Troxel seat crash bar

[the third man]

Here is my question. I have a 50’s era troxel seat that has the holes on bottom panel for a crash bar attachment with no bolts.

Can I add that to this seat? Can I drill through the seat pan and add the bolts? Were they pressed in originally?

I don’t have a seat pan that has these bolts in place to know, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
The third man

 

[ricobike]

'If you will it, it is no dream; and if you do not will it, a dream it is and a dream it will stay' Theodor Herzl. Sorry, I just love that quote .

I believe most Troxel seats are 2 part seats where the covering is sandwiched in between two layers of metal. If you can take off the bottom layer, usually by bending a tab from the top layer through the bottom layer, you might be able to drill through the bottom layer, and attach a flat head screw that you can use to attach the crash bar. I believe the originals were probably tack welded into place.

 

[the tinker]

The original bolts are installed more like a rivet, the head stamped into the top pan so they stay put. The head is smashed in flat,like a star, and unless the seat pan is rusted out it , it don't move. If you see the two holes in the pan, and no bolts, and you have a two piece pan, no drilling is required. You just have to grind down the heads on your bolts, super flat, as the originals were pressed into the top pan, not the bottom pan. Do what Ricco says. He's a good guy, but he's from Chicago, if you know what I mean.... Before you do anything, make sure you have the correct rail for your seat. The radius's and bolt pattern varies.
If your seat has only one pan, or you wish to install the bolts through the top pan,of a double pan seat, that means you are going to have to recover it, and the bolt heads will have to be ground down extra "flat', and it's hardly worth the effort. But if you must... You might have to use longer bolts. Unless you weld them into the top pan, they will have to have double the nuts to keep the bolt from spinning, and popping up through your covering. In other words: a washer, a nut--your rail-- and lastly another nut. You may end up wishing you left it alone.... not all of us have a mig welder, and ...that's how you learn to jerry-rig stuff. have fun

 

[RustySprockets]

The most appropriate fastener for that situation would be an elevator bolt, in my opinion. What is an elevator bolt, you ask? Well, it's a lot like a regular bolt, but for its exceptionally wide, flat head and keyed shank. I think it would be the easiest to install and the least likely to tear out later.

 

[the third man]

Wow. Thank you everybody. Elevator bolts look like a good idea. The seat does need to be recovered. I want to have it as correct as possible for my 1950 Roadmaster luxury liner.