Removing SeatsRemoving Front Seats:M-body front seat frames have studs that go through the floor which are secured by nuts/washers that screw on to them. The studs are permanently mounted in the seat frames and cannot be easily removed.
Cop car bucket seats will have four studs/nuts per seat, as will the cloth or leather "split bench" type seats found in Fifth Avenues and some Diplomats and Gran Furys. Full bench seats (usually found in taxi packages and some police cars) will have only two studs on each side.
The threads on the seat studs are usually clogged up with years of grease, rust, undercoating and gunk. Trying to remove the nuts without cleaning off the stud threads will almost guarantee that the studs will snap off. Use a fine wire brush to clean off the threads, then spray them liberally with WD-40 or PB Blaster and brush them again. If the nut becomes difficult to turn, STOP. Clean the threads again with the wire brush and liberal doses of WD-40 or PB Blaster, then carefully work the nut off.
Power front seats have a wire connector under each seat that must be disconnected. The "split bench" seats can be removed by one person. The full bench seats are awkward to handle, and it is easier for two people to remove one.
Removing Rear Seats:The rear seats in all M-bodies consist of a separate lower cushion and an upper seat back. In order to remove the rear seat, the lower cushion must come out first. The lower cushion has two wire hooks on either end that lock down with two "G" style locking brackets (called "floor pan brackets"
mounted on either side of the floor. The hook part of each the "G" faces towards the rear of the car, and they lock on to a corresponding wire hook on the seat cushion frame to secure it and prevent it from moving forward during hard braking. The lower cushion can be difficult to remove without knowing the procedure to do so. The procedure for removing the lower cushion is to start on one corner. Push back HARD, then lift up. Repeat the process for the other corner and you should be able to pull the seat up. Remove the seatbelts from their retaining clips and the lower cushion will then come out. The top of the seat back hooks on to the top of the sheetmetal divider between the interior and the trunk. The bottom of the seat back is secured to the floor by two bolts, Remove the two bolts and slide the seat back up to remove it. To reinstall the seat back, hook the top of the seat back onto the sheetmetal divider, align the bolt boles in the floor and install the bolts. DO NOT overtighten the bolts. To reinstall the lower cushion, move it in place and attach the seat belts to their retaining clips. Push the cushion under the rear seat back to engage the seat hooks with floor pan brackets. You will know if it is installed properly if you can't lift it up on either corner.
Note on rear seats: Several Farley's members have seen rear seat cushions that were bolted down to the floor with brackets at the front corners. This was probably not done from the factory, as Chrysler has successfully used the same floor pan bracket system since the fifties. The additional bolts/brackets were most likely added by someone who couldn't get the lower cushion in after the hooks became bent. If you see bolts holding your lower cushion down, check the hooks to see if they are bent.
Below is a rough (make that very rough :biggrin
diagram showing the "G" style floor pan bracket as viewed from the driver's side.
Sources:- Compiled from posts by Farley's members
- Additional information from the Chrysler RWD Factory Service Manual
- Image © 2009 Reginald A. Royster, Sr.