New seats ...Another question

[Bigbad1]

Don't know if anyone can help me but here goes. My 1995 Buick Riviera was recently totaled in a parking lot by a drunk driver. My work let me take the 1997 Lumina 3.1 4 door to use. I insured and registered it and it runs great. Problem is the front seats are shot and I called numerous places and no one has a pair. One junkyard told me the only difference between GM seats from those years are the way the tracks bolt to the floor. Older cars have 4 bolts and newer cars have 2 bolts in back and a front hinge that secures the seat. He told me I could use newer Impala seats and all I would have to do is unbolt the track from my seats and put them on the impala seats and they will bolt right in. He claims all GM seats , even the buckets and split bench in front can interchange tracks because all the seats have the same bolt pattern, it's just the bottom tracks that secure the seat to the floorpan that is different. Could this be true because I found a 2002 Impala with the same color split front bench in flawless condition and if all I have to do is switch tracks Ill buy them right now. Thanks for any help.

Bigbad1

Sorry I had to edit this , My lumina has cloth bucket seats in the front that touch each other. Not a split bench. Sorry.

Edited January 10, 2015 by Bigbad1

[GOT2B GM]

I'm not sure about the track to seat bolt patterns being all the same, but any front seats from 88-96 first gen w-bodies should fit your 1.5 gen 1997 lumina

[Bigbad1]

Thanks for the reply. I went to a junkyard and looked at their crash book and it says I can use up to a 2002 Monte Carlo front seat set-up. Then if you go to the Monte Carlo section of the crashbook it says you can use any w body platform car in the Monte. Very confusing. The only reason I'd like to get a newer seat is the ones I find out of 88-96's are worse then what i have now. I heard that all I have to do is exchange the tracks and it will fit right in but when i ask the people who tell me this if they've ever done it they say no, so who really knows. Anyway thanks for the info.

[Nas Escobar]

For some reason, I have this odd feeling I know who might have told you this information, but it might just be a coincidence.

 

So here's how this works... There's 2 answers to your question. There's the simple one and there's the really long one that will give you a headache.

 

Short and simple: No. Nothing other than another Lumina seat will bolt on to your Lumina's floor pan. You can use a 88-97 1G W in your Lumina because the chassis is the same however some major mechanical parts were upgraded (like the suspension, the Lumina and Monte Carlo use coil springs, the earlier W cars use a monoleaf). 96 was the last year for the Grand Prix and Regal but 97 was the last year for the Cutlass Supreme. 75% of the parts interchange.

 

Long and complicated answer: Yes any seat from any car can be interchanged no matter what the brand the donor car or the receiving car is. I've seen 03-06 GTO seats in Aleros, Tiburon seats in Chevelles, Monte Carlo seats in Corvairs. Anything is possible. How skilled are you is the real question. These extreme seat swaps do require the use of a drill and maybe the fabrication of an adapter. You also need to know how to measure. There's 3 basic ways to adapt a seat from another car into your current car.

 

 

• Drill holes onto the floorpan of the car to accommodate the new seat frame
  
• Drill holes onto the seat frame to accommodate your car's holes OR drill holes onto your seat's bucket to accommodate the holes of your old frame (or the reverse where you drill new holes into the old frame)
  
• Make adapters that keep the new frame with the seat but use the stock holes.
  

 

The easiest way in my opinion would be for you to drill new holes into the old frame to accommodate the new seat. There is a forum member on here that has swapped 2005 Monte Carlo seats into his 97 Monte Carlo. He states that you can do it by using 2 factory holes and making 2 new holes. The other way to do it if the seat frames between a 1g and a 2g are the same SIZE in WIDTH is to dremel off the hook that hinges into the floorpan of a 2g and drill holes where the 1G's holes are. The rear holes are bigger than the 1g so you will need washers to make the stock 8mm bolts fit the 15mm or so bolt holes of the 2G.

 

Also, there is such thing as too wide seats and too narrow seats. The 1G w's have more in common with the last gen N bodies WIDTH wise whereas the 2G's are similar to the full sized G/H cars that your Riviera was based on. So in theory you can use Grand AM or Alero seats BUT they will have to be adapted.

