MMJ

I am still working on the interior of my 69. I've got the seats out, so I thought I would restore the rails. Is there a way to safely take these apart or do I just need to try to clean them up and paint them while they're together? I world really like to have them apart so that I can sandblast them. I'd never get all the sand back out if I tried to do it assembled. Thanks for any help.

Mark

Alan 71

Hi Mark,
The seat tracks can be restored without taking them apart. How much work that is depends on their condition.
There's a large rivet that needs to be drilled out to get the slide off the base and then that rivet needs to be replaced. This discourages some restorers from taking the tracks apart.
I believe the track slide was bare steel originally while the base was dark phosphate plated.
Regards,
Alan

MMJ

Alan,

Wow, that's a beautiful job on those rails if they were restored. They look new! I would like to take mind apart, your pictures inspired me. Where did you find a rivet to match the original? Thanks

Mark

Alan 71

Hi Mark,
Those tracks haven't been apart.
I was able to get them ready for the phosphate plating without removing the rivet. They were in good condition to begin with…. fortunately.
A suitable rivet might be available from a company like McMaster-Carr. I believe it's steel so is going to take some serious force to set.
Regards,
Alan

DZRick

Wasn't it C34ME that restored a few sets of these a while back?

He took them apart and they came of great.

DZRick

Sorry, it was ALLC34Me and he really tore into some tracks. Did an amazing job though.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-of-3-a-3.html

MMJ

Thanks a lot! That is a wealth of information on these tracks!

80Baby

I was able to restore my seat tracks without taking them apart. They work great. One thing though, my Corvette Restoration Guide started that the tracks in the '80 were painted satin black. From my experiences I found this not to true. A couple of years after I bought my first '80 brand new off of the lot, I noticed some chips out of the paint on my seat tracks (I guess I should have never let girls ride in my Vette with high heels on). They were the same colour as my interior which was Claret. I couldn't find a touch-up at the parts shop, so I went to the Chevy dealer where I bought my car. He suggested I use the Maroon exterior touch-up paint for that year, it would be a close match. When I bought my second '80, I removed the seat tracks. The interior of this car was White. The tracks had a gray primer on the underside, but the upper surfaces were painted white. So when I redid my tracks, I opted to go with the interior dye colour that I've been using for all of the plastic trim pieces and seat backs and bottoms.

Shark Racer

I gave mine a vinegar/water bath a few years ago, then rust converted, primed and painted them. They're not perfect but they're a lot better than they started.

I had to replace the springs for the slide lever, got some new ones at the hardware store that were close enough.



You can see kind of a before and after in this photo:

74Ken

I soaked my rails in Evapo-rust for 2 days and they came out nice and clean....I painted them up and greased the bearings, you wouldn't know they were seezed when I got the car.

A lot less effort that tearing them apart.

Ken

MMJ

After looking more at tearing them apart, I decided to soak them in Evapo-Rust, too. Man, that stuff is amazing. Look at these before and after pictures. I wish that I would have taken more before pictures. Now I just have to finish cleaning them up, paint the black parts and lube them. Thanks for the help!