65 bucket seat lower trim

[65VerdeGS]

Does anyone know where I can obtain the piece of trim that is affixed to the 4-way power seat frame for my '65?

 

This skinny piece of trim (presumably plastic?) was there to hide the steel tracks, giving a more finished appearance to the seat.  Here's a photo taken from a contemporary British road test review of the 65.  I inserted the red arrow to show the piece of trim I'm talking about:

 

So, where can I get this piece?  And, was a similar trim installed on the lower outside of the passenger bucket seat?  I don't see screw holes for one there, so I suspect a similar trim wasn't used on the passenger side.

 

Thanks for your help in tracking down this little item.

 

 

[1965rivgs]

Hi Alex,

  There were actually several pieces of trim on the drivers seat. There are 2 pieces which wrap around the side. 1 piece stays attached to the power unit and the other piece attaches to brackets which are captured under the seat bolts, and therefore, moves with the seat while tilting the seat up. There are also individual pieces which cover the seat brackets/pedestals. 

  I`ll see if I can dig up a picture.

  Tom

[pyntre]

I have the drivers seat brackets on eBay now item # 332301854685 ... sold all the plastics a few months back ...that is some extremely thin fragile plastic to work with !!!!! 

[65VerdeGS]

On 4/20/2018 at 7:11 AM, pyntre said:

I have the drivers seat brackets on eBay now item # 332301854685 ... sold all the plastics a few months back ...that is some extremely thin fragile plastic to work with !!!!! 

 

HI Pyntre,

 

Can you confirm the eBay item number for the seat brackets? 

When I entered # 332301854685 into the search box it comes back with zero results. 

I tried searching for both active and completed listings with the same zero result outcome. 

Can you help?  

Thanks,

[65VerdeGS]

On 4/19/2018 at 5:22 PM, 1965rivgs said:

Hi Alex,

  There were actually several pieces of trim on the drivers seat. There are 2 pieces which wrap around the side. 1 piece stays attached to the power unit and the other piece attaches to brackets which are captured under the seat bolts, and therefore, moves with the seat while tilting the seat up. There are also individual pieces which cover the seat brackets/pedestals. 

  I`ll see if I can dig up a picture.

  Tom

Hi Tom,

 

Yes, it would be great if you could post a photo of the pieces that attach to the bottom of the power seat.  It would be good to know which pieces are needed so I can scrounge them up.  Might you have some of them?

Thanks again,

 

 

[pyntre]

332301854685 

ebay listing I have for trim brackets ...

[65VerdeGS]

1 hour ago, pyntre said:

332301854685 

ebay listing I have for trim brackets ...

Got it!

 

So I take it the only thing I'd be missing is the plastic piece(s) that are attached to the two metal trim brackets??   

 

Anyone have a photo or illustration showing these power seat plastic trim pieces, and how they are attached to the brackets under the seat?

 

Thanks,

[pyntre]

The passenger side plastics attach to the seat track itself with little plastic push pins , silver colored , tiny little things . And the drivers is pretty hard to describe without a photo I am afraid ,, I would confuse you and myself if I tried to explain it . The  drivers side has the two brackets I have on eBay that bolt to the seat track , sandwiched between the seat track and bottom of seat frame ... somewhere in my 8000 pictures I have a photo of how they were positioned ,,, 

[1965rivgs]

Hi Alex,

  Attached you will find a photo. I also found a factory parts book photo but it was missing some of the pieces so a photo of the actual components will be easier to understand.

  There are 2 pieces on the left side of the seat and 2 pieces on the right. On each side one piece moves with the seat bottom and the other piece stays affixed to the power unit or lower track. As the seat tilts up and down one piece stays stationary and the other moves with the seat, like the blades move relative to one another in a pair of scissors. This maintains a "screen" which hides the power unit no matter where the seat tilt is positioned.

  I also included in the photo the trim pieces for the passenger seat.

  I did a little research project on these years ago and was surprised to find there are significant differences from year to year. There are differences in terms of the actual shape of the pieces, the locations where the retainer pins are placed and therefore the shape of the brackets which the pieces are affixed to. In addition, the molded pattern in the plastic is different. It is rather subtle but the `63-`64 cars have a "seville" grain and the `65 pieces have a "madrid" grain.

  As to the pics, the first pic has the left hand pieces separated from each other for clarity and the second pic displays how the parts interact when installed. Also, the long piece on the right may have the end in the foreground broken off. This piece ALWAYS breaks when removing and I have to wonder why Buick bothered installing it. Because it is sandwiched between the seat and the console, it is barely visible, even when intentionally looking for it. Honestly, I probably wouldnt bother re-installing it.

  Hope this helps, it took me quite awhile examining cars and making comparisons to get these details sorted out and to provide accurate info.

