Front Seat Installation

[durangodds]

I have a passenger side front bench seat I am trying to install in my '85 fj60. The seat was originally in a mid-east model. I have 4 small boys, so I'm excited about finding a solution to fitting everyone in the 60 without loosing any rear cargo space.

Naturally, the brackets for the new seat are wider than the old one. I was hoping that there would be factory mounting positions already drilled and tapped. I was half right. The front hole was already there, I just had to cut a little hole in the carpet. The problem is that the back part of the bracket lands on one of the elevated straps for the original jockey box.

I just wanted to pick your brains and see if anyone had a simple solution before I try anything foolish (I need to improve my mechanical skills). I should say that the way it is now, it pretty much sits level. The strap is only slighty shorter than the original mount tower. Here is what the seat looks like sitting on the brackets as is.

 

[fowldarr]

I've never pulled my seats out, how are the elevator straps attached? Are they welded there, or bolted somehow? I would consider cutting it out so that your seats sit level. Another solution would be to alter the bracket on the seat. If you took off the little kick down toe piece then fabricated one to make up the difference and just attach it to the elevator strap. Still, though seats aren't easy to come by, so I wouldn't want to screw it up.

 

[2mbb]

Is that the bracket from the new seat (bench) or the old seat? The height seems OK, but it's hard to tell if the bench seat is too high because the bracket is sitting on the console support.

If the height is OK, I would get a longer bolt for the front and stack washers between the floor support and the bracket on the front to move the bracket forward one inch. Then bolt the rear though the console bracket.

If the height is not OK, then see if the seat bracket will fit under the console bracket--the sides of the console bracket are open. It looks like it might just slide underneath...

Neat seat, though.