these projects are a once in a lifetime thing. I hope,

Gary

[Thomas S.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

It's tight at the moment, but I'm dealing with just the frames, not an actual set of seats. They have to be reupholstered. Initially I was concerned, but the lithium grease, once worked into the bearings, worked fine. I did not alter the ID of the slide. I actually had a set of custom springs made up from Lee Spring Co that correspond to the original spec but said screw-it and went the BB route.

63_tracks.pdf

[Gary B.]

Re: 63 seat tracks

Nice job and nice documentation.

Gary

PS: Your custom-made springs might be quite valuable and desirable by someone who wants to restore seat slides using the factory approach. The repro springs that I purchased either from LIC or Paragon where undersized, which would have resulted is sloppy, non-factory function.