Advice on seats (1 Viewer)

[Alex Waddell]

I am doing a Resto-mod on a 68' FJ40 that had the original bench front seats.
The P.O. stripped all the seats down to bare metal so I am looking at getting them re-covered.
However I could change direction and go with bucket seats.
I am not trying to go original but don't want to damage resale value either.
Do you think that swapping out the original for bucket seats would hurt or help the resale price?

 

[3_puppies]

if it is a resto mod, put in whatever comfortable seats you like.

 

[Alex Waddell]

For the price of new original seat covers & selling the original seat hardware, I could probably find some good bucket seats.
Thanks!

 

[brooklyn]

I have a 67 Fj40 - If your thinking bucket seats the one thing I have encountered is the height of the passenger seat vs the drivers due to the in cab gas tank. Lots of ways to get them to the same height, but you do have to test as you don’t want to be sitting to high just to keep the at the same height.

 

[Living in the Past]

I switched out the stock bench seats in my 68 back in 1983 or maybe a year or two earlier. Installed buckets from an 74 FJ40. Think the hurt in value depends on how far from original it is. The more easy visible the changes think would hurt more. Disc brakea aren't that easy to spot and are a safety improvement. Exterior and inside the cab are easy to spot if aftermarket. If going with aftermarket seats and keeping the stock column and steering wheel would research and text the height before installing.

 

[Alex Waddell]

Thanks for the good advice brooklyn & Living in the Past.
My modifications are mostly invisible (power steering, disk breaks & a 3F-E) and it may be a hassle getting the seats the right & fabbing the brackets. .
I will stay with the original seats.

 

[Living in the Past]

Thanks for the good advice brooklyn & Living in the Past.
My modifications are mostly invisible (power steering, disk breaks & a 3F-E) and it may be a hassle getting the seats the right & fabbing the brackets. .
I will stay with the original seats.

My 68's front seats were trashed when I bought it in 74. The passenger seat the frame for the back was bent and block of wood was being used to hold it upright. At the time there was only one wrecked FJ40 I could find in Flagstaff. On a trip to visit my folks in Southern California I picked up a passenger seat at a wrecking yard around LAX. Don't remember why I didn't get the driver's seat. Maybe didn't have it or was too poor. I worked at a paper mill and recoverd it with a material from a pick up felt. Worn like iron but seat was never comfortable. My 70 has recovered original seats. I use a cushion laying on the bottom for extra padding. The 73-78 buckets are really a good fit and not reinventing the wheel. Other than dealing with the tool box under the driver's seat the tub is pretty much the same.

 

[Alex Waddell]

My 68's front seats were trashed when I bought it in 74. The passenger seat the frame for the back was bent and block of wood was being used to hold it upright. At the time there was only one wrecked FJ40 I could find in Flagstaff. On a trip to visit my folks in Southern California I picked up a passenger seat at a wrecking yard around LAX. Don't remember why I didn't get the driver's seat. Maybe didn't have it or was too poor. I worked at a paper mill and recoverd it with a material from a pick up felt. Worn like iron but seat was never comfortable. My 70 has recovered original seats. I use a cushion laying on the bottom for extra padding. The 73-78 buckets are really a good fit and not reinventing the wheel. Other than dealing with the tool box under the driver's seat the tub is pretty much the same.

I will likely go with the SOR seat cover & foam sets on the OEM seat frames.
But they are a bit pricey.

 

[Mtntopper]

I will likely go with the SOR seat cover & foam sets on the OEM seat frames.
But they are a bit pricey.

I went with Cruiser Corp fabric and SOR foams, my truck was close to stock so that was my deciding factor. Been happy with them.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

From my experience go with SOR.

Cruiser Corp seat covers for 1977 FJ40

I would have added this to the 'what have you done lately' thread, but I wanted to add some helpful hints, so started a new thread. Purchased the Cruiser Corp seat covers for front and back of my 1977 FJ40. First, the seat covers are extremely well made. The fabric is very supple and looks very...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Living in the Past]

For off road prefer the bucket style. I added a 79 roll bar to gain three point seat belts. Decided against adding a roll bar in my 73 FST. Will see how I like just lap belts verses three point belts. My wife hates my 40s so not as big a concern not having anything for the passenger to grab on to.