3rd row seat dimensions?

[MoCoNative]

I'm thinking up ways to add forward facing seating in my FJ-40. I see lots of 3rd row seats from 80's for sale, for cheap. What are the dimensions of the seats.

What is the total width of the seats, when down in the back, side by side? What is the narrowest width where they wrap around the fender, and does it carry along the entire outboard side of the seat? How tall are the seat backs when down in seating position? How thick are the seats when folded up? What are the measurements when seats are folded up to the wall?

Some pics with measurements would be even better.

Thansk, G.

 

[corsair23]

G,

I could measure the seats but I can almost guaranty you that they won't fit in a FJ40 width wise between the wheel wells so unless you are willing to put them on top of the wheel wells it will be a no go...

The seats don't wrap around the fender well in an 80, they mount to the top of them on one side. There is a support piece bolted to the wheel well that the frame section attached to the seats connects to and then a piece on the bottom of the seat folds down to attach to a mount in the bed of the 80. There are some pics here that might give you an idea:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/156357-3rd-row-center-seatbelt-install-lots-pix.html

Even if the seats would fit between the wheel wells on a 40 you'd have to take all of the mounting stuff attached to the seat off and then fab up some sort of mounting system to mount them in a 40. I've looked into a lot of different options for rear seats in my 40 but I never looked into this idea - I even have 4 sets of 80 series 3rd row seats...

My suggestion is to just get the fold-and-tumble Bestop or Procomp seat and call it good - You'll be $$ ahead in the long run IMO.

I found in my search that the front seats out of a Trailblazer will fit (nice because of the integrated 3pt seat belt) but they are really tall (even without the headrest), don't fold and tumble, and mounting them will take some fab work. I bought a set - brooklyn did too and actually installed them (search for pics)

I also found that the 2nd row seats (40/20/40 setup) out of an older body style (i.e. like the 1999 year or similar) Dodge Durango will fit if you cut the "20" section out. They fold and tumble and are low and I think will mount up pretty easy but no integrated seat belts. I bought 2 sets of seats

By now I have way more invested in rear seats for a 40 that have never been mounted than if I had just bought the Bestop or Procomp fold-and-tumble seat and called it good

 

[corsair23]

G,

I measured a set of 80 series 3rd row seats for you last night and snapped a couple pics...The measurements below are just the cushion measurements assuming all mounting hardware was removed. Sorry for the crappy measurement shots but it was tough to hold the camera and the tape measure at the same time

Without headrest:
24"Wx23"Hx20"D

View attachment 354369

With headrest:
24"Wx28"Hx20"D

View attachment 354370


Then I ran out into the garage and measured my FJ40...Width between the wheel wells: ~41"

So, the answer is the seats will not fit between the wheel wells. They would however fit on top of the wheel wells.

If you REALLY wanted to use a set of 3rd row seats from an 80 in a 40 it could be done if you are ok with mounting them on top of the wheel wells. Without the headrests the height wouldn't be that big of an issue.

The more I looked at the seats and the 40 I got to thinking that someone with the fabs skills might be able to come up with a pretty trick system using the 3rd row seat mounting hardware, including the bars that attach to the wheel wells. The bars would have to be modified to bolt to the 40's wheel wells and you'd have to come up with some sort of center section support pieces to work with the mounting part under the seats, but you'd end up with seats that fold, flip up, and recline . Oh, and you can add a center section seat belt (see my pic, I did) and have a 3 seater in the rear. You could also build some drawers that would fit under the seats.

Worth it?

What about 4Runner 3rd row seats? They might be narrower...

 

[MoCoNative]

Thank you very much. I don't mind fabbing stuff. I wanted to keep the rear heater, the fold and tumble seats look like they hit the heater, and take up space, even folded. I like the look of the Suzuki seats, and the way you can have one folded up and such, but again, they are fold and tumble. I am dreaming up a plan in my head to try short 40 series jump seats, and reworking them so they fold down like a normal jump seat, but open up like the the third row seats in an 80. But the seat itself is not that sturdy and would probably be pretty uncomfortable. But it would look very stockish. But finding a set, and such is costly, just looking in the classifieds, I saw several 80 seats for cheaper than 40 seats, and they may actually take less fab work.

So the bevel on the front corner to hug the fenderwell does not continue all the way to the back? What exactly does the hinge look like on the seat and fenderwell? I was thinking if the hinge was tucked in tight enough, and the bevel continued back you could get the extra inch or two to set the seat halfway down below the fender well. Although mounting to the top of the fender well would not be that bad. I guess it depends on how thick the seats are, but as I recall they are not too bad.

Stock jump seats put you several inches above the fenderwell tops, and even at 6'1" I can sit on a stock jump seat, with the hard top on, and just be against the roof. Not great, but headroom is pretty good in a 40. I have a soft top now, Ehsan style, so headroom is actually better now. Also looking at your other pictures, it looks like the fold down leg could actually be lenghtened to reach the floor. May loose the nifty kicker rod, but not a big deal. What unlatches those latches to the floor?

Sorry for all the questions, I thought the measurements would be close to fitting. I just don't have acces to an 80 to actually look at this stuff.

 

[autobon7]

I have a set out of my 95 if you are interested, shoot me a PM.

 

[corsair23]

G,

I'll try to remember to snap some more pics this weekend and post them up including shots that should answer the questions you have.

