high back buckets

[75gmc454]

I was in the junkyard today looking for an original console for my 73 gmc. I have seen many consoles on ebay with the chevy bowtie, but a GMC is hard to find.

Well I was walking along looking in trucks and there sat this one ton sierra grande. I could see the high buckets through the windshield, I just thought they were added later. But they are original high back buckets with the console with the gmc, but it has the round cup holders and not the seat belt holders like mine should have. This truck must be about a 78 model with a 4 speed trans and a 350, but it has most all options.

I knew they put high back buckets in these trucks after 76 I believe, this was just the first I have seen. The guy at the junkyard thought they were added, but I know better, the truck even had the carpet all the way up behind the seats. Has anyone else seen the highbacks in an original truck? I would think a truck like that would be fairly rare.

[kevinr1970]

I would go back and grab that stuff if I were you.
There is a set of just the BRACKETS on the classifieds for over $200. If the seats are salvageable AND the console is in good shape it would be more than worth your while to go get them.
I would be interested in the console if nothing else...

[bigblock79]

my 79 got high backs. i thank you could have got them all the way to 87. the tracks is hard to find. cause you can get the seats ot blazers and burb. but the tracks for truck is only found in trucks.

[N2TRUX]

From what I have been told, 77 was the breaking point. Early 77 had low backs, late 77 had high backs.

[bigblock73]

Buckets in pickups weren't offered beyond 81 I believe. Hight backs started in 77 as Ken stated. My first set of pickup buckets were retreived from a 78.

[Shock_Me]

I've got a set of high backs and console from a 79 Chev 1/2 ton. I totally restored them in red, and I'm putting them in my black 85 4x4, (when I get around to restoring her).
I like the highbacks, but I'm not crazy about seeing the seats through the back window in the cab, so I think I'll tint the back window. Just a personal preference.

Pete

[cjracing15]

I took some factory high buckets out of a 83 camper special. I need to take some pics and see if these are the buckets that yall are talking about.

[Shock_Me]

I'll post mine tonight too, after I get home from work.

Pete

[abebummy26]

I have seen 2 sets, 1 set was in the truck I got mine from. They are 77 or 78 Gmc's as well. The other set was in a fully restored 78 chevy 3/4 ton 4x4.

[old Rusty C10]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

Buckets in pickups weren't offered beyond 81 I believe. Hight backs started in 77 as Ken stated. My first set of pickup buckets were retreived from a 78.

i beg to disagree.. until the end of the rounded line series (87) the city of new york ran GM ambulances exclusively.. the ones with the pickup chassis and can with the dual wheels in the rear, and they all had bucket seats hi back ( in fact all were tan too) and they had this big computer console thing in it ill search for photos on the web and see if i can post a pic but they came new that way im not sure if this was an option only on the ambulance or HD versions tho

[bigblock73]

I am talking light duty trucks here...cab and chassis models are completely different. Besides, Ambulances HAVE to have buckets so the person in front can get in back without having to get out of the truck and go around back (I am sure there are more reasons than this). My guess, is the buckets were added by the company who did the construction of the ambulances.

By the way, the rounded line series ended in 1991 (not 1987) with the Suburbans, Blazers, and crew cabs.

[bigblock73]

Here are factory high back seats...all four were removed from '78 model pickups. I gave Joe 2 of these, threw the other 2 away (nobody wanted them)

[Shock_Me]

ok here's what I started with. Took em out of a 79 Chev 1/2 ton. And yes I did remove the welded brackets as well.







Here's what I have now. THe 85 they're going into is black in color.

[texassquarebodies]

The bucket seat brackets are the same in the trucks and suburbans, blazers are different. Not really sure when buckets stopped coming in the trucks????
How much are the brackets worth?????

[87 STEPPER]

Originally Posted by bigblock79

my 79 got high backs. i thank you could have got them all the way to 87. the tracks is hard to find. cause you can get the seats ot blazers and burb. but the tracks for truck is only found in trucks.

