88-98 Bucket seat alternatives

[df2x4]

I wonder if the brackets are different. My drivers seat is power and the passenger seat is manual. The drivers seat looks taller to me. I will get a level and put a tape measure on it after work and check. If that is true I may pull the power bracket and install the spare manual bracket I have.

My Suburban is set up the same way. Power adjustable on the driver's side, manual on the passenger's. Was like that from the factory. If you pulled both of the seats and brackets from the same truck I'm sure they're probably the same.

 

[99'Subourbon]

Uh-oh! Another novel! Lol!
*snip*

Sewlow takin' kids to school! Learnt.

 

[drewcrew]

Uh-oh! Another novel! Lol!
Leather is sold by the square foot. But I can only purchase full hides.
Average hide is 45-50 sq.ft., but I've seen them as big as 80. (One F'n big cow!)
It takes 18 sq.ft. of leather to equal 1 linear yard of material. (54"x36")
When I order leather, I figure how much linear material I need, then convert that to square footage. The supplier then sends me the hides that get as close as possible to the total square footage that's required. It's always on the plus side of what I need.
I can get leather for $5.00/sq.ft., but I wouldn't offer any warranty on that cheap chit.
Good leather starts @ about $8.00-$10.00/sq.ft., but I've bought leather for $27.00/sq.ft.! (Includes burn tests & certifications for corporate aircraft)
The best leather comes from Northern Europe & Britain. Why?
For one, the environment. That colder climate helps the bovines produce thicker, stronger hides. The animals are raised specifically for their hides. Not like here, where leather is a by-product of the food industry.
And two, they do not use barbed wire for fencing. That's a North American cowboy thing. The fences in Northern Europe are made of stone, with many of them being the same ones that the Romans built. This helps to lessen any cuts/scars & provides a higher yield of useable leather per hide. Plus, they've been at this a hell of a lot longer than any of the North American tanneries. The one that I deal with has been in biz for over 400 years! I think that they've got this figured out!
So... if a 'very good' leather for auto's runs $12.00-$15.00/sq.ft., with an average sized hide of 50 sq.ft, the cost of one hide would be $600.00-$750.00/per. Plus tax.
50 sq.ft is the equivalent of about 2 & 2/3 linear yards. But there is much more waste with leather than man-made fabrics due to having to work around scars & natural flaws. And certain parts of the hide gets used for specific parts of an auto's seats. Figure that the amount of useable leather in that hide to be equal to 2.5 yards of a manufactured textile. Or less, depending on the hide.
That makes that leather worth $240.00-$300.00 per linear yard!
As opposed to a vinyl (to match) cost of $30.00-$40.00 per linear yard.
The advantages with leather though, is that it will last 3-5X longer than vinyl. Tough stuff.
And, leather mimics body heat within a few moments, + it breathes. This makes it warm in the winter & cooler in the summer than vinyl.
Plus you get that wonderful leather aroma! (Which is actually a manufactured smell. Without that added process, leather smells like death! Literally! Think...'Rendering Facility'. 'Slaughter House'! In aircraft, that smell is actually toned down, due to the amount of leather in that cabin, & the amount of time spent in that environment. Without that toning down, that smell can become overpowering after a while.)
Perforated leather is even more expensive. One more added process. But that perforation process can be only done 1/2 a hide @ a time. So that means more waste due to the sizes & shapes required for the parts of the seat where that perforated stuff is used.
To recover a set of buckets & a rear seat to match, in leather, just doing the faces, would require approx. 3 hides, with the rest in vinyl.
To do the same in all leather would require approx. 5 hides.
The difference in just the leather costs between choice 'A' or 'B' is $1200.00-$1500.00! And that's just for the leather.
Due to the costs of that leather, more time & care must be taken when patterning & stitching. Mistakes get very expensive, very quickly! So...that means more labor costs in time.
While the large auto manufacturers are getting a better price break, due to them being able to buy in mass quantities, the differences in the costs of vinyl & leather are still significant.
You can see why they opt towards the practice of just utilizing leather on the face of their seats.

Looks like I'll have to win the lottery to get my rcsb seat done.

 

[MarkIII]

I installed my work around for the gap between the Caprice seats today. The color match is better than the pic shows. I made it removable , the kids cut between the seats like captains chairs now. it's nice to get some cupholders now.

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[Chevyfam]

I have a 94 single cab, and I have a perfect set of 03 silverado buckets. Do the 94 bucket risers bolt to the 03 bucket seats? My truck hada bench in it.

Did you ever get them 03 seats in that 94?

 

[Justin S]

Were bucket seats even an option for a regular cab truck?

My 89 regular cab came with factory buckets and console.

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[6POINT5]

Hey guys, I have an early 99 Sierra 2500 (same as 98 style)
It has a bench seat in it and I would like to change it to a 60/40 seat. Would these bolt right in to an 88-98?

 

[sewlow]

Hey guys, I have an early 99 Sierra 2500 (same as 98 style)
It has a bench seat in it and I would like to change it to a 60/40 seat. Would these bolt right in to an 88-98?

Have to drill four holes for the inside tracks. Back them up with a plate underneath or some big washers to prevent the bolts from pulling through the floor if ever in an accident.

 

[6POINT5]

Ok cool, forgive my ignorance, I'm new to the GMT400's but I went to the scrappers today after work and was able to find a 98 both in a 60/40 and bucket seats with a center console. The 60/40 requires 2 added holes on each seat correct? What if I swap seat rails from my bench seat onto the 60/40?
Also, on the bucket seats, do they bolt right up to the bench seat holes in the floor pan but I have to drill new holes for the center co sole?

Here is a big of both sets I found today.

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Again, these are going into my early 99 k2500.
Thanks in advance

 

[sewlow]

Either bucket seats or the a 60/40 requires 2 holes to be drilled in the floor next to the tunnel.
If the the tracks are working on the 60/40, I wouldn't change them. They're probably the same as the ones for the buckets, anyways.