Seven Things to Consider Before Retrofitting Bucket Seats
Lately it seems every car owner wants to swap his front bench seat for two buckets, or upgrade his existing bucket seats to a more stylish, comfortable or sporty set.
To a lot of folks, the swap sounds easy: simply unbolt the old seat and bolt in the new one. But auto upholsterers know that retrofits are rarely that simple. In fact, most require a lot of careful planning.
To help make the process smoother, we identified 7 factors to consider before agreeing to swap a customer’s seats. Overlook any one of these factors and you might just find yourself in a bind.
1. Should you buy OEM or aftermarket?
Although the aftermarket offers a wide range of seating options, often times the better choice is an OEM set from a donor vehicle. In addition to the superb engineering and structural integrity of OEM seats, their parts are also more readily available – which makes repairs quick and comparatively inexpensive. If you buy seats from a salvage yard, they’re also likely to cost less. Just make sure they’re in good working condition before making the purchase.
