OK, I give up.

[Doug L.]

I need to replace the seat tracks on both seats of my '64. The seats have a tube welded in place under each side of the seat base. Those tubes have a slot on the bottom that runs from one end to the other. The "track" slides within the slots in the tubes (or the tubes slide on the tracks, whichever way you want to look at it). The track has a cutout that contains notches that are engaged by the release lever mechanism. The release mechanism is welded to the tubes on the bottom of each seat and the arm of that release mechanism extends through the cutout of the track. That arm either engages the notches to hold the seat in the desired position, or moves out of the notches when the release lever is activated. However the slot in the track where the notches are located is closed on both ends and the release arm does not move far enough to allow the arm to clear the slot. This prevents the track from sliding out of the tube. So how does one extract the track from the tube? The only solution I can figure out is to cut the release mechanism from the tube, then weld it back in position after the new track is inserted.

Has anyone out there made this replacement?

Thanks in advance.

[Wayne W.]

Re: OK, I give up.

I need to replace the seat tracks on both seats of my '64. The seats have a tube welded in place under each side of the seat base. Those tubes have a slot on the bottom that runs from one end to the other. The "track" slides within the slots in the tubes (or the tubes slide on the tracks, whichever way you want to look at it). The track has a cutout that contains notches that are engaged by the release lever mechanism. The release mechanism is welded to the tubes on the bottom of each seat and the arm of that release mechanism extends through the cutout of the track. That arm either engages the notches to hold the seat in the desired position, or moves out of the notches when the release lever is activated. However the slot in the track where the notches are located is closed on both ends and the release arm does not move far enough to allow the arm to clear the slot. This prevents the track from sliding out of the tube. So how does one extract the track from the tube? The only solution I can figure out is to cut the release mechanism from the tube, then weld it back in position after the new track is inserted.

Has anyone out there made this replacement?

Thanks in advance.

That's about the only thing you can do. I just did a `63 a couple of weeks ago and you also had to take apart the floor mounts. The `64 may be a little different.

[John L.]

Re: OK, I give up.

Doug:
I just had this issue with my '65 seat tracks. I wanted to restore my tacks without taking my whole seat chusion apart.


The tracks can be removed from the tube without damaging or removing the adjusters. After the sheetmetal doors are removed from the rear of the frame and the two small springs trmoved from the adjustment latches on the tracks, take an 10 or 12" adjustable wrench (adjusted and slip it over the thickness of the track) and pull it outboard as hard as possible and at the same time take a pair of large pliers and force the latch out of the notch and clear of the frame. You may need a helper or a way to hold the frame firmly while you do this. Start with the track farthest away from the adjustment handle first.

[Doug L.]

Re: OK, I give up.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try it next week and report on the results. The repro tracks seem to have a tube as part of what they supply. I beliebe the track (bottom portion) has a tube that slides into the tube that is welded to the seat base, but I won't know until I get it apart. I suppose it will be obvoious at that point.
Doug

[Jim P.]

Re: OK, I give up.

I agree with John. I rebuilt the tracks on my 64 last year. I used a pry bar to force the track outward. I was hesitant but I was trying to avoid cutting and rewelding. You can "bend" the track just enough to extract it from the latches. It resulted in no permanent deformation to the tracks and now the seats work as new. Reinstall using the reverse.

[Doug L.]

Re: OK, I give up.

It worked as advertised. The latching tab may have been bent slightly during the process as the track was forced from the tube, but I got them apart.