Calling 80 owners
- Thread starter Ground Up
- Start date
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24" across the back without mounting bracket
As Most all of us rip them out and toss them in a corner of the garage or even the dustbin 
, Why do you ask?
, Why do you ask?
Yeah.....what are you working on?
psst......Dan......if you have a corner full of them............PM ME!~
psst......Dan......if you have a corner full of them............PM ME!~
- Thread starter
- #7
I have got a FJ40 that I have wanted to put a rear seat in. The kicker is that I am doing a true restoration on the truck, but I want to be able to carry the kids or passangers as safely as possible. (OEM rear seats are far from safe)
I have been really torn with putting a full cage in and not doing detrimental damage to the thing. I have since decided though that my family is worth more than the simple body work it would take to repair the few holes that it would take to mount the cageand to take the truck to perfect stock.
So along with the cage I wanted to fab a seat frame that attached to the roll cage to attach a set of seats. Well, my thought first was to use the seat that would fold forward (Suzuki Samari Seat), but then I got thinking that the seats in the 80 would give me more of what I wanted (Toyota Built Seat) and would fold up out of the way to give me full floor use.
I have been seriously thinking about fabbing something custom and then marketing and selling them to be an option for the inferior (In My Opinion) Confer. Not sure there is that much call for them or being able to make a buck for my time.
So I am tring to see if the 80 seats would work. I know from the width measurement that they will have to sit above the wheel wells but that will give needed height above the floor.
Anyones input at this stage would be great.
Sorry for the ramble, just thinking out loud...............
I have been really torn with putting a full cage in and not doing detrimental damage to the thing. I have since decided though that my family is worth more than the simple body work it would take to repair the few holes that it would take to mount the cageand to take the truck to perfect stock.
So along with the cage I wanted to fab a seat frame that attached to the roll cage to attach a set of seats. Well, my thought first was to use the seat that would fold forward (Suzuki Samari Seat), but then I got thinking that the seats in the 80 would give me more of what I wanted (Toyota Built Seat) and would fold up out of the way to give me full floor use.
I have been seriously thinking about fabbing something custom and then marketing and selling them to be an option for the inferior (In My Opinion) Confer. Not sure there is that much call for them or being able to make a buck for my time.
So I am tring to see if the 80 seats would work. I know from the width measurement that they will have to sit above the wheel wells but that will give needed height above the floor.
Anyones input at this stage would be great.
Sorry for the ramble, just thinking out loud...............
I keep mine. It is really a gas to take a group of VIPs up the mountain, and then take the hard route. They think you are fawking nuts. 
)))
Cheers,
Sean
)))Cheers,
Sean
the 80's 3rd row seats clamp at the sides very simply to steel tube. that lends itself to fab work but they also have feet that latch into tubular lugs in the floor, to have any strength they need both, if they are going to ride high you woudl have to build up supports in the middle of the floor killing your floor space
they are just shy of a foot folded, you can find a lot of pics of them on Ebay, just about every 80 for sale shows a shot of them in one either folded or deployed
they are just shy of a foot folded, you can find a lot of pics of them on Ebay, just about every 80 for sale shows a shot of them in one either folded or deployed
Small note; If you are thinking of safety with the additional seating, I believe the earlier years 80s have the middle seat belt (three total) and the later years were omitted. Someone correct me if I am mistaken. But you are right that would be sweet to use those seats in a 40.
tucker74
Moderator
I've got a set of gray cloth ones sittting in the garage that I'm never going to put back in if you're interested...just ping me (don't know where you are located) -
Tucker
Tucker
The big question is how you would do seatbelts. In the 80, the D pillar is designed to mount a seatbelt. With an internal cage, you should be looking at five point harnesses, and I'm not sure that 80 seats could be modified to accept harnesses. But in my opinion, that is the only way to keep your kids truly safe in a vehicle that is used a manner that actually warrants an internal cage.
In any case, the current line of safety thinking is that both seats and belts should be bolted into the same structure. In other words, you either bolt both seats and belts into the vehicle directly, or you bolt both into the cage. The reason is that if you have seats bolted into a cage, but belts into the vehicle, and in a severe impact the cage is separated from the vehicle, then belts could either become useless or deadly. If everything is bolted to the cage, then your kids are protected in that their entire restraint system should remain attached to the cage under any circumstance (and the cage should be at least .120 DOM for an internal setup, although for adding seat mounts for my kids I think I'd sacrfice the weight and use a bit thicker tube).
You can get clip on harness mounts, and the question would be whether you can also do clip on mounts for the seats so that you can quickly remove the entire assembly for trips when the kids won't be coming along. This would be ideal.
I'll toss in a shamless plug and advertise that I have a set of preteen (good for up to age 12) racing seats from PRP that are designed with mounts to bolt (or possibly clip) into a cage, along with five point harnesses. I also have a set of toddler sized seats with harnesses (good up to about age four). I was going to put both sets into a Jeep Cherokee to fit all four kids while they are small, but am moving into a FZJ80 instead. All seats and harnesses are unused, and the harnesses meet SFI 16.1 certification. The seats are properly sized for smaller children, which keeps them properly belted and saves cargo room. I'd part with a set of seats and belts for $200, which less than half what they cost new.
This is a pic of the seats sitting in the basic position (they would be several inches higher and to the rear). I hadn't completed the cage in order to create the mounting points (c pillar hoop, seat mounting floor, harness bars across B/C/D pillars, reinforcing triangulation), so they aren't bolted in at all. PM me if you are interested in more details or the seats and harnesses.
Nay
In any case, the current line of safety thinking is that both seats and belts should be bolted into the same structure. In other words, you either bolt both seats and belts into the vehicle directly, or you bolt both into the cage. The reason is that if you have seats bolted into a cage, but belts into the vehicle, and in a severe impact the cage is separated from the vehicle, then belts could either become useless or deadly. If everything is bolted to the cage, then your kids are protected in that their entire restraint system should remain attached to the cage under any circumstance (and the cage should be at least .120 DOM for an internal setup, although for adding seat mounts for my kids I think I'd sacrfice the weight and use a bit thicker tube).
You can get clip on harness mounts, and the question would be whether you can also do clip on mounts for the seats so that you can quickly remove the entire assembly for trips when the kids won't be coming along. This would be ideal.
I'll toss in a shamless plug and advertise that I have a set of preteen (good for up to age 12) racing seats from PRP that are designed with mounts to bolt (or possibly clip) into a cage, along with five point harnesses. I also have a set of toddler sized seats with harnesses (good up to about age four). I was going to put both sets into a Jeep Cherokee to fit all four kids while they are small, but am moving into a FZJ80 instead. All seats and harnesses are unused, and the harnesses meet SFI 16.1 certification. The seats are properly sized for smaller children, which keeps them properly belted and saves cargo room. I'd part with a set of seats and belts for $200, which less than half what they cost new.
This is a pic of the seats sitting in the basic position (they would be several inches higher and to the rear). I hadn't completed the cage in order to create the mounting points (c pillar hoop, seat mounting floor, harness bars across B/C/D pillars, reinforcing triangulation), so they aren't bolted in at all. PM me if you are interested in more details or the seats and harnesses.
Nay
You may want to pm fj40crusher, I gave him my 3rd row seats to put in his 40.
Vince
Vince
