Please be seated!

[IOPort51]

Once again I repeat IOs second law. Nothing is ever as easy as it first looks.

This is a thread about installing replacement seats in a CJ5 . those of us that own 5s know that space is at a premium and replacement seats are a problem. So far I have yet to see an after market or junk yard install that was rated in terms other than looks. Comfort is or the lack of is something we just kind of live with. I recently read a magazine article where the author claimed to like the fact the seats set were 2" higher than the originals, he could see over the hood better and he was a pretty short guy.

this is what I had.

these are as close to original as you can get, they were Chevrolet work van seats from the 80s. I have had 3 sets of these over the years and although they were not the best out door and get wet vinyl they were cheep and easy to come by in the 80s. Think custom van conversion shops. On one occasion I got two new seats for a case of cold Coors. These have been recovered marine vinyl and yes they are orange. They are reasonably comfortable but they are a bit soft and they don't keep you in place very well.

This is what I think I want.

these are Master craft Nomads and they cost about $200 each. They are suspension seats with layered foam padding, they are imports. if you want made in the USA the seat for you is the mastercraft Rubicon for another $130 each, it comes in colors and has different layers of layered foam for even better support and comfort. I have set in both and could tell no difference but that may be a different story after 5 or 6 hours in the saddle.

this one is in the drivers side and bolted in. It was very easy to install, it looks very good, sets about 3 deg upright than original and is quite comfortable, I will expound on this after I set in it for 5 or 6 hours strait.

Just one problem, the top of my head is above the roll bar. by initial calculation this seat sets 1 1/2 to 2" higher than it should. Options: 1) remove top of head. I didn't give this much thought. 2)raise the roll bar and windshield. I just finished the front cage and don't want to go through that again very soon. 3) lower the seat. This seems like the best route to go and not too difficult on the drivers side. I have not decided what I will do with the passenger side but two things keep coming to mind. I have very little use for the flip forward seat mount on the passengers side and My girl friend is pretty short.

I am off to see what I can find for cold rolled flat bar, make a drawing or two and ponder IOs second law.

Can't wait to see how this comes out

 

[Petescj]

This is what I think I want.

this one is in the drivers side and bolted in. It was very easy to install, it looks very good, sets about 3 deg upright than original and is quite comfortable, I will expound on this after I set in it for 5 or 6 hours strait.


Can't wait to see how this comes out

I'll be watching this one. I know my Bestops arent going to be the most comfortable seats. Even though mines a CJ7 I will appreciate any extra room that I can get. I need to stuff the ever expanding camping gear in the Cj.

 

[IOPort51]

I'll be watching this one. I know my Bestops arent going to be the most comfortable seats. Even though mines a CJ7 I will appreciate any extra room that I can get. I need to stuff the ever expanding camping gear in the Cj.

I am searching for room for my ever expanding back side.

 

[Old Dog]

Looks like a nice seat.

 

[Barry2]

I used a pair of seats out of a 2005 Dodge Dakota...very comfortable.

 

[IOPort51]

Do they set higher or more forward than the original seats?? Did they bolt onto the original base supports?

I used a pair of seats out of a 2005 Dodge Dakota...very comfortable.

 

[IOPort51]

worked on this every night this week and last weekend. Fabbed seat brackets 2" lower than the original and found I could only drop the seat 1 1/2" because it hits the brake on the fender. so I have to shim 1/2" and gain 1/2" of height.!!!!!!!!!

They are still too tall and the lower you go the farther forward the seat goes. All in all I am still not happy with the results and the only solution I can see is to notch the fender-well back a couple of inches and hopefully be able to drop the lost 1/2". I can not begin to tell you how badly I do not want to cut the fender.

So far I still like the seats, the competition is taller and thicker than these are by at least an inch, by there own measurement. But at this moment I can not bring my self to believe there has been an acceptable seat replacement for a Cj yet, at least not for us big guys.

