Hey there everybody.

As the joke goes, it was getting on into early July when a chill started entering the air around here...

Winter will be here before I know it, and that means parking the car and getting to those winter projects, assuming I can keep the garage warm enough.

This year, that means putting in a new interior. It's the one project I feel confident about doing all by myself. I did my current interior all by myself, just using old worn out whatever was on hand parts.

Except for the seats. The seats were brand new redone, I just got lucky and they were very close to what I was looking for.

The original theme I made for the Bluvair was kind of a beach idea. Blue with interior highlights of beige. You know sand on the seashore. The seats I found were bluish Gray highlighted in bronzish gold. Not exactly what was happening in the rest of the car, but close enough to only be noticed by fanatics like myself.

The other issue they have however, is that they are 1967 seats. I don't really care, but if I am going to be redoing the interior I might as well go whole hog.

What I'm proposing is trading with somebody out there who may have 65 or 66 seats, as I understand it they are practically identical, who would rather have 1967 seats.

Cost of shipping the seats is astronomical, it was $750 for me to get them out of Iowa the first time around, so I know that it won't be a cheap swap but it'd be cheaper for either of us than it would be to purchase and ship.

For this to work, your seats will need to be one of the marina blue interior shades, there were three or four slightly different ones over the two years from what I can tell from the Clark's catalogs. I'm not picky about which of those shades they are, as long as they are consistent.

I would also like them to be about the same condition as mine, which continue to be in very good shape. Pictures are attached, and if you have a desire for 1967 seats that aren't going into a 1967, I can include the brackets for you that I made in order to get them to fit into my 66. My solution means that pretty much any Corvair seat from one year could fit into another. As long as you're putting earlies into earlies and lates into lates.

Shall we dance?

EDIT: my apologies for the size of the photos, I know how to make them smaller but I forgot to attach them and I am in a hurry to get them on before my time runs out! These are pictures from when I first installed them. The significant difference between then and now is only that the driver's side has begun to fray on the cloth material, mostly due to the rubbing that comes from jumping in and out of the car. This is why I will accept seats that aren't perfect as you are getting some that are slightly imperfect.

Eric C. Player
Fargo, North Dakota
MEMBER: CORSA National, Central Coast CORSA, South Coast CORSA, Vintage CORSA, Sfba CORSA, and Great Plains Corvair Club.
THEN: 1965 Monza 110, Canary Yellow - 1965 Corsa 180 Turbo, Red - 1966 Monza 110, Purple - 1967 Monza 140, Red - 1966 500 110, Black; nicknamed "Shadow" - 1965 Monza 110, Camaro Yellow; nicknamed "Silver"
NOW: 1966 Corsa 180 Turbo, Blue; nicknamed "Bluvair"
---------------------------------------
"He cautioned me not to take notes. It would not have helped if I had, as he would start a paragraph with, 'It is therefore obvious. . .'
and go on from there to matters which may have been obvious to him and God but to no one else."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, character of Daniel B. Davis, 'The Door Into Summer.'



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2022 07:10AM by playerpage.

Sorry, I don't want to swap seats but I can offer some food for thought. Since you mentioned you're in Iowa and how chilly it can be there... You might want to consider a different seat than a stock 65-66. For example, a previous owner put modern heated seats in my car and clad them in period correct upholstery. The on/off switches are mounted on the kick panels so each seat is controlled by the person sitting in it. Works great for chilly Missouri mornings (like today). I wish I knew what the donor car was for these seats or who did the upholstery but it was very nicely done.
]

- Art in Missouri
'66 Monza Vert 110, 4SP, AC

Previous vairs:
63 Monza Coupe
66 Sport Sedan
66 Corsa (clone)
61 Loadside

Eric -

Did those seats come from Iowa? They sure look exactly like a set that a friend had made before he passed away, and was unable to use.


Eric P.
DeWitt, IA

isucorvair Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Eric -
>
> Did those seats come from Iowa? They sure look exactly like a set that a friend had made before he passed away, and was unable to use.
>


Edit - just re-read your post. They ARE the seats Marv had made. Wondered what happened to them. I bought almost all his other parts - but couldnt take those with me.
>
> Eric P.
> DeWitt, IA

Eric P, (That still turns my head, cuz I'm an Eric P as well. What's the P stand for?)

