Is there an easy way to un-twist the driver's seat?

[Ragzz]

I had the seats reupholstered and they look great apart from the gangster lean on the driver's side.
Stupid me... I assumed the shop would twist the frame back into the straight position. They did not.
I want to avoid taking the seat apart. I've tried simply untwisting it but worried something will just crack or break.
Just curious to know if there's a simple way to do it.
thanks

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Gangsta lean! I love it!!! And now I finally know what the song meant by "Digging the scene with a gangster lean."

OK, time to get serious. Is it possible your seats are reversed left to right, or at least the frames are? I did this by mistake on one of my spiders, and the seats did lean, but in the outward direction. Digging the scene with anti-gangster lean...?

-Bryan

[Ragzz]

Hehe.
It's possible they've been flipped. But I don't think so.

[scrapironchef]

The gangsta' lean was a feature on earlier models, especially the 79's like mine. Later models supposedly did not have the problem but years of reaching back and pulling the top up takes it toll. The true fix for the earlier seats requires stripping down the frames, straightening them and welding in supports. Simply twisting them back straight will merely weaken them further.

[geospider]

Ok, nothing to do with the seat or our cars... but "Gangsta Lean", great song by The Gourds that everyone should know.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... tion=click

geo

and BTW did the same. new seat upholstery and still a little lean.

[wetminkey]

You can 'un-twist' it, but that'll not fix it,...
See "Seat back repair", below,...

[Ragzz]

ugh... I know. I know. I have to disassemble, remove everything, untwist, weld to reinforce, then reassemble.
ok then... Gangsta it is for one more summer.
thanks everyone.

[Odoyle]

I just did this exact job in Feb, had 79 seats recovered, find driver side is twisted bad. Some one had been there before, they welded in some supports that look like it tweaked it even worse. Had to find a straight original back from an forum member. Replacing the back worked like a charm, was concerned about removing skins and reinstalling but was not difficult, infact I ending up fixing things my upholstery guy missed.

[wetminkey]

Yeah, that fracture, midframe, would require a plate to be welded across the lower part of the seatframe. Mine required the same, due to multiple fractures, smaller than that one.
In addition to my seatframe needing repair, my pass. seat needed straightening (did that without reinforcing it), all of my seat buns (foam) needed repairs, and my upholstery was original and needed replacement. Easy decision.
Tough to hand over the bucks for the seatframe repair - but I guarantee that it will NOT twist again! The repair was worth the dollars spent! No driver's seatframe cores were available,...
And I was able to do all of the rest, myself. For very little money,...
I found a great place for upholstery, online, that costs about half the usual prices,...
Best of luck with that damn 'gangsta lean'! I hated mine,...

[Ragzz]

That repair looks amazing. Nicely done.
I will need to do the same. I think that will be my project this winter.

[SteinOnkel]

There is a way, but it's not for the faint of heart. Remove the backrest from the seat. Lay it on a concrete curb or step (maybe put some towels down to protect your nice new upholstery) and put your body weight onto it in the opposite direction of the lean.

Worked great on my '78 seats. You have to apply some force, obviously. And if your seatback breaks, then you have to take it apart and weld it.

[wetminkey]

I assume that you have seen my thread "Seat back repair" in this section,...
I was able to straighten my seatback myself, but I knew that it would never stay that way, as fractured as the metal was,...and driver's side. Please see the pics,...
Chris Obert did the repairs and bracing.
Now, you could open the top from this seat all you want, and it will not bend, or break! Excellent work,...