Any body that has done this or a junk yard swap and were happy with the results has my honest respect as I am sure you have had to do a lot more work than I have , at very least I have holes to bolt the seat onto that are the right dimension and point in the right direction. I see that as being a big plus.

OK, that is enough venting.
I will look at it in the morning and see how bad things are and consider options from there.

time for another beer

 

[tarry99]

worked on this every night this week and last weekend. Fabbed seat brackets 2" lower than the original and found I could only drop the seat 1 1/2" because it hits the brake on the fender. so I have to shim 1/2" and gain 1/2" of height.!!!!!!!!!

They are still too tall and the lower you go the farther forward the seat goes. All in all I am still not happy with the results and the only solution I can see is to notch the fender-well back a couple of inches and hopefully be able to drop the lost 1/2". I can not begin to tell you how badly I do not want to cut the fender.

So far I still like the seats, the competition is taller and thicker than these are by at least an inch, by there own measurement. But at this moment I can not bring my self to believe there has been an acceptable seat replacement for a Cj yet, at least not for us big guys.

Any body that has done this or a junk yard swap and were happy with the results has my honest respect as I am sure you have had to do a lot more work than I have , at very least I have holes to bolt the seat onto that are the right dimension and point in the right direction. I see that as being a big plus.

OK, that is enough venting.
I will look at it in the morning and see how bad things are and consider options from there.

time for another beer

IO were both working on similar projects...........the seat issue has been driving me nuts since I installed swing pedals......when the pedals were on the floor it was easier to get on them, now the seat is too close....did a tilt which helped......and finally I got up enough nerve to cut the wheel well.....
Man what a difference! I have not yet decided on 2 ,2.5 or 3 inches but since I cut I did mock up the original seats and have a ton of clearance. So much to the point that I am now going to entertain some aftermarket seats and sliders just in case I go back to far. I have cycled the suspension with a 35 " tire and I'm fine.
What I currently have is a low back suspension seat out of a foreign compact that are actually pretty comfortable.

 

[Barry2]

Do they set higher or more forward than the original seats?? Did they bolt onto the original base supports?

They sit about the same as stock and I cut out a chunk of the body and moved it back about 5 inches. The seat mounts were a matter of mostly just drilling holes.

 

[IOPort51]

What did you use to cut the sheet metal of the fender with??

I am not planning on removing quite as much as you have, although your project looks well thought out and executed. Something more like notching the face just enough to allow the seat back to contact the diagonal front face of the fender would give me about 2" from where it is now, may be enough.

I have to see how well I can make this work for now because I am not going to start modifying the fender before the 3rd annual Jeep-CJ.com Colorado trail ride. And there are a couple of other things that have to happen in the next 6 weeks. I may very well end up putting the orange buckets back in for a while longer. They may not hold you right where you need to be but at least you start out there and they are reasonably comfortable.

IO were both working on similar projects...........the seat issue has been driving me nuts since I installed swing pedals......when the pedals were on the floor it was easier to get on them, now the seat is too close....did a tilt which helped......and finally I got up enough nerve to cut the wheel well.....
Man what a difference! I have not yet decided on 2 ,2.5 or 3 inches but since I cut I did mock up the original seats and have a ton of clearance. So much to the point that I am now going to entertain some aftermarket seats and sliders just in case I go back to far. I have cycled the suspension with a 35 " tire and I'm fine.
What I currently have is a low back suspension seat out of a foreign compact that are actually pretty comfortable.

 

[IOPort51]

Pictures Barry, pictures!!

They sit about the same as stock and I cut out a chunk of the body and moved it back about 5 inches. The seat mounts were a matter of mostly just drilling holes.

 

[tarry99]

What did you use to cut the sheet metal of the fender with??

I am not planning on removing quite as much as you have, although your project looks well thought out and executed. Something more like notching the face just enough to allow the seat back to contact the diagonal front face of the fender would give me about 2" from where it is now, may be enough.