These must be the seats you're thinking of. I remember that they were advertised on eBay as having been built for somebody who never took possession of them because of a death. They are very well made, and I have no reason to get rid of them except for colors.
I was able to pick them up and make it work shipping them all the way out to California because my brother lives in Mount Vernon Iowa and was able to just go get them for me.

If I can't work out this trade I will keep them, cuz there's no better solution in terms of affordability and quality starting point. I suppose I could have them redone in blue, and it would still be cheaper than shipping something from somewhere else. If I do, I'll go vinyl because these cloth seats have shown their propensity for being rubbed off.

I honestly really like the look of the 67. I know I sound like I'm talking myself out of this, but I'm only establishing that if I can't make a trade for the seats that match my model year, I'll definitely hang on to these.

Eric C. Player
Fargo, North Dakota
MEMBER: CORSA National, Central Coast CORSA, South Coast CORSA, Vintage CORSA, Sfba CORSA, and Great Plains Corvair Club.
THEN: 1965 Monza 110, Canary Yellow - 1965 Corsa 180 Turbo, Red - 1966 Monza 110, Purple - 1967 Monza 140, Red - 1966 500 110, Black; nicknamed "Shadow" - 1965 Monza 110, Camaro Yellow; nicknamed "Silver"
NOW: 1966 Corsa 180 Turbo, Blue; nicknamed "Bluvair"
---------------------------------------
"He cautioned me not to take notes. It would not have helped if I had, as he would start a paragraph with, 'It is therefore obvious. . .'
and go on from there to matters which may have been obvious to him and God but to no one else."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, character of Daniel B. Davis, 'The Door Into Summer.'

Art,

That sounds fantastic, but it's a lot easier to buy them from a previous owner already installed in your car, then to do it yourself. And I'm trying to keep this as simple, inexpensive, and as close to my own skill set as possible.

Other Eric P -

The seats were done for Marv Hansen, of the Iowa Corvair Enthusiasts (and miniture pedal airplane fame).

Marv had them done for a 65 that he was turning into a 67. I know he had picked them up - I saw them at his house. Unfortunately, his stuff all went through an estate 'broker' - the person who put the seats on eBay after they didnt sell at an estate sale they had.

Unfortunately, the broker sold most of the Corvair parts to a scrapper (including NOS parts...). I bought parts directly from Marv, before he passed - but, he had a bunch of stuff he didnt show me, or I missed.


Eric P.
DeWitt, IA

Just an idea that will be a lot more expensive.

The Procar seats are the bomb and kinda easy.

They have track brackets specific to Corvair.

[www.summitracing.com]

Just to clarify things for you.
The '65 and '66 seats are NOT the same.
'65-'66 seats are built like a single wide Bench seat. (Flat, Wide and THICK.)
1967, introduced the Astro Bucket-seats.
The '68-'69 seats are almost identical to the '67 seats with the big exception (beside upholstery pattern) being the seat BACKS.
The backs of '67 seats are made of METAL, while the '68-'69 seat backs are PLASTIC.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
WA. state, 1 mile south of the Canadian border, I am not at the end of the world, but you can see it from here.

I find the stock 65 seats extremely uncomfortable. Several years ago I fixed some broken springs and replaced some of the padding thinking it would improve things, but it didn't. I feel like the seat back is constantly trying to fold by shoulders forward while sucking in my lower back. And the bottoms are very springy. Ken

Ken Henry, Rochester, NY USA
1965 Corvair Corsa
140 hp, 4 speed

These are the Procar Adjustable Lumbar seats. Very comfortable and fit perfectly. You will need to modify the Corvair adapter for the passenger side though....

Bob
Paso Robles, CA

Central Coast Corsa
1966 Corsa Turbo Convertible
1966 Corsa 140 Coupe

North Dakota Eric, Here is my take on seats. I've had mostly early model Corvairs & as you are probably aware of, my present car is a '65 Corsa. The most comfortable ones were the '61 Monza. ( '62 - '64 are probably the same.) I agree with what Ken Henry says ; the '65 seats are very uncomfortable. ( I call them 45 minute seats ). Here is what I want to do ; I have acquired a pair of '64 Monza seats that are recoverable for free. I want to order a new pair of "65 covers from Clarks, but have them made to the size & shape of '64's.My current covers are practically new & might be able to fit them to the '64 frames. The EM's are about one inch wider than late '65 /'66 ones. I'll do whatever it takes to make them fit the '65 interior.
That's my plan & I'm stickin to it. Doug Ward

Doug Ward
Orange, Calif.
65 Corsa 180, 64 Monza convertible, 61 Lakewood, 61 Monza





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2022 02:53PM by DOUG WARD.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. Very appreciated and thought provoking.

