Over the last 5 years in junkyards I've noticed a trend, and it seems to be affecting my own '84 Town Car.
In earlier years of box, I'm not sure what the cutoff year would be, the driver seat back seems to have a tendency to bend and lean back to the right (no, not back, to the left).
I know that internally within the seat, only the left hand side hinge has the locking mechanism for recline, and this is true even in seats that do not have recline (weirdly optioned base Lincolns). So, the rigidity of the seat back frame is what keeps the right side of the seat from sinking backwards and bending like I'm describing.
Is there a specific support bracket, fastener, weld, etc. that breaks inside the seatback causing them to bend back to the right, or is this just an inherent weakness that was fixed in the newer years? Is there possibly an advantage to de-upholstering and disassembling the seats (no small task) to swap in a newer seat back frame? Or is it just coincidence that I've never seen a late box that has this issue?
In earlier years of box, I'm not sure what the cutoff year would be, the driver seat back seems to have a tendency to bend and lean back to the right (no, not back, to the left).
I know that internally within the seat, only the left hand side hinge has the locking mechanism for recline, and this is true even in seats that do not have recline (weirdly optioned base Lincolns). So, the rigidity of the seat back frame is what keeps the right side of the seat from sinking backwards and bending like I'm describing.
Is there a specific support bracket, fastener, weld, etc. that breaks inside the seatback causing them to bend back to the right, or is this just an inherent weakness that was fixed in the newer years? Is there possibly an advantage to de-upholstering and disassembling the seats (no small task) to swap in a newer seat back frame? Or is it just coincidence that I've never seen a late box that has this issue?
Comment