I have to see how well I can make this work for now because I am not going to start modifying the fender before the 3rd annual Jeep-CJ.com Colorado trail ride. And there are a couple of other things that have to happen in the next 6 weeks. I may very well end up putting the orange buckets back in for a while longer. They may not hold you right where you need to be but at least you start out there and they are reasonably comfortable.

IO 1/16" cut off wheel........the larger cut is for a reason.......It allows you to keep the panel intact and just slide it back. The only thing you contend with is the rib on top of the tub and making a new piece forward. If you look at the layout the second line is set at 3 inches.....once I determine how much I need I will adjust that from 1-3 inches they cut it slide the old panel back in place and tack it..........obviously the notch is forward and only what is required.......Opening it up allows more flexibility than taking an inch out at a time.

 

[IOPort51]

I suspected as much on the cut off wheel, I think that would have been my first choice also.

your strategy makes perfect sense. I am still turning this over in my head and as usual making everything more complicated than it needs to be. I am toying with the idea of a flanged, bolted/riveted, bucket sort of insert to change the shape. Cut out what you don't need and replace it with the stainless, no welding, grinding, and best of all, no painting. I don't know how well it would work but polished stainless always looks good.

Don't worry, I will be measuring a bunch of times before I make a cut.

IO 1/16" cut off wheel........the larger cut is for a reason.......It allows you to keep the panel intact and just slide it back. The only thing you contend with is the rib on top of the tub and making a new piece forward. If you look at the layout the second line is set at 3 inches.....once I determine how much I need I will adjust that from 1-3 inches they cut it slide the old panel back in place and tack it..........obviously the notch is forward and only what is required.......Opening it up allows more flexibility than taking an inch out at a time.

 

[tarry99]

I suspected as much on the cut off wheel, I think that would have been my first choice also.

your strategy makes perfect sense. I am still turning this over in my head and as usual making everything more complicated than it needs to be. I am toying with the idea of a flanged, bolted/riveted, bucket sort of insert to change the shape. Cut out what you don't need and replace it with the stainless, no welding, grinding, and best of all, no painting. I don't know how well it would work but polished stainless always looks good.

Don't worry, I will be measuring a bunch of times before I make a cut.

O boy........I would agree you are making that more complicated especially working with Stainless......once mine is painted and the underside has some
undercoating you'll never see the change unless someone knows what to look for! Carry on!

 

[IOPort51]

OK, so the drivers seat is in, more or less. I started by replacing the stud on the seat slider with a 3/8" counter sunk machine screw. This allowed everything to set down low enough that I could tighten everything down to the floor


these are not great shots of the screw but it did allow the bar to set flat on the body rather than set on top of a bolt end.

So the seat is pretty close to the right height but needs to move back. I can get an inch without cutting into the roll bar mount angle, that may be enough, we will see.




for the moment it is drivable, if I had no tilt wheel it would not be.

 

[IOPort51]

OK! they are in, they are comfortable, They could go back a bit but with the tilt wheel it is tolerable, for now. I think these will be 8 hour in the saddle on the trail and still be able to walk and not be totally exhausted from trying to stay in the seat kind of seats.

Now, whats next.

 

[tarry99]

OK! they are in, they are comfortable, They could go back a bit but with the tilt wheel it is tolerable, for now. I think these will be 8 hour in the saddle on the trail and still be able to walk and not be totally exhausted from trying to stay in the seat kind of seats.

Now, whats next.

IO who makes that seat?

 

[IOPort51]

I went back and edited the first post to say they are Mastercraft Nomads. I can't believe I didn't mention that.

http://www.mastercraftsafety.com/performance-seats/recreational-seats/nomad.html

IO who makes that seat?

 

[Old Dog]

OK! I think these will be 8 hour in the saddle on the trail and still be able to walk and not be totally exhausted from trying to stay in the seat kind of seats.

Now, whats next.

Looks great
I think you are right, good seats are great on the trail.