What seat to use?

My april 1930 AA had no seat springs when I got it. I cut plywood to make the seat back and bottom. I rounded the edges and used Foam rubber in place of seat springs. I no longer have the truck to measure the seats but it looks like the the bottom cushon is probably 6 inches thick or less The early thirty cabs had more head room than the later cabs. Nobody ever knew that my truck had no seat springs unless I told them.

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I am considering having a seat made for my '31 Budd cab PU. So far I haven't found a good source of dimensions to go from. My current seat sits way too high, and other Pickups in the area have such worn out seats it's hard to get any measurements that would mean anything.
 
Took my truck to a restorer to evaluate. He said my seat and back not stock. After reading several post concerning seats, I do not think I want it to be stock. The original seats are thick and cannot go under seat back.
My seat does not fully cover the base on the corners, fits under the seat back. The seat back is thinner than an original (I think). The back is straight up against back of cab.
It is tight as is. I think I will leave alone.
 
I am considering having a seat made for my '31 Budd cab PU. So far I haven't found a good source of dimensions to go from. My current seat sits way too high, and other Pickups in the area have such worn out seats it's hard to get any measurements that would mean anything.


Carl I can measure the seats in my truck if it helps. It is an early 31 not the indented firewall cab.

Does Snyders still make the seat springs they sell ? If they do I imagine they could make flatter than stock springs for people who wanted them .

The guy who started this thread was asking about 28 cabs , the seats always seem to be missing. The stock ones work OK as long as your not tall then you might want flatter springs to give you more room

John Cochran
 
Carl I can measure the seats in my truck if it helps. It is an early 31 not the indented firewall cab.
John Cochran

If you post the width, length, and thickness of the cushion and back (separately), that would be a great help to many of us. Hint :)
I need to make a seat too.
 
If you post the width, length, and thickness of the cushion and back (separately), that would be a great help to many of us. Hint :)
I need to make a seat too.
OK Vin-tin I will post the measurements on this thread tomorrow

Glad to be a Help To fellow Barners

John
 
30- mid31 Closed Cab Seat Dimensions; Taken with them flat on your Work table

Back Rest Height 4 1/2 " , Depth 18" , Width 46 1/2" , Narowing to 45 1/2"

Seat Cushion Height at Rear 5 1/2" , Height at Front 7 1/2", Depth 18"

Width at Front 38" , Width at rear 42"

The Back Rest sits on top of the Bottom Cushion .

If you are goiing to make your own It would be a good idea to Mock it up with Cardboard to see if you like the fit and how comfortable it will be for you .

I'm a Squirt cause I didn't eat all my Greens at 5'10" . So it fit's me OK

The Late 31 with the indented firewall has different cushions I believe the Bottom cushion the depth is only 16 " But I don't know about the Backrest how that differs

John Cochran.
 
I ordered regular 29 ccpu seat set from LB works great for 5-8 guy 200 lb

While this was an old thread just recently brought back to life, your original post brought up the issue of what to do about fitting in a Model A seat if you are building a driver, rather than a fine points restoration. For a restoration you just do what Ford did originally. For a driver you want the most comfortable fit for the primary driver of the vehicle. ...or a compromise fit that works for both the primary driver and a secondary driver.

For my '29 closed cab, two drivers were considered, me and my 5'4" daughter. A foam seat base and back was used. It is a bit cramped for me, but many times, I have driven 250 miles in a day and survived.

My current project is my '29 cabriolet. I started with new Snyders springs and a L-B interior kit. My leg fit to the pedals was ok, but I sat too high to easily see overhead traffic signal lights. It just was uncomfortable to drive the car. Finally this last December, I had the upholsterer make a foam seat bottom on a new solid base that I made. After he made a first attempt at a good fit, I sat in the car, and minor adjustments (shaving the foam) were made to the fit. The top front edge of the seat is the same position as the original spring seat, but about 2/3 back on the seat cushion, it is a couple inches lower, so my butt fits as low as it needs to be for good visibility. The back 1/3 of the seat bottom tapers back up to fit against the seat back, which still uses the Snyders springs.

The feel and comfort while driving the car is totally different between having the too high original seat, compared to driving with a new properly fitting seat. A custom fitted foam seat can be a great improvement for a driver, but it takes time and thought to get a good fit.

ps: When I drove the car back in the sixties, it had the original 30+ year old seat springs which were sagging from over a hundred thousand miles (supposedly over 200,000 miles) put on the car by my grandmother. Then, I fit ok in the original seat, such as it was. My current seat fit is likely closer in shape to that well worn-in fit of fifty years ago.
 
30- mid31 Closed Cab Seat Dimensions; Taken with them flat on your Work table

Back Rest Height 4 1/2 " , Depth 18" , Width 46 1/2" , Narowing to 45 1/2"

Seat Cushion Height at Rear 5 1/2" , Height at Front 7 1/2", Depth 18"

Width at Front 38" , Width at rear 42"

The Back Rest sits on top of the Bottom Cushion .
John Cochran.

John,
That's perfect! Very detailed! Much appreciated!
Thank you.
 
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