Got a new seat...

[dlowrance]

I took the J10 down to the Pick N Pull just to look around. They were having a 12.99 seat deal, and the bench seat in the truck is a bit sprung on the driver's side.

I did a good bit of hunting for a seat for the Gladiator a couple of years ago and figured out pretty quick that the big 3 trucks are too big of seats, and the smaller ones are a bit too small. The one I found closest to the right fit last time was a late model Dodge Dakota....so I was hunting one of those, with tan seats, 40/20/40 or 60/40 bench, not buckets...so I knew the odds of finding what I wanted were basically non-existant. But it was a nice day, and I hadn't been to the pick-n-pull in St Louis before so I said what the heck...

I walk by a full size GMC conversion van and glance at the Captain's chairs in the middle row, commenting to my GF that those would be sweet if I didn't need the bench...she says 'what about the back seat'...first thought is, it'll be too small. But I'd checked the mini-van seats, not the full size ones before.

Long story short, the dang thing is EXACTLY the same width as our stock bench seats, tan, soft cloth, double arm rests, fold down center with cup holders, but folds up for a full bench, pre-installed seat belts, and BRAND NEW...I don't think the dang thing had ever been SAT in...

It has the brackets like all the mini van's do, with the little hooks that go in the floor...I unhook it and take off for the truck like I stole the dang thing and the owner was chasing me!!:thumbsup:

I get it home, pull the seat brackets off, and cut off 4.25 off the bottom, like so...

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/dlowrance/IMG00167.jpg

I then weld angle clips on the outside of the brackets...

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/dlowrance/IMG00169.jpg

And VOILA...I have a brand spanking new WAY better than original seat, that matches the dang interior like it was MADE for it...check out the horizontal lines on the seats as they compare to the door panels...

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/dlowrance/IMG00168.jpg

Start to finish once I got the seat home was about 3 hours, and that includes pulling all the old carpet and cleaning out the cab...oh, and on that note, everyone NOT from out west where there's no rust, check out this floorboard!! That little dark area is dirt...there's not a spot of rust on either side...

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/dlowrance/IMG00166.jpg

So all in all a dang good day...I still have to drill the holes to bolt the seat down, I ran out of go-juice when I got to that point...

[shiner2001]

Sweet! And I love it when the GF goes junkyarding.

Question...what was the conversion company for that van, any idea? Something to keep my eyes out for. What about the make and model of the van?

It' crazy how well those match the door panels, awesome find!

[dlowrance]

Sweet! And I love it when the GF goes junkyarding.

Question...what was the conversion company for that van, any idea? Something to keep my eyes out for. What about the make and model of the van?

It' crazy how well those match the door panels, awesome find!

Yeah, mine's pretty darn cool like that...she'll even hang in the shop and help...

Dunno who did the conversion, it was a GMC van, probably late 90's to early 00...

And I only had to raise the seat height about 1/2 inch from the stock bench...it was like it was made to go there...

[shiner2001]

Good info, that's great stuff man!

[tazzerzz]

I need to do that to my j10, nice job and nice find

[TomballJ10]

Alright, I'm jealous! I posted a couple days ago for seat swap ideas, and got some good ones. Somebody went so far as to point out the $12.99 pick & pull sale going on. Unfortunately, the closest one to me is San Antonio. So, I figured "what the heck" on Saturday and head to the nearby salvage yard to check out his selection/prices. HA! I think Ol' Charlie at Charlie's auto salvage is a few fries short of a happy meal! Cheapest seat he had was a nasty, grease stained seat out of a 90's-something chevy for $150!!!

Oh well, the search goes on...

[J4intheGorge]

...I still have to drill the holes to bolt the seat down, I ran out of go-juice when I got to that point...

Been on the search for a seat myself. This looks like a great option, and comfy too. Are you able to use any of the existing seat bolt holes in the floor? Do you plan to have the new holes threaded or will you just use a nut from underneath? Great find. That seat looks great.:cool:

[Dmntxn77]

Nice... Congrats on the great score..

BTW, typically, GM conversions will be done by Regency...

[shiner2001]

BTW, typically, GM conversions will be done by Regency...

Gotcha. I was curious because of the fabric/pattern they used matched so well with the door panels.

[RubiconMike]

I was the guy who pointed out the $12.99 sale at PnP. I asked the wife "honey do we have any plans for Sunday?". When she said "no", I said "we're going to the junkyard".

