[FONT="]Hi all, We were unable to get the seat backs to fold forward in Mikey's "new" 72 Comet 2 door. There was something that looked like a threaded rod near the bottom of the seat behind the back but we didn't know whether to pull, push, twist or bend it. When we took the seats out the answer became clear. There was supposed to be a plastic knob on the end of the threaded rod. Over the years the seat back release mechanism had become frozen in place. I was able to get the release mechanism to work using a pair of Vice Grips. I noticed that the fore and aft adjustment knob had the same threads and also that it was broken. Obviously the force needed to move the release mechanism had destroyed the rear knobs, which disappeared who knows where over the years. I decided that Mikey deserved some bling on his car so I am going to make some new ones from billet aluminum. They should be strong enough especially compared to the 35 or so years old plastic ones, which are probably NLA anyway. There is a great place in the San Fernando Valley called Industrial Metal Supply. I was able to score a 12-inch piece of 6061 1/2 inch square 6061 alloy for just over a dollar. That should be enough to make 4 adjuster knobs. I'm going to use my Harbor Freight drill press and HF Tap and Die set. It really isn't much good for steel but should be OK for aluminum. Dimensions are 1/2 inch square by 2 1/4 inch long. The internal thread is 5/16-18. BTW, it is a real joy to work on these old American cars. No metric fasteners, everything easy to get to, no extra smog crap hiding the motor. Karguyz in Taxifornia [/FONT]
Hey, I'm not into all that LDO, RDO, MOFO, XXX, this is just a neat old car. Anyhoo, here are the knobs, ready to go. If they offend your sensibilities, paint 'em black. I had fun making them and now the seats are useable. Karguyz
Nice job. I think 72 LDO seats are the only year and only buckets those style latch knobs are used. After that they moved the latch to the upper side.
karguys: That's a nice job. Should do the job well and no risk of those babies breaking off if someone hits it with their foot getting into the back seat. That is correct, sir! I put a set of 72 LDO buckets in my 73 LDO so I wouldn't have to reupholster my originals. I was missing one of those knobs, and I happened to find a NOS one on ebay a long while ago. Not sure if it was in the right box, but the Part number is: D0RY-6261198.A 'Knob'. Also, of interest, the box says the contents were made in West Germany. The seller wrote "70-72 Capri/Mav seat back adj. rec seat" on the box as well. Maybe they are on Capri's as well? See pics.
OK, I give up, what is a LDO? I'm sure it is obvious, but not to me. BTW, we removed the carpet, seats, etc. to check for rust. The floorpln needed some repair on the passenger side. The Comet seemed to have lots of sound deadening stuff. More so than I would expect for a lower end car. Is the Mercury more "upscale" than the Maverick? Karguyz