I believe the bevel does continue back but the hinge on the outer side of each seat sticks out a bit. But with the hinge off and the bevel maybe they will sit down pretty far? If I get real energetic I'll take a set out to the 40 and do some trial fitting - I've even got the set with no hinges to see how they'd fit too

Now thanks to you, I've got an idea in my noggin for yet another option for rear seats in the 40

Just FYI, overall height w/out the headrest is right about 23" so based on the ~18" of the seatback that makes the bottom cushion around 5" high.

As for the latching/locking. On the hinge side there are some "c" shaped parts that point down and slip over the mounting bar on the wheel well and then you slide the seat back so these slot between an upper and lower section of metal on the mounting bar. A metal tab then drops to lock the seats in place on the mounting bar to keep the seats from shifting forward. On the fold down "leg" part that you can see in the pictures in that link above there are two "locks" or whatever you call them (one at each end) that lock to a bar in the rear of the end. You pull on the small nylon loop that you can see in the pictures to release these so you can fold the seats up and then there is hook on the center side of the seats that you attach to the 3rd row grab bar in the 80 to hold them up. You can see this in those pics in the link as well.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't been moved to the 40s section yet...But thanks for thinking outside the box...I'm more interested in this now than I was at first

 

[MoCoNative]

I saw a good picture of the fender side of the hinge. Would be very easy to mod that to fit on the top of the fender well in a 40, then the seat would still pull out easily. Guess the next question is how big and bulky they look folded up on the fender well, and how much visibilty do they block. I know they block alot out the rear windows of an 80.

I'm headed out camping and elk hunting this weekend, but I'll take some measurements when I get back. I only posted in the 80 section to get some measurements from the owners. We're all cruiser owners though, right Of course now, if a guy gets leather rear seats in a 40, he'll have adapt the power leather fronts from an 80 too, this is turning into a big mythical plan in my head already.

 

[corsair23]

G,

Some pictures for you. Hopefully these help. If you do end up mounting a set of 80 series 3rd row seats into a 40 I would really like to see the pics and how you did it - I don't have the fab skills to do the work required but I think it might be possible. Not sure they'll fold up flat against the sides, especially if you have a full cage, but the relative flat bottom of the seats may make them decent candidates. If you can do the fab work yourself then cost wise you'd probably come out pretty cheap. Otherwise I'm still thinking the fold and tumble seats are the best answer for monkeys like me

On to the pics!

Not 80 series 3rd row seats but the front seats out of a Trailblazer (don't remember what year). Tight fit and they are BIG but they have the integrated 3pt seat belts which is nice...

Couple shots of the hinge/mounting bracket in an 80 and then loose on the wheel well of a 40:

Various views of 80 series 3rd seats in a FJ40...

Some front interior shots. I have a full cage so mounting up a fabbed up hinge/mounting bracket might prove to be a tight fit. Also, you had asked about the "bevel" and if it runs all the way from the front to the rear of the seat. The answer is sort of . It runs to about the middle of so of the seat and then flattens out if that makes sense. Hopefully the 3rd pic below shows it best.

Folded up against the cage:

 

[MoCoNative]

Thanks for all of your efforts. Seems they are just a few inches too big huh. I did some measuring myself. Your pictures show me even more. I thought the hinge was lower on the side of the seat. But if you hinge it there, I don't think they have enough room to fold up period. The rear is just too small. even without a bar, or one that went around the seats. I couldn't find enough room agains the top rail of the tub, which the narrowest point, for the seats to fold up against the wall. If they were a few inches narrower they would work great, but I'm thinking it is a lost cause. They would also block all view on the side windows. Guess I'll have to build something like I orignally thought. But if I get a chance to fit a pair I'll let you know.

 

[corsair23]

Agreed...Great idea though!!

I looked at the center row seats too in my LX and they are about the same width wise (a tad wider maybe) but I was thinking they might fit better with the flat botton and fold forward action. Issues would be the same though with height.

Have you confirmed that the fold and tumble will hit the rear heater? I don't have a rear heater installed in my 40 and the guys in my club that do don't have rear seats installed so I couldn't get a conclusive answer on that. I was thinking the back of the seat would hopefully sit high enough off the floor to clear the rear heater. Wouldn't help with the space issue but when you're talking about a 40 you don't have much to work with

Any thought to 4Runner 3rd row seats? No clue on cost on those but IIRC they are narrower...Next time I'm over at the inlaws I'll have to remember to measure them.

 

[MoCoNative]

I don''t know for sure on the heater and fold and tumble seat. I'm making an assumption, as most guys have pulled it out. Living in Craig, you need all the heat you can get.

I tried looking up 4 runner seats, and couldn't find much on them. What I saw, they were a solid bench, that folded forward. I also found several posts on Pirate, from guys with older runners, that wanted to add the seats, and that very few actually existed, it wasn't a popular option I guess.

 

[corsair23]

I tried looking up 4 runner seats, and couldn't find much on them. What I saw, they were a solid bench, that folded forward. I also found several posts on Pirate, from guys with older runners, that wanted to add the seats, and that very few actually existed, it wasn't a popular option I guess.

I'm thinking 3rd gen 4Runner 3rd row seats. I don't have any specs on them and never really looked into how they mount, but knowing how much narrower a 4Runner is compared to the 80 they might just be 3-4" narrower per seat needed to fit in the rear of a FJ40.

That said, I'm not sure of what years they were available on nor how inexpensively you might be able to pick a set up for...

In the end the best option might be a fold and tumble seat with some sort of customized quick release mounts that will allow you to just remove the rear seat when you need the space.

Good luck with whatever you decide in the end...I've been "deciding" for about 4 years now