 

Another option is to go to bucket seats. AFAIK, the floor does have accommodations for bucket seat frames all you have to do is swap them in. The Lumina did get Recaro seats in 9C1 option (Cop car) so that is another idea you can pursue, and use a 95-99 Monte Carlo center console to fill the gap.

[l67ss]

To use gen 2 w seats in a gen 1 you gotta drill 2 holesin the seat bottom. And enlarge the rear 2 holes. Im the guy with 05 monte seats in a 97.........I also hav 02 grand am gt seats in my other 97 monte lol. 95-01 luminas had a split bench that uses the same tracks as a bucket seat 95-99 monte/lumina

[l67ss]

Don't know if anyone can help me but here goes. My 1995 Buick Riviera was recently totaled in a parking lot by a drunk driver. My work let me take the 1997 Lumina 3.1 4 door to use. I insured and registered it and it runs great. Problem is the front seats are shot and I called numerous places and no one has a pair. One junkyard told me the only difference between GM seats from those years are the way the tracks bolt to the floor. Older cars have 4 bolts and newer cars have 2 bolts in back and a front hinge that secures the seat. He told me I could use newer Impala seats and all I would have to do is unbolt the track from my seats and put them on the impala seats and they will bolt right in. He claims all GM seats , even the buckets and split bench in front can interchange tracks because all the seats have the same bolt pattern, it's just the bottom tracks that secure the seat to the floorpan that is different. Could this be true because I found a 2002 Impala with the same color split front bench in flawless condition and if all I have to do is switch tracks Ill buy them right now. Thanks for any help.

Bigbad1

Sorry I had to edit this , My lumina has cloth bucket seats in the front that touch each other. Not a split bench. Sorry.

 

For future reference ignore advice from that junkyard

[Nas Escobar]

For future reference ignore advice from that junkyard

That wasn't you telling him that?

[l67ss]

That wasn't you telling him that?

 

nah lol

[primergray]

Not sure if that would be true for W-bodies, but it's true for F-body (and/or N-body) seats in G-bodies...just use the tracks from the old seats. It was and may still be true about the split bench vs bucket seats.

[Nas Escobar]

Not sure if that would be true for W-bodies, but it's true for F-body (and/or N-body) seats in G-bodies...just use the tracks from the old seats. It was and may still be true about the split bench vs bucket seats.

 

N bodies have the same set up as 2G W bodies. I think it's the J body that can interchange. I see a lot of older stuff with J body seats.

[Bigbad1]

Thanks for your reply. I would rather go with the short and simple but all the older seats from 1997 are worse than what I've got. I'll keep trying to find some decent seats from either a Lumina or up to a 2002 Monte. Even the Monet Carlo seats I've seen are garbage and broken up. Who is hiding all the good seats for these lumina's???

[Bigbad1]

I think the junkyard guys are just trying to give me hope..........

[Bigbad1]

I'm going to take my seats out and take them to the junkyard so I can see if all this info about the tracks and interchange and stuff really works. Kills me because the car outside is great, runs perfect , ice cold air, hot heat, but for some reason the people who used it destroyed the front seats. Everyone on here, thanks for your input and help.

[Nas Escobar]

Thanks for your reply. I would rather go with the short and simple but all the older seats from 1997 are worse than what I've got. I'll keep trying to find some decent seats from either a Lumina or up to a 2002 Monte. Even the Monet Carlo seats I've seen are garbage and broken up. Who is hiding all the good seats for these lumina's???

 

Well, do you want bench seats? Because you can convert it to bucket seats and get the center console in.

 

Also, just so you know...

 

1G Lumina 1990-1994. This includes the famous Z34 coupe as well.

1.5 Lumina (aka 2nd gen) 1995-2001. 2000 and 2001 were fleet only. Recaro seats available in 1997+ in 9C1 cars.

1.5G Monte Carlo (AKA 5th gen MC) 1995-1999. 1999 was the last year for the coupe because it got a redesign with the then new Impala.

2G AKA 6th gen Monte Carlo 2000-2007. Some people consider the 2006 and 2007 their own line, but most of the car interchanges with the previous one.

 

2002 Monte Carlo seats basically make you get a power drill and other tools to retrofit.

 

BTW where are you located if I may ask? If you're near Maryland, there's a nice Lumina LTZ with nice seats at a yard near Baltimore.