  In terms of availability, we can exchange PM`s,

  Tom

Edited April 24, 2018 by 1965rivgs (see edit history)

[1965rivgs]

  As an addendum to my previous post, there is also a removable bracket for the inside left hand front mount. This bracket is never missing as it is not necessary to remove it for any reason. The brackets for the left hand outer trim are often missing because they are secured by the bolts which fasten the seat bottom to the track, so when someone removes the seat from the power unit the brackets go astray.

Have fun!

Tom

[pyntre]

Those are awesome pictures of the seat plastics and brackets !!! Is there a picture data base kinda place on ROA for all these unique , hard to find informational pictures to be stored and accessed ???? 

[65VerdeGS]

7 hours ago, 1965rivgs said:

  As an addendum to my previous post, there is also a removable bracket for the inside left hand front mount. This bracket is never missing as it is not necessary to remove it for any reason. The brackets for the left hand outer trim are often missing because they are secured by the bolts which fasten the seat bottom to the track, so when someone removes the seat from the power unit the brackets go astray.

Have fun!

Tom

 

Hi Tom,

 

Thanks so much for researching this unexpectedly complex area of 1st Gen restoration.

 

You've earned your "ROA Technical Advisor of the Year" award with this one post!  

 

I''ll PM you shortly.  

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

[Turbinator]

On 4/24/2018 at 9:55 AM, 1965rivgs said:

Hi Alex,

  Attached you will find a photo. I also found a factory parts book photo but it was missing some of the pieces so a photo of the actual components will be easier to understand.

  There are 2 pieces on the left side of the seat and 2 pieces on the right. On each side one piece moves with the seat bottom and the other piece stays affixed to the power unit or lower track. As the seat tilts up and down one piece stays stationary and the other moves with the seat, like the blades move relative to one another in a pair of scissors. This maintains a "screen" which hides the power unit no matter where the seat tilt is positioned.

  I also included in the photo the trim pieces for the passenger seat.

  I did a little research project on these years ago and was surprised to find there are significant differences from year to year. There are differences in terms of the actual shape of the pieces, the locations where the retainer pins are placed and therefore the shape of the brackets which the pieces are affixed to. In addition, the molded pattern in the plastic is different. It is rather subtle but the `63-`64 cars have a "seville" grain and the `65 pieces have a "madrid" grain.

  As to the pics, the first pic has the left hand pieces separated from each other for clarity and the second pic displays how the parts interact when installed. Also, the long piece on the right may have the end in the foreground broken off. This piece ALWAYS breaks when removing and I have to wonder why Buick bothered installing it. Because it is sandwiched between the seat and the console, it is barely visible, even when intentionally looking for it. Honestly, I probably wouldnt bother re-installing it.

  Hope this helps, it took me quite awhile examining cars and making comparisons to get these details sorted out and to provide accurate info.

  In terms of availability, we can exchange PM`s,

  Tom

Tom, Thank you for your notes on The 63 having Seville grain dashtop while the 64/65 have the Madrid grain dashtop, I’m installing a Palco dashtop in my 63. The original dash pad was very smooth and brittle. I guess time made the original dash cover fade and appear very smooth. It is entirely possible I removed a recover. If, my dash pad was a recover they did an outstanding job putting on the replacement. I removed the old cover and it took a couple hours to get the cover off.

i wanted to preserve the foam but get a tighter fit for the replacement cover.

The plastic filler pieces on the extreme left and right sides on the dash appear to be the Madrid grain texture. I checked my package tray and the texture on the tray is smooth. I’ll get some up close pics of the old dash texture.

im in mind to lightly sand the Madrid pebbles and prime the cover with primer paint for plastic. Have paint matched to the original faded red and go in that direction.

Thank you for your help.

REDRiviera Bob

[Turbinator]

Tom, here are some pics of my old dash cover material and the brand new dashtop I got from Palco. It appears BOTH are Madrid! My car is a 63 Riviera. One finish is shiny while the other is flat. Interesting.

RRB

Edited November 19, 2018 by Red Riviera Bob
Forgot to add pics (see edit history)

[RockinRiviDad]

Wow! Great work Tom. Thank U! This info clears up a lot. 

 

Years ago I acquired the smaller square pieces that cover the seat mount bracket & bolts. I still don’t know which one goes where or how to position them. Maybe U or someone can post a pic of these mounted on the car. 🙏🏼

 

 

I recently discovered & purchased two left side driver seat bottom pieces. A buddy was looking for one also. So I bought two. 

 

A question I had was made clear when Tom explained that there are significant differences in the 3 years. I must have two different year pieces? U can see one end of one I have is wider than the other. And I’ve tried to line the holes up on the seat with the holes on the plastic pieces & they don’t match on my 65. So do I have 63/64 pieces 🤔??

 

Lots of good info. I did not know there was two pieces to the left side. Nor did I know there were right side pieces.

 

Question of the day: 

Are these now the new “unobtainable” Riviera parts? Haha

 

 

[Pat Curran]

They are hard to come by.  The good thing is they can be painted to match the color you need.  Take your interior color code to an old body shop supply/paint store and they can match it.