We walked around the entire San Jose south yard and didn't find anything we really liked. Funny thing, the only Jeeps I saw in the whole yard were two XJs that had been pretty thoroughly stripped. No SJs, CJs, YJs, TJs, Cherokees, Grands, nothing. There must be a Jeep specialty yard in the area that I don't know about that's buying up all the Jeeps. So we took a break, had lunch, and hit the San Jose north yard.

After cruising through most of that yard I saw a '98 Grand Cherokee in the back - the painted on info said it had only been there 3 days. I took a look inside and found two mint condition, brown, 6 way power leather seats! Woo Hoo, jackpot!

Only problem was, the seats were slid back covering the rear mounting bolts. Electric seats - junkyard - no battery - no move - arrrrrrr!

The spirit of McGyver gave me an idea: my cordless drill has an 18v battery. I cut the power wires under the seat, and while my wife pushed the seat switch forward, I shorted the power wires to the battery. The seat slid forward as pretty as you please exposing the rear seat bolts. Double Woo Hoo! 2 X 12.99 = $25.98!

http://www.jmparks.com/jeep/seats.jpg

[Dmntxn77]

WOW, now thats a SCORE!!!

[shiner2001]

Those are similar to the seats I had in my 94 ZJ. When I was shopping for that vehicle, the seats I was after were one of the "must haves" before I settled on my ZJ. Man, they were comfy!! Nice find!!

Any idea what PnP's prices normally are for seats? Either for the bench like in the original post or the nice leather ones from the ZJ?

[RubiconMike]

I think PnP's normal price for seats is $40 for manual and $50 for electric, each (buckets, I don't remember how much benches were, maybe $10 or $20 more). Still a good deal if you can find what you want.

Unfortunately, due to the business model for PnP (any yokel can go out and pull parts), a lot of otherwise good seats get ruined because people throw greasy parts on them, cut them, or break windows/windshields and let the weather attack them.

I got *really* lucky that I was there 3 days after that Grand came in.

[dlowrance]

Been on the search for a seat myself. This looks like a great option, and comfy too. Are you able to use any of the existing seat bolt holes in the floor? Do you plan to have the new holes threaded or will you just use a nut from underneath? Great find. That seat looks great.:cool:

Nope, can't use any of the existing...I've fabbed up some brackets for the underneath, basically big feet so you're not relying on just the area around the washer on the bolt for supporting the seat. Basically just a 4 X 8 piece of 1/8" steel, with a hole in the middle for the bolt. Just spreading the support a bit.

[dlowrance]

Any idea what PnP's prices normally are for seats? Either for the bench like in the original post or the nice leather ones from the ZJ?

The PnP in St Louis normally sells seats for 20 per...irrelevant of manual/electric/bench/etc...I don't know if that holds for all PNP's or not, but the sales manager told me that yesterday when I was checking out.

[fulsizjeep]

Nice score Dale! :thumbsup: We could use a solution like that for the J20. Do the seat backs lean forward for access to the back of the cab?

[dlowrance]

Nice score Dale! :thumbsup: We could use a solution like that for the J20. Do the seat backs lean forward for access to the back of the cab?

They sure do Flint...individual flip levers on each one. They don't go quite as far forward as the stock bench, maybe 15 degrees or so less. But I also managed to save the slide adjustment, so if I need real good access to behind the seat I can slide the bench forward about 5 inches, then flip the seat back forward, and have really good access.

[fulsizjeep]

Excellent! :thumbsup:

[Ulazy2]

pulling up a dead thread, I too am looking for a replacement seat for my 71 jtruck... anyone come across anything new? i like the rear cat out of a conversion van, anything more modern to look for in the junk yard this next weekend? i like the 40/20/40 thing.... ALOT! fabing brackets is no problem.. throw in your ideas... Sugar

[dlowrance]

Holy old thread batman!!

Well I can tell you that 2 years later that seat has worked perfectly. Took the truck for a 140 mile round trip on Friday and it sits fine.

[Kevin armstrong]

Was the van pre 96 or 96 and later? Thats the year they dropped the 73-95 style for the newer. Interested because there are always a crapload of conversion vans at p n p.>

[Brizio]

They looks comfy!:thumbsup:

[five16]

Nice looking seat! I had never thought of that but I have a good friend who is a "van'er". I will be asking him for his network to find me a seat now. Since they pull them out to customize their vans.

Thanks for the information!

[Bill Moore]

very very nice Dale, well done

[dlowrance]

Was the van pre 96 or 96 and later? Thats the year they dropped the 73-95 style for the newer. Interested because there are always a crapload of conversion vans at p n p.>

Pretty positive it was after 96...I was guessing 99 or so...but I can't guarantee that.