1982 Ford LTD-S 351W Police Car

[Brown_Muscle]

Seats came today! Quality and color match is excellent.



As far as the engine- I'd get it bored. There are so many variables that could cause the engine not to last. My core didn't even have a perceivable lip, but was .005 out of spec, so it got bored. My machinist said "you can have a 20K mile rebuild, or a 100K+ mile rebuild, it's up to you."

Good call gadget, makes it easy with the cover off

[87gtVIC]

Very Nice.

[gadget73]

Was it out of round, oversized, or tapered? Oversized but straight isn't the end of the world but out of round or tapered doesn't seal well at all.

[Quincy]

I'm good with 20K miles of hammering the dog-$#! out of it! This is "low buck" my friend (or at least it's supposed to be! ). I respect your no-holds barred build just the same. Bore is round and no significant taper, by the way.

[86VickyLX]

Good point Thain, I was going to check clearances beforehand as I remember him telling me about that. I'll eventually be using a Holley hyperspark distributor. not sure about clearances on that one

You will have to check the length of the shaft past the gear to determine if you will have issues. I have enough TFI distributors that we can easily see if you will have a clearance issue.

[Brown_Muscle]

I got the seat sliders/brackets from Jaywish (thanks again!) and made the adapter brackets today. Welded threaded studs (3/8" course) and measured and drilled holes. Dave- for your reference the bottom of the seats have several holes to choose from, I actually used the extra bolts I had from the brake caliper slider bolts, which are M8-1.25x25. The seats come with 4 allen head bolts, but I used these because they are easier to use and have a flange. I could have also just used two separate pieces, but decided to weld them all together for extra strength/ease of install

I have all the mounting points except for one. It's just an unthreaded hole (see pictures). I have to decide what I want to do with this, I'm considering just welding in a stud.

I also have to figure out how to mount the power switches, both sides are power, so I need to figure out how to tie them into power as well. I'm hoping to do it in a factory like manner.

[jaywish]

It would be nice if someone had a harness around on a scrapper.

[sly]

I wish they made the seats in red velour.

[87gtVIC]

Nice Phil. Looks very straight forward.

For the one mounting hole not present can you just tap the hole for a bolt?

Looking forward to how it all comes together for you.

[Mainemantom]

Are you planning to use the seat mounted switches with the chrome trim that was used on box CV/MGM ? Are you looking for the whole wiring assembly or the switches and the foot long wiring that comes with the switches ?

[Brown_Muscle]

Sly- I bet you could get them to make it in red velour...but it would cost you.

Dave- I suppose I could, the other side has an oval nut underneath it is attached to, but it's harder to get below on this one

Tom-Yes I am, MustangEddie is actually getting some out of his parts car for me, wiring and all. I know they mount inside the seat normally, so I'm not sure how far out it will stick if I mount it below the seat itself..Ill find out when i get the switch. Based on pictures I've found, I may have a power wire already running beneath the drivers seat

[87gtVIC]

Sly- I bet you could get them to make it in red velour...but it would cost you.

Dave- I suppose I could, the other side has an oval nut underneath it is attached to, but it's harder to get below on this one

Tom-Yes I am, MustangEddie is actually getting some out of his parts car for me, wiring and all. I know they mount inside the seat normally, so I'm not sure how far out it will stick if I mount it below the seat itself..Ill find out when i get the switch. Based on pictures I've found, I may have a power wire already running beneath the drivers seat

You can mount the seat switched where ever you see fit if the factory way does not look visually appealing once mocked up.

When converted my passenger side power seat I made up the bracket that holds the switches so it would fit like OEM (as I did not pull the bracket from the junkyard) Surely you can do something similar.

[Brown_Muscle]

So a couple complications that I learned to fix the hard way.

1: the seat makes you sit higher than stock ones. My hair was brushing the head liner when i sat up straight. I have a tall torso, so I sit higher than most people my height (5' 9"). I cut the mounting tabs/feet of the brackets, and re-welded them on. This lowered it about 1/2", which was enough.

2: If you make the seat mounting holes line up with track holes, the seat will be a bit farther forward than I like. I had to drill another set of holes, putting it back another 1/2", but I could have made it 1-1.5" farther back if i had known from the beginning, so if you are making a bracket, be sure to make the seat sit farther back on the brackets.

3: I shouldn't have gotten the lumbar support. its not really necessary and it made the bottom seat bulge a bit more than comfortable. so I removed it

But it looks pretty good!:

[87gtVIC]

Passengers side will go smoother for you now. lol

Bummer on the lumbar deal. Seat looks fantastic sitting in there. You say it looks good...are you happy with it? I think it turned out really nice.

[Brown_Muscle]

I am, it's hard to be 100% happy with it until all the work is completely done lol, but it looks like it potentially could have been factory...if you aren't used to cars from that era. I took it for a test drive, and it really holds me in, i'm much more confident going into corners, as I'm not thrashed side to side (I drive "spiritedly"). I feel like I'm sitting in a more modern vehicle. I just need to get the power features working and bolt in the other seat, and I can order the center console.

Oh, it looks like I CAN tap that 4th hole, Currently the seat's only bolted in 3 places. Seems to be M10 size bolt/nut.