I came across a shorty console and need to know the bracket location and shape of said brackets if possible. I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but it is the push-button top. Pics of the base with the brackets on there would be a big help. I'm debating putting it in my 68 Skylark. Thanks
Hi Tim, I remember someone on the board a while back discussing possibly making a repro of the mounting bracket for the shorty console but I don't think it was ever followed up. But the good news is you don't need the bracket to mount the console - some large self tapping screws work great. That is what I did when I added a shorty console and bucket seats to my car after removing the orginal bench seat. The push button shorty console (type II) was the one offered in Buicks from late 1970 on. Before that was a type I shorty console which had a tri-shield emblem instead. I used to have both consoles but installed the tri-shield one as I liked the look better.
Ditto with Chris. I used the same screws that secure the armrests to the doors. My parts book shows support brackets for '74 & '75 but no others. The rear of the short console gets positioned "about" 11" ahead of the bottom of the rear seat. My car is away for the Winter so I cannot confirm actual.
Thanks for the info everyone. Mine came w/a small (Z-shape I think) bracket that may have been added to support the front section and a jagged hole in the main compartment where it looks to have been torn from the floor at one time. ou:
Tim I purchased one of the shorty consoles and did a search here quite awhile back. I came up with some of the following pics. Hope this helps. I bent up a "U" shaped bracket but have not installed it yet.
Scott, Your brackets are a direct match for a '76 style set-up. I found a drawing showing '76 only, little different from the 74-75 drawing. The cars had a matching flat spot on the tunnel to which the brackets were attached. I don't remember whether the 68-72 style cars had the flat spots.
Steve I found the pictures in a search on the V8 board. The bracket I am attempting to use on my 70 GS is the one in the first picture with the console above it. I bent one up similar to it and test fitted it to the bottom of the console. I have not gotten around to pulling out the seats and carpet to see if it will indeed fit the trans tunnel. I dont think that there is a "flat spot" on the 70-72 cars. I plan on test fitting and then tack welding on the bracket once in place.
I asked the same question a while back and another board member sent me a pic of his original floor pan for reference. The rear two screws did screw into a bracket which was welded to the floor pan as seen below. You can use the seat belt bolt hole and the shape of the floor pan as a reference. The front of the consolette has one screw that screws into the the flat section of the tunnel (you can barely see it below) that you can drill/punch after the rear screws are mounted. In case you haven't tried to test fit it first, set it in place to make sure the base of the consolette matches up with the floor pan. I have heard there are two different base patterns (A body and big car), and the first pic above shows a consolette that has a much different pattern than mine, and mine seems to fit my A body floor pan well. o No:
I just keep learning about these old cars everyday! First one I've seen with a factory bracket on the tunnel. Mine fit the tunnel quite well but sides differ from Scott's , they were a smooth edge. I do know one was from a '70 GS & the other from a '73 Riv.. Each were the same. I took the best of parts & made one unit.
Here is the bottom of mine. I'm not 100% positive what it came out of, or if it is correct for 70-72 car, but it fits the contours of the floor pan very nicely.
Does having the mounting bracket for the shorty console make that much of a difference? Seems like a lot of work to get a bracket made then weld it in - mine fits great with just the large self taping screws.
All the mounting bracket does is prevent the screws from cracking the base if it gets hit or knocked around. I didn't use the bracket in my convertible and just screwed it to the floor pan and never had a problem, but I was always careful since the base is only plastic and it wouldn't take much force on the screw heads to crack it. :Brow:
Agree with that. I don't have brackets either. The console, being positioned between the seats, tends to have protection all around it. Mine's been in the car +/- 4 years now without issue. Now if I wanted to take my wife out to the drive-in & pretend we were teenagers again......might be a different story!:Brow:
Mine looks like this one (except for the hole in the long flat part where someone did the caveman removal).
