As I go through replacements / refurbishment process in my 1962 original which I have owned since 1967, I attempt to recreated the experience and any tips I learned to share with other NCRS members. I have posted articles on a complete heater / cooling hose installation, expansion tank refurbishment, how to find / install the "one year only" lower bow seal requirement for a '62 convertible top and most recently and most recently how to remove and install new / repro seat belts All the articles are also published in the quarterly digital version of the FL Chapter publication Fuel Line.
There were many sources I checked prior to starting the project first looking at the projected expenses and seeking tips from a variety of Corvette forums (including this one) about removal, selecting the "correct seat belt replacements, and most importantly, the safety installation method (I call it the seat belt anchor configuration) of the seat belts installed behind the seats.
1962 Corvette – Seat Belt Replacement
Gregg Cesario (#2907)
Initial ownership of my ’62 Corvette dates back to August of 1967.
All 1961 and 1962 cars had seat belts installed. My seats, belts and hardware were original but after multiple judging meets like the interior deductions below recently, I wanted to improve my score. My original seat belts after such a long time / wear had both my female & male hardware pitted / rusted, the belt fabric was dirty / stained and the Air Chute labels were about as fragile, cracked and frayed as the Dead Sea scrolls.
dataurl004487.png
Recommended vendors were plentiful but only one name was repeated multiple times – Ssnake-Oyl
https://www.ssnake-oyl.com/mm5/merch...TORED_SEAT_CAT
Sequentially, for seat removal be sure to drop the soft top and pop the deck lid. Then slide the seats back as far as possible – even if the seat lever does not latch – to expose the 2 ½” shoulder bolts for each seat. Page 68 of the AIM (Sect J Sheet 2) diagram shows the bolts with torque recommendation.
When you are ready for seat removal, get in and slide the seat all the way back – even if it the adjuster lever does not latch. Then remove the 2, ½” seat frame bolts on each side. Placing your hand in the seat back after placing the deck lid in the upright position, I leaned over the seat, grabbed the top and bottom of the seat frame and rocked it side to side to loosen it. Eventually, the seat comes out but you will likely have to alternate cocking it a bit away from the center to release the feet that are held down by support assembly. Insertion will be the reverse technique to seat the rails into the support assembly
Caution: This is where I might provide guidance of not trying to muscle the seat out especially if you have never removed them. If you have removed them previously, you are aware that the milled edges of the mounting brackets are extremely sharp and can easily cut / fray the carpeting pile or worse yet scratch the interior or exterior of the car in the removal or installation process. The outer assembly frames (feet) have very sharp corners and getting aggressive / frustrated with with either installation or removal can easily cause damage. Furthermore, when you can safely pull out the seat, I also suggest going slowly so as not to scratch any interior or exterior finishes. I didn’t scratch anything nor tear carpeting but it was a well heeded tip in Corvette Forum. The driver seat offers some delicate / patient maneuvering to get remove, especially due to the steering wheel. After removal and before refreshing my original vinyl seats, I chose to use a medium size bastard (flat) file to blunt the sharp corners before re-installing them and it did reduced any apprehension about carpet damage during installation.
I used the 4-6 week turn time for the seat belt replacement to conditioned the seats multiple times as best as I could using 303 products(s) and cleaning lubing the rails. Maybe someday I will have the original seats recovered with new springs but no now. However, in order to get an accurate estimate for either refurbishment or replacement, the seat belts with both female and male ends need to be mailed to the vendor. The over the phone preliminary estimate was in the $280 range, including shipping costs. That did not surprise me but the suggested insurance coverage of ~$1,300 each way was a wake-up call adding to the already higher basic postage costs. The quality of the vendor recommendations were too strong to ignore if I wanted to get this done correctly and eliminate future judging meet deductions, so I made the commitment and paid $520 including tax and return shipping. Kind’a pricey for 10 points but my seat belts / hardware weren’t improving with age.
If you are not familiar with this project, you will likely be surprised as to how much detail is involved in selecting the correct weave pattern, correct Air Chute sewn in labels and color choices to maintain originality. Page 11 is a summary maze of detail from the NCRS ’61-’62 Judging Manual. It provides an idea of the complexity of the correct selection which is all driven by your cars VIN# ! Pages 12-13 detail all the other granular / subtle differences. Toward the end of production, things got a lot more consistent as you can see.
dataurl004470.png
Pages 12 & 13 of the Judging Manual also offer pictures of correctly mounted and threaded belts into the hambone retainer and clamp hardware positioning relative to the body alignment.
Tip: The thinner part of the clamp is exposed in the threading sequence toward each seat and downward in location.
