Why on earth would you choose to put hard, uncomfortable aluminum seats in your hot rod? For the same reason hot rodders do so many other things that defy logic: because they look cool!
Actually, there's a historical precedent for equipping a hot rod-particularly a lakes car or track-style racer-with aircraft-style aluminum seats. Even in the early days rodders knew that light cars went faster than heavy ones, and it's easy to deduce that bare aluminum seats weigh much less than those built with steel frames, padding, and upholstery. Furthermore, many early rodders were ex-GIs who'd seen "seat time" in such buckets and knew how to acquire them through military surplus. It was only natural for them to park their cheeks in bomber seats before blasting across the dirt or salt in a stripped-down racing roadster or coupe.
There's much less need to cut such weight-saving corners in a street-bound rod today, but there's still a desire for many to achieve an authentic race-inspired appearance. Yet like everything else that's old and cool, real WWII-style aircraft seats tend to be both difficult to find and expensive. What's a dirt-faced, goggle-wearing rodder to do? Make his own seats, of course!
We recently stopped by Stinger's Hot Rod Shop just in time to see Brian Stinger finish up a set of homemade aluminum seats for George Poteet's track-style '27 T roadster. Growing up in Indianapolis, Brian is undoubtedly inspired and influenced by cars that race in circles-you can see it in the rods and parts he builds. He was more than happy to share with us the process he used for designing and building George's seats. We, in turn, would like to share this fabrication information with you, provided your tush has enough cush to handle it!