2007+ Crew Cab 3” Rear Seat Lift

Texas_Edition · November 4, 2013

Due to several responses I have received on the kit I
have fabricated in the past, I decided to make another new thread for a rear
seat lift for 2007+ Crew Cab Silverado’s and Sierra’s.

This kit includes everything for a 3" rear seat lift
made out of T6-6066 Aluminum. I have this installed in my truck and will be
taking them out on Monday. They have the predrilled holes. I chose T6-6066
aluminum blocks because of how strong it is. They are .25" thick. I looked
up the specs on T6-6066 aluminum and it’s very strong and if I was going to
raise my seats, safety was my #1 priority, especially over price. I pieced this
together myself. So this kit will raise your rear seats 3” and move them
forward 3”. Allows you to run your wires
through the seat lift blocks.

The reason to move the rear seats forward 3”, is because
the original kit I made, did not allow much room to mount my 4 amplifiers,
distribution blocks, 300w Power Convertor and my Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.2.
Even with 2-3 amplifiers, it can be rather difficult. Not only that, it also
allows room for your amplifiers to BREATHE. What I did was use ¾” MDF wood from
my scrap wood from making my box, painted the wood black and used adhesive
caulking over my Dynamatt Extreme. This allowed me to mount my amplifiers
securely with longer screws and as I said above, for the amplifiers to breathe
so they won’t shut down. This kit is not just for people who want to raise it
for a bigger and deeper subwoofer box, it can be used if you want to add more
space for more storage.

This is the best way to get more cubic feet of airspace
out of your box, because you are increasing the airspace out of the largest
area, which is by the width of the box by increasing the height of the box AND
you get an extra 3” in the depth of the box from front to back. The largest box
I have seen made was a SEALED box at 1.66 cubic feet (.83 per chamber.) I made
a DUAL PORTED box at 3.0 cu ft and with my FOUR Sundown Audio SA-8 V.2 Modified
Subwoofers and had them firing forward. So if you want to make a sealed box,
you can get atleast 5.0 cubic feet, so you can see how much of a bigger box you
can make just by lifting the seats (Box height) by 3”. This also allows you to
run a 10” or 12” subwoofer with a deeper mounting depth. You won’t have to use
shallow subs or shallow mount subs. 3” is a big improvement in regards to
mounting depth on subwoofers.

Unfortunately, I totaled my Sierra before I was done with
my whole new subwoofer and amplifier setup. I was done with the box, had them
mounted in the box, but I totaled it when I had the new wiring ran, the seat
lift installed. I didn’t even get a chance to install my new Mechman 270a H.O.
Alternator (Which is for sale by the way.)

Other members and a website have duplicated it as I have
shared this info below with people on GM membership message boards, but they used
thinner metal or weaker metal to be cheap. Sorry, but I’m not taking on that
liability, even if the metal and thickness might be considered overkill.

I will include all of the Grade 8 Nuts and Bolts, which is around $35. Factory
bolts and nuts are Grade 4.

I had to go to the hardware store several times to get the correct length of bolts and
getting the 7/16" @ 1" long Grade 8 HEX Bolts. I believe I used
1" bolts and when fastened down, no threads were showing. I think 1
1/4" bolts will be too long to fit your open ended wrench inside.

It’s important to notice that I am using Grade 8
Hardware, as your seats will be taller so there will be added stress when
people are sitting in the back as it will be taller. Also, I am using .25”
thick Aircraft Grade T6-6061 Aluminum which is EXTREMELY STRONG. Much stronger
than the steel that is used for your factory seat brackets by the inch.
Basically, if GM would have used the more expensive T6-6061 Aluminum at the
same thickness as the current brackets, they would be 10 x’s stronger, if made
out of my metal I’m supplying, which is important, because of the added stress.

Some of these sets of pictures are from when I was rewiring the first time back
earlier this year and then the last set of pictures are recent of me rewiring
everything again. So please excuse the mess.

You will receive the following:

4 Rectangular Blocks for the sides; front and rear.
2 Rectangular Blocks for the middle; front and rear

Unfortunately, where I buy my metal, which is the cheapest place, which are few, do not offer T6-6061 Aluminum in .25" thickness for the middle brackets. I will asking the company I buy my metal from, if they have this in .25" thickness now, as the last time I bought the metal to fabricate these kits, was almost a year ago.

Price: $150 + actual shipping

The materials are not cheap, being T6-6061 Aluminum. What also makes it costly for me is the thickness. I'm honestly not making much money off of this. To be honest, with shipping, I'm only making roughly $35 off of each kit and each kit I fabricate, takes some time for me to cut and fabricate each one and it takes precise cuts for these to work.

