Interior Options

[79BuWagon]

Newbie here . First id like to express how glad I am to have found this site . Up till now I havent found much info on these cars . My questions today deal with interior options . Can anyone tell me if GM ever had a bucket seat option for these wagons ? Also maybe a consol or consol/floor shift option . If not , is it possible that others models in this line up had them and would they be a bolt in or a fairly simple install . Also thinking about the seat belts and anchor locations . Would they be different ? Lastly , same info needed on steering wheels . My goal for this wagon is to make changes that have a possible factory produced look to them . Thanks in advance for all info and ideas .

 

[GP403]

welcome to the site! Yeah, the wagons could be had with buckets and console/floor shifters. Everything for those should be shared with the 2 drs, but the seat belt setup might be shared with the 4drs....

 

[Wants_a_wagon]

welcome to the site! Yeah, the wagons could be had with buckets and console/floor shifters. Everything for those should be shared with the 2 drs, but the seat belt setup might be shared with the 4drs....

Your GP looks almost exactly like the one I had, which brings me on topic -- I remember the bucket seats being a bit dodgy.

What I mean by that is that my GP had blue buckets. The driver's side had a no-recline back. I am a tall guy, and in my opinion, the angle was not comfortable. You can switch the passenger seat with the driver's seat, but without also switching the under-seat mechanisms, you'll slowly destroy your plastic chrome trim on the reclining seat. This is because the alignment of the seat is pushed out an inch or two toward the side of the car, interfering with the seat belt anchor.

What I ended up doing is altering the angle of my bucket by sleeve-ing the front two studs on the floor up to an angle that the seat felt comfortable to me, and was actually reclined a bit.

I am sure there were many, many factory seat options that are different than the early 80s GP buckets I had. In fact, I think the 85 or so model seats were nicer, and I am sure that the late buick turbo models had much nicer models.

Good luck!

 

[dirtywhiteboy]

I just picked up a pair of M/C SS buckets and inside brackets from a pick-a-part for $42

The console was gone already :x
Oh yea .....Welcome to the site!

 

[79BuWagon]

Thanks guys for your welcome and help . Now all I gotta do is find some donor cars but out here in the Great Norwest there doesnt seem to be a lot of those as they dont rust out as fast in this area as back east ( no salt used on the roads in winter ) . Even at the local sweep meets not many parts seem to surface for these cars . Also , from reading the forum the 8.5 rear end is the way to go tho it appears not many G-bodies came with them . Guess the treasure hunt is on . But thanks to finding this site and a great bunch of helpful folks on it life with a G-body just got easier . This will now be a "regular read" site for me .

 

[billyjack]

Haven't swapped any seats, but I can tell you that steering wheel options are wide open. In my '87 Camino I've had a 70's Chevy 4 spoke rally wheel, a 70's Buick 3 spoke rally wheel and a 90's Jimmy wheel. Currently it has a brushed finish, leather-wrapped sport wheel from an 80's Buick LeSabre or Park Avenue. I removed the Buick emblem from the center, cut a piece of plexiglass to match, and fit a bow tie emblem cut from a magazine under the plexi. If you go boneyard hunting, just take a pair if calipers to confirm column diameter. As long as the O.D. of the hub is OK, about any wheel you find will match the shaft splines. Have fun!

Bill

 

[79BuWagon]

Steering wheel swap

Thanks for the info . Im assuming the horn wiring will be easy enuff to sort out . A different wheel is on my list of things to do . Neat idea about the Chevy logo . Cheap and simple , my kinda deal !!!

 

[SafariWagon]

It would be better to find bucket seats that don't need re-upholstered. I was looking into this for my wagon last week. I have a pair of Elcamino buckets that need a complete re-cover and the rear seat as well. Cost around here is $1000-$1500. I can't find anybody that makes new material pre-cut for a wagon rear seat. That alone was around $400-$450. I had a pair of buckets done about 10 years ago for $250. I wish my wages would have quadrupled like that in 10 years! I think I need to try a place I know about back in Iowa instead of Minnesota. These guys up here want a small fortune.