Re-lubricating seat tracks.

[1Bad55Chevy]

Went out to the country today to sandblast those seat bases so I checked out the '62 parts car while there, same as lees, rearmost position and only 1 welded nut per corner. Now to hijack; I thought the seats were '61 in that car, however it has a tag inside the seat back with a '62 part no. It is a Dec, 18 build.DSCF9331.JPGDSCF9328.JPGThe data plate shows a special order numberDSCF9332.JPG

We need to set up a zoom walk through of these parts cars. How many do you have?

[frasern]

Lee, that data plate was used in '61, I have never seen one on a '62, but I guess it was a running change somewhere. Both my '62s and the '63 reflect what is shown in this '63 supplement. It also states that DSO would not be used in '62, but special orders would appear in that spot, and the number on mine is four digits, something I have not seen on another.

With my lack of computer skill, Zoom aint gonna happen, but here is a shot of the Lincoln parts cars (5) from about a week ago. We had an overnight hoar frost, an ice fog that just sticks to everything. It is only a couple of degrees below freezing, but sure looks a lot colder.

[Lee]

I could have sworn mine was a gold plate (it isn’t, I just looked), and I found that gold 62 plate online. Anyway, it looks like they did a running change sometime in 62, and then by 63 had gone back to gold (which isn’t what is shown in the supplement)

[papawayne]

No, Maine is in Canada, too. Just look at a map. Wayne

[frasern]

An update on this, it did not go as well as I had hoped. Turns out, there are little discs at the bottom of the adjusters, I saw the bump and poked at it a bit and thought it was just part of the housing, but it's not, and they wash out in the parts washer! Well, I got most of them back, and I have another set of tracks for parts, so that saved my ... .

DSCF9392.JPG (33.54 KiB) Viewed 149 times

(disc pictured above housing, it seats in the hole, barely visible, in the bottom)

I was more careful with the '62 seat (I did them for both cars).
Then, when testing, the '67 seat has not enough power to lift me, it will lift front or back, but not both.

(Finished track, note routing of cables means the rear actuators turn in the opposite direction as they do with a bench seat)

l tried the motor from the other tracks and it is about the same, however the '62 track has lots of power. So today, I took one of the later motors apart (as stated earlier, the '62 motor is a little different). The motor is a little dirty, and the commutator glazed, but I found a bare spot on a wire inside, it looks like it was a little out of place and rubbed.

(Bare spot can be seen where black wire was sitting on that bump, I guess it should have been pushed in a little farther)

I should be able to get this motor to work, but still have 2 others if needed. Question for the readers, I would prefer to remove the fields and add some heat shrink on that wire, but would a little "brush on" insulation work? It would be easier.

[Lee]

Nice thread, Fraser. I did mine over 10 years ago, but I still have to occasionally whack the solenoids to get the direction I want.
I don’t know what brand you’re considering, but I can tell you “Corona Dope” works great for old CRT high voltage wiring. That’s the only stuff I’ve ever used.

[frasern]

I will see if I can find something like that here, but really don't even know where to look, I miss radio shack. Can I clean it with solvent, or should I use something milder?
The solenoids seem fine on the bucket, but on the '62 it sticks "on" a bit, when I try to raise the front, both raise for just a bit before the rear releases. Not a big deal, but I think one of the solenoid springs may be weak, I may try installing the spares.

[Lee]

Well, Amazon, but I’m not sure if that works in your neck of the woods. If you want a safe solvent, use naphtha (lighter fluid). It won’t dissolve the enamel or shellac field and armature wire insulation.

[tomo]

This is pretty late to the game, but I want to add my thought about the lube.

Lubriplate tends to harden after a few years, so I stopped using it back in the 1980's. I was using a synthetic lube used on electric typewriters until Syl-glide came to my attention. I used it on my Mercury seat tracks and window regulators back in 2003 and it has shown NO signs of hardening and still looks like it is lubricating the rollers and track on the seats.

The newer version of Lubriplate may have eliminated the hardening that I saw back in the 1980's, but my choice would still be the Syl-glide as it seem to keep the lubricating film where it is needed better than Lubriplate did when I used it.

Here is where I get the lube:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?te ... referer=v2

[frasern]

Thanks Tom, I can't get that link to work, but I think it's on my end. (Edit, working now). Syl Glide is what I had read in other threads, I asked about it by name at the local Napa, and they had never heard of it. Anyway, it's done now and it should outlast me.
Actually, the grease in the actuators was still pretty good in the 66 and 68 tracks, a bit dry in the 62s, but the transmissions needed re-greasing. Our climate doesn't dry things out the way the southern climates do.

[frasern]

I went a different way with the motor, just took the one off my 3rd set of tracks. it works better, but still weak, I took the 2nd motor apart and it is great inside, so I'm starting to think the switch needs to be cleaned inside. Not going to fuss too much for now as it is functioning good enough,
On another note, the bucket seat fits using those extra holes that I welded nuts into, so I have an inch more legroom. Really not needed, but I can tell it's a little roomier, and I rather like the option of putting it back there if I want.

[TonyC]

Oh, that sounds neat. I'm hoping the extensions I bought a year or so ago can do that with my front seat. I still have not installed those, because I wanted to wait for the time that I can get my seats reupholstered; but now I'm toying with the idea of redoing the carpeting first, which will involve removal of the front seats. At the same time I'll want to do repairs to the tracks, so that will be the time for me to add those extensions.

---Tony

[frasern]

Tony, I may have decent used green carpets if you want, driver quality, but no holes. No charge but the shipping, let me know if you want pictures.

[TonyC]

O, wow...! Yes, do send me pictures! I haven't yet committed to the E-Bay listing I'm following; so if you do have good carpeting salvaged, that'd be great!

---Tony

[frasern]

See for sale pages for pictures.