I will have it professionally cut with smooth edges/cuts and 20lbs in shipping.
I even raised the seat belts....

Pictures of the seats test fitted.

Middle blocks are great to run your wires through. I ran
my 1/0 awg power wire, 6 sets of speaker wire from my crossovers, remote wire,
and one of my 1/0 awg ground cable through this. Hid it very well.

Please excuse the wiring. I was taking out my wiring while
I was removing the rear seats and blocks this weekend. This is not how I set up
my wiring.

Grade 8 Hex Bolts and Nuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Very simple really. NO CUTTING OR MODIFICATION REQUIRED
WHAT SO EVER. I mounted the blocks first, then the 40 section of the 40/60
seat, then the 60 section of the seat. To me it seems easier than bolting the
blocks to the seat mounts first, then dropping the blocks and seat on the
studs. By mounting the blocks first, you are able to slide a socket on the nut
that goes to the stud, then slide an extension through the top hole and begin
to tighten.

STRENGTH

TheT6-6061 Aluminum is aircraft grade material.

Using Grade 8 HEX bolts seen in the very last pictures.
Going with Grade 8 Hex Bolts and Nuts gives you strength of 120,000 PSI. That
strong enough for ya? lol Means its 4 TIMES as strong than what came from the
factory which is Grade 2. Meaning if you were into an accident, your factory
seats are more at risk to break than with this kit. Its more than twice the
strength.

Plus the T6-6061 .25" aluminum

From Wikipedia:

T6-6061 aluminum is widely used for construction of
aircraft structures, such as wings and fuselages, more commonly in homebuilt
aircraft than commercial or military aircraft.[6] 2024 alloy is somewhat
stronger, but 6061 is more easily worked and remains resistant to corrosion
even when the surface is abraded, which is not the case for 2024, which is
usually used with a thin Alclad coating for corrosion resistance.[7]

.25" Thickness - Ultimate Bearing Strength: 607 MPa
(88,000 psi)

So you can see how much research I did on safety before I
made my purchase of materials

My Box that I never got installed. So I don’t even know
how these subwoofers sound. I can only go on what the few people that have
these have said.

Pictures of the seats test fitted.

Middle blocks are great to run your wires through. I ran
my 1/0 awg power wire, 6 sets of speaker wire from my crossovers, remote wire,
and one of my 1/0 awg ground cable through this. Hid it very well.

Please excuse the wiring. I was taking out my wiring
while I was removing the rear seats and blocks this weekend. This is not how I
set up my wiring.

Grade 8 Hex Bolts and Nuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Very simple really. NO CUTTING OR MODIFICATION REQUIRED
WHAT SO EVER. I mounted the blocks first, then the 40 section of the 40/60
seat, then the 60 section of the seat. To me it seems easier than bolting the
blocks to the seat mounts first, then dropping the blocks and seat on the
studs. By mounting the blocks first, you are able to slide a socket on the nut
that goes to the stud, then slide an extension through the top hole and begin
to tighten.

I also recommend using the industrial strength bolts and nuts from
Lowe's. Much stronger than what came from the factory. If you have problems
trying to find the bolts, then ask an employee where the Grade 8 and higher
bolts are. I recommend not using a Grade 2 or 5 bolt and nut.

STRENGTH

All of the T6-6061 Aluminum is Aircraft Grade material.

Using Grade 8 HEX bolts seen in the very last pictures.
Going with Grade 8 Hex Bolts and Nuts gives you strength of 120,000 PSI. That
strong enough for ya? lol Means its 4 TIMES as strong than what came from the
factory which is Grade 2. Meaning if you were into an accident, your factory
seats are more at risk to break than with this kit. It’s more than twice the
strength.

Plus the T6-6061 .25" aluminum

From Wikipedia:

T6-6061 aluminum is widely used for construction of
aircraft structures, such as wings and fuselages, more commonly in homebuilt
aircraft than commercial or military aircraft.[6] 2024 alloy is somewhat
stronger, but 6061 is more easily worked and remains resistant to corrosion
even when the surface is abraded, which is not the case for 2024 Aluminum,
which is usually used with a thin Alclad coating for corrosion resistance.[7]

.25" Thickness - Ultimate Bearing Strength: 607 MPa
(88,000 psi)

So you can see how much research I did on safety before I
made my purchase of materials

Texas_Edition · November 17, 2013

All of the email request I have received inquiring if I still have any kits for sale; I'm surprised no one has posted wanting this.

DBasney · February 15, 2014

Do you still have the kit for sale?

DBasney · February 15, 2014

Also do you still have the box? I want to run the same setup. A 3cu ft ported box for either 4 8 inch sundown or the DC m3's. If not could you build me one?