I thought the close-up B&W pictures in the Judging Manual showing the correct seat belt threading with the clamp installation for safety were difficult to visualize. I suggest using the easier to understand C View blowup on AIM page 15 Sect A Sheet 2. As a helpful tip, I have marked it in red. It is important to note that the end of the belt faces inward to a length of ~4” for correct installation and the male ends are on the outboard side of each seat. I suggest you thread the belt before bolting to the body. I will say the first couple times I tried to thread the configuration, it was confusing. The non buckle end of all the seat belts should always come out on the inside (face inward) of the belts and protrude ~4". If you are like me, it took a couple times to weave the configuration correctly, especially when you have to make the lose belt end come out toward the inside for all 4 belts.
dataurl004472.jpg
Below are pictures of the installed Ssnake-Oyl belts on the passenger side which is replicated on the driver side.
dataurl004486.jpg
dataurl004493.jpg
If you have never done this, the re-installation of the seats is just as delicate as the removal, IMO.
Before installing, move the rails out beyond the lower seat frame at the front of the seat – be careful of the sharp edges mentioned earlier – and place just a little grease / lube on the back of the locking rails & on the slots of the retainer. Once the seat is safely in place for installation, be sure it stays on the top of the carpeting. You will likely have to carefully move the seat back and slightly tilt and cock it simultaneously. While holding on to the seat back top you will likely have to alternate cocking the seat placement outward and inward while tilting the seat back so the guide rails can seat correctly into the retaining bar. I used a rubber mallet wound with a rag and banged on the lower seat frame to help push the seat back into its locked position. Gradually work and tap the seat frame backward until the rails fit under / into the seat retainer slots. Once in the slots, the seat should be firmly in place with the front brackets slightly in the air. Now comes alignment with the bolt holes.
Which ever hold you chose to do first for alignment (I chose the outboard bolt), I aligned the holes for accurate ½’ shoulder bolt insertion by taking a small ball peen hammer and very gently slide it on the rug to tap the front each brackets edge until one of the bracket holes aligned. I chose the outboard hole, started the bolt and then worked on the inward one for the passenger seat as shown. I inserted the bolts and used both hand tightening and a short ½” socket with a ⅜” drive along with a 6” ratchet extension on the inboard bolts.
You may have to release the seat adjuster to get the correct alignment to get at the outboard bolts. I hand tightened the outboard seat bolt for alignment, finishing off with an open or box end to a snug tight. Outboard bolts are partially blocked by the set adjustment lever but do allow an open or box end wrench for final tightening with one hand holding seat adjusting lever in the upward / unlocked position and using the other hand to tighten.
Good luck !
Gregg Cesari dataurl004486.jpg dataurl004493.jpg dataurl004470.png dataurl004472.jpg o
Gregg Cesario 62 Corvette logo - HELP!
561 265-8851
GreggCesario@aol.com
There were many sources I checked prior to starting the project first looking at the projected expenses and seeking tips from a variety of Corvette forums (including this one) about removal, selecting the "correct seat belt replacements, and most importantly, the safety installation method (I call it the seat belt anchor configuration) of the seat belts installed behind the seats.
1962 Corvette – Seat Belt Replacement
Gregg Cesario (#2907)
Initial ownership of my ’62 Corvette dates back to August of 1967.
All 1961 and 1962 cars had seat belts installed. My seats, belts and hardware were original but after multiple judging meets like the interior deductions below recently, I wanted to improve my score. My original seat belts after such a long time / wear had both my female & male hardware pitted / rusted, the belt fabric was dirty / stained and the Air Chute labels were about as fragile, cracked and frayed as the Dead Sea scrolls.
dataurl004487.png
Recommended vendors were plentiful but only one name was repeated multiple times – Ssnake-Oyl
https://www.ssnake-oyl.com/mm5/merch...TORED_SEAT_CAT
Sequentially, for seat removal be sure to drop the soft top and pop the deck lid. Then slide the seats back as far as possible – even if the seat lever does not latch – to expose the 2 ½” shoulder bolts for each seat. Page 68 of the AIM (Sect J Sheet 2) diagram shows the bolts with torque recommendation.
When you are ready for seat removal, get in and slide the seat all the way back – even if it the adjuster lever does not latch. Then remove the 2, ½” seat frame bolts on each side. Placing your hand in the seat back after placing the deck lid in the upright position, I leaned over the seat, grabbed the top and bottom of the seat frame and rocked it side to side to loosen it. Eventually, the seat comes out but you will likely have to alternate cocking it a bit away from the center to release the feet that are held down by support assembly. Insertion will be the reverse technique to seat the rails into the support assembly
Caution: This is where I might provide guidance of not trying to muscle the seat out especially if you have never removed them. If you have removed them previously, you are aware that the milled edges of the mounting brackets are extremely sharp and can easily cut / fray the carpeting pile or worse yet scratch the interior or exterior of the car in the removal or installation process. The outer assembly frames (feet) have very sharp corners and getting aggressive / frustrated with with either installation or removal can easily cause damage. Furthermore, when you can safely pull out the seat, I also suggest going slowly so as not to scratch any interior or exterior finishes. I didn’t scratch anything nor tear carpeting but it was a well heeded tip in Corvette Forum. The driver seat offers some delicate / patient maneuvering to get remove, especially due to the steering wheel. After removal and before refreshing my original vinyl seats, I chose to use a medium size bastard (flat) file to blunt the sharp corners before re-installing them and it did reduced any apprehension about carpet damage during installation.