It has been a while since I sat in true 65-66 seats, and my most recent 1966 500 had the bench, which was fantastic, as far as I am concerned. I'd find another, if I thought my stick shift wasn't gonna be in the way.

I always assumed it would be. I guess it might not. But it looks like it.

I'd do it. I would.

Also, based on descriptions, I may have 68-69 seats. I believe that the backs of them are plastic.

Eric C. Player
Fargo, North Dakota
MEMBER: CORSA National, Central Coast CORSA, South Coast CORSA, Vintage CORSA, Sfba CORSA, and Great Plains Corvair Club.
THEN: 1965 Monza 110, Canary Yellow - 1965 Corsa 180 Turbo, Red - 1966 Monza 110, Purple - 1967 Monza 140, Red - 1966 500 110, Black; nicknamed "Shadow" - 1965 Monza 110, Camaro Yellow; nicknamed "Silver"
NOW: 1966 Corsa 180 Turbo, Blue; nicknamed "Bluvair"
---------------------------------------
"He cautioned me not to take notes. It would not have helped if I had, as he would start a paragraph with, 'It is therefore obvious. . .'
and go on from there to matters which may have been obvious to him and God but to no one else."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, character of Daniel B. Davis, 'The Door Into Summer.'



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2022 07:49AM by playerpage.

I’ve had the 68 style seats in two cars ver the years, kinda ok I suppose, my 64 Spyder seats are much better now that I’ve added the seat extenders.
The Proc Vintage seats that Phil pointed out seem to be right what we need for the early or late. There’s another seat on Amazon made by Smittybilt that kinda resembles the 914 seat that might be a good fit for a Crown. Only $120 so it might not be that quality of a seat ??

1964 Bill Thomas Monza Replica Racer
1964 Spyder Street Car
1998 Honda Prelude Dirt track car
1967 Crown V8 under construction
Mike Levine
Cumming Georgia
North of Atlanta

You know, maybe an administrator should change the name of this thread to something like "Looking for seat options."

I looked at the seats on Summit racing, and they do look really good. They actually are a lot cheaper than the option of reupholstering my own seats, maybe I could see what sort of colors are available.

Of course the real key will be whether or not they actually fit in the car anyway.

Eric C. Player
Fargo, North Dakota
MEMBER: CORSA National, Central Coast CORSA, South Coast CORSA, Vintage CORSA, Sfba CORSA, and Great Plains Corvair Club.
THEN: 1965 Monza 110, Canary Yellow - 1965 Corsa 180 Turbo, Red - 1966 Monza 110, Purple - 1967 Monza 140, Red - 1966 500 110, Black; nicknamed "Shadow" - 1965 Monza 110, Camaro Yellow; nicknamed "Silver"
NOW: 1966 Corsa 180 Turbo, Blue; nicknamed "Bluvair"
---------------------------------------
"He cautioned me not to take notes. It would not have helped if I had, as he would start a paragraph with, 'It is therefore obvious. . .'
and go on from there to matters which may have been obvious to him and God but to no one else."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, character of Daniel B. Davis, 'The Door Into Summer.'

BLUE!!!

[www.summitracing.com]

Sorry my friend, but...bleah.

I'd like to find this one in blue, otherwise I'll go with the beige. Like I said, it'll go with the beach theme.

[www.summitracing.com]

Do not care for the stock seats in my 63 for comfort.

Just picked these up for my wagon, oh so comfy and I like a seat the holds me in place when I whip thru corners.



-Tom


63' Monza Spyder Convertable (in process) MY Build Thread
62' Wagon rebuild MY Build Thread
65' Monza MY Build Thread
73' NovaSS 454 Big block (Sold)
86' BMW 325es
67' UltraVan 211 "Violet"
NFCC, UMCC
Grand Island, NY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2022 01:46PM by toms73novass.

Tom---source?