Nope........I just looked it up in my '87 Pick-Up Truck sales brochure and no bucket seats were offered only bench seats in the '87 model year on the R and V 10 through 30 series including the Dooley Crew/Bonus Cab.

Now maybe they offered them in '87 on the Blazer, & Suburban but my sales brochure only covers Pick-Up truck's.

[bigblock79]

the brackets are worth around 200.00 if somebody wants them. and if not nothing. so all depends on if you want buckets. i need a console for a 73 -76 if any body got one

[cjracing15]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

I am talking light duty trucks here...cab and chassis models are completely different. Besides, Ambulances HAVE to have buckets so the person in front can get in back without having to get out of the truck and go around back (I am sure there are more reasons than this). My guess, is the buckets were added by the company who did the construction of the ambulances.

By the way, the rounded line series ended in 1991 (not 1987) with the Suburbans, Blazers, and crew cabs.

The reason for the buckets in the ambulances is that they had a BIG console for the radios, sirein box, lights, etc. that went between the seats.

And by the way my 83 is listed as a camper special on the rpo list so it is a long wheel base truck with a ambulance bed on it. I am going to take the bed off and put a dooley bed back on it..

[old Rusty C10]

Originally Posted by cjracing15

The reason for the buckets in the ambulances is that they had a BIG console for the radios, sirein box, lights, etc. that went between the seats.

And by the way my 83 is listed as a camper special on the rpo list so it is a long wheel base truck with a ambulance bed on it. I am going to take the bed off and put a dooley bed back on it..

exactly they did come from the factory that way tho its the same seats as pictured above.. there was no door into the ambulance part they had a slider window with a rubber sleeve into the body so the front and back could talk
the pickup cab on that was the same as the regular pickup..this i know cause weve swapped one of them onto a regular frame therefore they used the factory seat from the blazer or burb with the pickup seat tracks that were new for the truck in the 81-91 years or however long they used that style cab for the ambulance

[bigblock73]

Bottom line, you could not get buckets seats in a PICKUP thru 1987 from the assembly line, Bruce confirmed this...so they stopped prior to that sometime. Am am pretty sure it was in the early 80's they stopped...thought it was 82, could be 83. They did use high back buckets until 91 in the Blazers and Suburbans.

I am also pretty sure GM didn't produce the ambulance bodies (the back half) or the ambulances themselves. My guess is that they were created by other companies or coach builders (who could have added bucket seats as part of the build)...they just started with a cab and chassis model.

If anyone here has a ambulance with buckets, we could have them look at their glove box or RPO sheet to confirm whether or not they came in the cab from GM.

[cjracing15]

If anyone here has a ambulance with buckets, we could have them look at their glove box or RPO sheet to confirm whether or not they came in the cab from GM.[/QUOTE]

I will be at dads tomarow and I will see if I can get a good pic of the rpo sheet. I am curious to see if my truck came from the factory with the bucket seats or not.

[75gmc454]

Sometime this weekend I am going to ask if he will sell the seats or the whole truck. The truck was an old car hauler and it still runs.

Sorry you need to be a subscriber for want to buy parts.
oldiron
forum staff

[cjracing15]

Originally Posted by cjracing15

If anyone here has a ambulance with buckets, we could have them look at their glove box or RPO sheet to confirm whether or not they came in the cab from GM.

Well I forgot the dang camera saturday, I looked at the build sheets that are on the inner fenders there was two of them. One said it came with a bench seat, the other stated that (option # 6K8 SEAT BUCKET TYPE) The vin# for the truck is
1GBHC34W7DV121650

The two build sheets I have never seen this before but it maybe common I don't know. I will try to get pics this week. I put the camera is in the truck so I want forget it next time.

[cjracing15]

Well here are the pics as promised. The seats in the pic are the ones I pulled out of it. I wish you could see the build sheets a little better. But if you look hard you can see in the small pic that it says on the second line SEAT BUCKET TYPE.