I used the 4-6 week turn time for the seat belt replacement to conditioned the seats multiple times as best as I could using 303 products(s) and cleaning lubing the rails. Maybe someday I will have the original seats recovered with new springs but no now. However, in order to get an accurate estimate for either refurbishment or replacement, the seat belts with both female and male ends need to be mailed to the vendor. The over the phone preliminary estimate was in the $280 range, including shipping costs. That did not surprise me but the suggested insurance coverage of ~$1,300 each way was a wake-up call adding to the already higher basic postage costs. The quality of the vendor recommendations were too strong to ignore if I wanted to get this done correctly and eliminate future judging meet deductions, so I made the commitment and paid $520 including tax and return shipping. Kind’a pricey for 10 points but my seat belts / hardware weren’t improving with age.
If you are not familiar with this project, you will likely be surprised as to how much detail is involved in selecting the correct weave pattern, correct Air Chute sewn in labels and color choices to maintain originality. Page 11 is a summary maze of detail from the NCRS ’61-’62 Judging Manual. It provides an idea of the complexity of the correct selection which is all driven by your cars VIN# ! Pages 12-13 detail all the other granular / subtle differences. Toward the end of production, things got a lot more consistent as you can see.
dataurl004470.png
Pages 12 & 13 of the Judging Manual also offer pictures of correctly mounted and threaded belts into the hambone retainer and clamp hardware positioning relative to the body alignment.
Tip: The thinner part of the clamp is exposed in the threading sequence toward each seat and downward in location.
I thought the close-up B&W pictures in the Judging Manual showing the correct seat belt threading with the clamp installation for safety were difficult to visualize. I suggest using the easier to understand C View blowup on AIM page 15 Sect A Sheet 2. As a helpful tip, I have marked it in red. It is important to note that the end of the belt faces inward to a length of ~4” for correct installation and the male ends are on the outboard side of each seat. I suggest you thread the belt before bolting to the body. I will say the first couple times I tried to thread the configuration, it was confusing. The non buckle end of all the seat belts should always come out on the inside (face inward) of the belts and protrude ~4". If you are like me, it took a couple times to weave the configuration correctly, especially when you have to make the lose belt end come out toward the inside for all 4 belts.
dataurl004472.jpg
Below are pictures of the installed Ssnake-Oyl belts on the passenger side which is replicated on the driver side.
dataurl004486.jpg
dataurl004493.jpg
If you have never done this, the re-installation of the seats is just as delicate as the removal, IMO.
Before installing, move the rails out beyond the lower seat frame at the front of the seat – be careful of the sharp edges mentioned earlier – and place just a little grease / lube on the back of the locking rails & on the slots of the retainer. Once the seat is safely in place for installation, be sure it stays on the top of the carpeting. You will likely have to carefully move the seat back and slightly tilt and cock it simultaneously. While holding on to the seat back top you will likely have to alternate cocking the seat placement outward and inward while tilting the seat back so the guide rails can seat correctly into the retaining bar. I used a rubber mallet wound with a rag and banged on the lower seat frame to help push the seat back into its locked position. Gradually work and tap the seat frame backward until the rails fit under / into the seat retainer slots. Once in the slots, the seat should be firmly in place with the front brackets slightly in the air. Now comes alignment with the bolt holes.
Which ever hold you chose to do first for alignment (I chose the outboard bolt), I aligned the holes for accurate ½’ shoulder bolt insertion by taking a small ball peen hammer and very gently slide it on the rug to tap the front each brackets edge until one of the bracket holes aligned. I chose the outboard hole, started the bolt and then worked on the inward one for the passenger seat as shown. I inserted the bolts and used both hand tightening and a short ½” socket with a ⅜” drive along with a 6” ratchet extension on the inboard bolts.
You may have to release the seat adjuster to get the correct alignment to get at the outboard bolts. I hand tightened the outboard seat bolt for alignment, finishing off with an open or box end to a snug tight. Outboard bolts are partially blocked by the set adjustment lever but do allow an open or box end wrench for final tightening with one hand holding seat adjusting lever in the upward / unlocked position and using the other hand to tighten.
Good luck !
Gregg Cesari dataurl004486.jpg dataurl004493.jpg dataurl004470.png dataurl004472.jpg o
Gregg Cesario 62 Corvette logo - HELP!
561 265-8851
GreggCesario@aol.com