I just picked up some swivel buckets on ebay and before I get them in, I need to replace the floor pans.

They definately need replacing as opposed to patching, and I don't have the time or resources to do this myself. I've looked around a bit and the best price I've come up with for a complete set of four sections is from Original Parts Group for $200.

Will new pans come with mounting holes for my new buckets? Right now I only have the 4 holes required for my bench seat and the buckets will require 8 holes. Do new floor pans come with the crossmembers that the seats bolt to in front?

Since I need to have the pans replaced for me, what kind of shop should I take it to, and how much can I expect to pay?

Thanks, -AC.

i just replaced all of the pans in my 76 and i got mine from cars inc and i was told that the ones from opg aren't as thick as the ones i got from cars inc.thats probably why they are cheaper.the pans from opg are 60 a piece and with shipping your looking at about 280 or 290.the ones i got from cars inc were 367 shipped to my door.and these were as thick as the original metal.i also put buckets in my 76 and i used the front outside factory bolt hole as a reference then i marked the other holes and drilled them out and used as large of a bolt as would go through the seat track.then i used thick wide washers so the bolt doesn't come through the floor.i ran the bolts up from underneath so that if i ever need to remove them later the threads on the bolt don't rust.before you put the seats in paint the track legs,mine had a oxidized look so i painted them black and it looks good.if you want i can take some pics of my installation and send them to you.if you know anybody with a wire welder then you can do it yourself and save some money.its not that hard to do.

Well, I took the bench out hoping that the outside tracks would at least fit, and I could drill holes for the inners. Unfortunately the tracks on the swivels dont fit at all. The seats supposedly came from a 74 ss, and my 76 has pillars that the bench mounts to in the rear which are a few inches high. These would at least need to come out to accomodate the swivel brackets, but the torx bolts are completely rusted shut, and stripped out. Plus, I need these pillars because the seat belts are part of them.

I hope someone here can help me figure out the difference between 74 and 76 floor pans so I can get these seats in! thanks.

the torx bolt on the passengers side in the back was the same way.i used a die grinder and grinded it out.my buckets came out of a late 70's chevy pickup and fit great.heck they look like they came factory.as for the seat belts i looked in a friend of mines junkyard and i used lap belts out of the backseat of a fairmont.i bolted the seatbelt to the rear bolts on the seat tracks.they look like they were supposed to be there.

Hi,
Your floor pans are the same for buckets as they are for the bench. If you look at the floor pan or maybe what's left of it you should see two small squared areas near the trans tunnel. GM welded in special brackets for the Buckets seats in these areas. The bench used the outside mounting by the rocker panel both right and left.The bucket uses four mounting locations. Two are the same as the bench and the two near the trans tunnel.
The best way to install buckets in a non bucket set up is to find any Cutlass or Chevelle that had or has bucket seats and pull the floor pan areas that have the factory mountings. It may take awhile to find one in a salvage yard but the work required is simplifed this way. I have seen many bolt through the floor installations come thruough the shop that don't work. Hight and leveling seems to be a big problem. And they rarely hold up in a rear end collision, they just pull through the floor.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Later RDR

When I installed the buckets in my 76 I had to fab brackets for them and make my own mounting holes for the center or inside mounts on both seats. I did use the outside factory mounts for the outside bracket.

I used Bumper Bolts. Nice large moderatly flat top, stainless steel and strong enough to deal with a pretty good impact. I also re-inforced the floorboard where I had to put holes. I went to HomeDepot and bought some strap iron measured and cut it. Then I drilled it for the size of bumper bolts I was using, did a little filing to make the holes somewhat square for the bolt shoulder and put the staps under the truck and the bumper bolts up through the straps into the seat brackets.

I suppose you could do the same without the straps. I just like to make sure. GM used a fairly heavy piece of steel for their bolts and the center had nothng like that I could use so I fabbed my own. It was really easy.

I also lost about 2" of head room installing the buckets.

When I put floor pans in about 6 years ago, I found that the replacement pans were for the Chevelle not the Camino. This was after I put them in. The Camino uses the same Floor Pan as the Station Wagon!!! I'm having to redo it again due to the replacement pans not fitting right the first time. About three years ago I had a class of students put a Bonniville back on the road which had been totaled. We had a a spare parts car left afterwards. Near the end of school last year we cut out the floor pan and started putting it into my 77 Camino. We're in the process of fabricating the trans tunnel for it now. I'll end up putting sets from a Bonniville into it when I'm done.