Memories of Bench Seats in Cars

[Jazzy1]

Whoever ditched bench seats clearly never went steady....

 

[Aunt Bea]

I remember, not much happening.

My biggest memory is of the silver metal buttons in the seat back on my grandmother’s 1963 Ford Galaxy 500.

In the summer it was like being branded when you first leaned back against them.

 

[robin416]

I remember, not much happening.

My biggest memory is of the silver metal buttons in the seat back on my grandmother’s 1963 Ford Galaxy 500.

In the summer it was like being branded when you first leaned back against them.

My mother had one of those. It's what I took my driver's test in. No power brakes, no power steering.

 

[horseless carriage]

My mother had one of those. It's what I took my driver's test in. No power brakes, no power steering.

And no seat belts. Here in the UK if you have a vintage car from an era before compulsory seat belt fitting, you are allowed on the road. There is something wonderfully subversive in driving around without seat belts and still being legal.

 

[Tommy]

In theory, three people could sit in the front seat. Of course, the person in the middle has nowhere to put their feet, but ...

 

[QuietByNature]

And no seat belts. Here in the UK if you have a vintage car from an era before compulsory seat belt fitting, you are allowed on the road. There is something wonderfully subversive in driving around without seat belts and still being legal.
View attachment 478897

Same here in Ontario, Can.

Even though i have retro fitted my 58 Chevy with buckets from a 1999 GMC that have belts built in. It's what my wife wanted.

 

[hollydolly]

These from the many vintage classic car shows I've been to...

 

[hollydolly]

 

[IrishEyes]

I was so happy when I got to sit in the front seat.
My younger sisters would use the excuse when we made a turn to let them
selves slide across the seat, especially right turns since are a bit sharper.

 

[Rakaia]

Whoever ditched bench seats clearly never went steady....

Who remembers seeing a two headed driver?

 

[jujube]

I remember, not much happening.

My biggest memory is of the silver metal buttons in the seat back on my grandmother’s 1963 Ford Galaxy 500.

In the summer it was like being branded when you first leaned back against them.

I still have a scar on the back of my thigh from flopping down on a metal seat belt buckle on a sunny summer day as a teenager wearing short-shorts. Ah, the sizzle....

My mother had one of those. It's what I took my driver's test in. No power brakes, no power steering.

Same here. AND I had to parallel park as part of the test. I was sure the tester was going to flunk me! A big old station wagon, no power anything. My arms would be aching after a drive in that thing.

 

[squatting dog]

 

[oldman]

I remember having my first car with a bench seat. My girlfriend would sit very close to me.
My next car had bucket seats because I had a 4-speed floor shifter with a console. My girlfriend didn’t like it.

 

[bobcat]

I had them in my '55' chevy. They weren't your ordinary ones though, they were from a Rambler, and upholstered in black Naugahyde.
You pulled a lever on the side of the seat.
The front seatback reclined all the way down
The front and rear seats formed a flat “bed” surface (You know ..... in case I got tired or something)
Here an old pic of my car

 

[Rakaia]

@bobcat
I bet you didn't get tired of the or something.

 

[bobcat]

@bobcat
I bet you didn't get tired of the or something.

Well, in my defense, I felt that it was my civic duty to test out the Rambler seats for versatility, usefulness, and defects, in the event I was ever consulted for a review. For the historical record ......I found them to be quite a remarkable invention.

 

[horseless carriage]

I remember having my first car with a bench seat. My girlfriend would sit very close to me.
My next car had bucket seats because I had a 4-speed floor shifter with a console. My girlfriend didn’t like it.

I'm not surprised that she didn't like it. It's bad enough stretching out on bucket seats, then that gear lever has only place it could go! Tell me, did you think that her eyes watered up out of love?