Have you ever noticed that as a guy gets older he likes to add a few refinements to his car that just weren’t as important to him as when he was a kid? Take the interior for example. Instead of accepting a folding beach chair for a seat, with a floor shifter to grab onto in case the driver-side door flies open around a curve, a set of proper seats might prove more desirable. Such was the case for the ’70 Camaro seen gracing these pages. Its owner got tired of the worn-out Vette buckets he’d bootlegged in with homemade mounting brackets years earlier, and sought out a better solution.
Taking into consideration this street-driven Camaro is set up to double as a serious autocrosser, he looked for ergonomically designed lightweight seats that would hold him firm in place with deep bolsters. A quick trip to the pages of the Summit Racing catalog, and the answer was a pair of sport seats (PN SUM-CSUM4026 ) for under $500. For less money than what it would cost to reupholster one of the much heavier Corvette buckets, the Sport Seat Combo comes complete with everything needed, including two Scat seat mounting brackets, two Summit Racing bracket adapters, and the hardware necessary to bolt it all together.
[01] The first step was to...
[01] The first step was to remove the seat bolts and unplug the wiring. If one’s lucky, the stock seats have never been removed and the 5/16-18 threads holding the bucket seats to the floor are intact. In any case, it’s always a good practice to presoak the seat bolts with a good penetrating oil before removing.
Quoting partially from the Summit Racing catalog the seats have releases on either side of the upper back to allow quick forward tilting. The seat height is 37.5 inches with a width of 21.25 inches. The width across shoulders is 21.75 inches, and provide 2- and 3-inch shoulder harness openings at the top and bottom, respectively. The seat adjustment from front to rear provides 4.5 inches of travel.
Provided one dodges the few possible pitfalls we describe how to avoid in the following captions, installing Summit Racing’s Sport Seat Combo can be one of the easiest upgrades you’ll ever do to your car. Plus, as an added bonus, you can give your mom her aluminum folding beach chair back when you’re done.
[02] On this car, and with...
[02] On this car, and with many, it’s likely some of the threads will be stripped. We used a 5/16-18 thread chaser to make repairs. A worst-case scenario is having to weld in new anchor points (5/16-18 nuts) in place before proceeding.
[03] If the original GM seat...
[03] If the original GM seat bolts are good they can be reused. The non-OE bolts we removed were toast, so Grade 8 bolts, along with hardened flat and lock washers, were installed.
[04] Summit Racing includes...
[04] Summit Racing includes the hardware needed to attach the seat brackets to its bracket adapters. Note the square end of the bolt fits inside the seat base channel, preventing the bolt from turning.
[05] We then measured the...
[05] We then measured the boltholes on the seat brackets to determine which holes to attach the seat onto the floor brackets.
[06] This is how the brackets...
[06] This is how the brackets should look after it’s properly installed. To make it easier on you, we recommend tightening the nuts prior to installing the seats into the car.
[07] The same goes for the...
[07] The same goes for the bolts holding the seat brackets onto the floorpan; they need to be tight before the seats are installed.
[08] Now for the fun part;...
[08] Now for the fun part; we placed the sport seat inside the car and on top of the mounting bracket.
[09] Take note, the front...
[09] Take note, the front bolts were installed first and were left loose enough to jiggle the seat around. We then moved onto installing the rear bolts.
[10] A little light goes a...
[10] A little light goes a long to help locate the boltholes. We made sure the boltholes were in perfect alignment before tightening them completely. If there is too much resistance, be sure to back off and investigate; failure to do so can result in stripped threads.
[11] Pulling the top of the...
[11] Pulling the top of the seatback backward and prying upward from underneath the seat bracket with a pry bar (at the rear of the seat) worked well to help align the rear boltholes.
[12] The only problem we encountered...
[12] The only problem we encountered on either side during the installation was dealing with the boltholes in the floorpan. That said, pay special attention and check that the threads are in good shape before attempting to move forward.
[13] It’s a high-dollar look...
[13] It’s a high-dollar look for a lot less money than reupholstering the stock bucket seats, which can’t begin to offer the functionality of good driving seats. Summit Racing sport seats are interchangeable from side to side and weigh in at only 33 pounds each.