Seat Rodeo - or Rodeo Seats?

[SteveH]

I read all the threads on seat swapping in this forum, but after looking at dozens of wasted car seats (of the type that fit) at the Pick and Pull, I decided to see if I could get a set of nice clean, tan 1999 Mazda Protege seats to fit my FJ62. I brought them home, but discovered hat the rail spacing was so wide that the factory seat belts (and the seats) wouldn't fit without major mods.

I returned the seats to the yard and then found the elusive clean set of Dodge Neon seats, which were gray and didn't match my interior. They had a bit of a cheap look to them, too.

On the way out of the yard, I saw a perfect pair of gray (wrong color) 2002 Honda Passport (same as Rodeo) seats. I tossed the Neon seats in the back of the Passport and snagged the Passport seats. They have a seat back pocket and weighed about 50% more than the Neon seats. These are nicely made seats and the seat belt holster is easily removed from the seat, since you won't use it anyway.

As others have noted, they're almost a bolt in, but the right front (and left front) feet are about 2" away from the Toyota seat mount nut. See photo. I will have to fabricate a foot extension for this anchor point.

To summarize: there are 5-6x as many gray Rodeo/Passport interiors as there are tan ones, so you will have to look hard for tan seats. But, the seats fit well, are the correct height, allow the rear seat to fold, and have a great range of adjustment. My truck is an '89 FJ62.

Just another thread on seat swapping. I also looked at PT Cruiser seats and Grand Cherokee seats, but they all were in poor condition or were otherwise unsuitable.

 

[gregnash]

Sub'd... I may have to replace my front seats in the near future.

 

[jawjatek]

Nice. Definitely going to keep an eye out for a pair of these. I fixed up my saggy original seat with the new foam from SOR, but I still have an issue with the headrest, and this looks like the way to go for comfort on long trips.

 

[SteveH]

These have quite a bit of lower back support, nice headrests, and the side bolsters are adequate, if not likely to strike fear in the hearts of Recaro seat-lovers.

I'm going to drive this truck to a Toyota rally in Denver this Sat., and I suspect these seats will be wildly more comfortable than the boned out, dog-chewed OEM seats that came with the truck. I may try to hunt up some tan seats while in Denver, too, and will update this thread if I score a set of those.

 

[Tapage]

I gotta dedicate some time at the yards to see what I can source .. since nor Neons or Passports ( Rodeos as well ) are common down here ..

I will check on Rav4 and Nissan sedan options that seems to be more common around here ..

 

[ozarkcruiserfj60]

do the Passport seats have the lumbar adjustment? thats what i really need.

 

[hward1]

seat covers and you wouldnt even be able to tell (well maybe have to paint the plastic black or something and maybe the original headrests would fit) - looks good - nice find ?how much

 

[TobyB]

Those look like a nice compromise between ugly and comfortable-
Isuzu Rodeo = Honda Passport <> Seat Leon!
(sorry, pills aren't working so well tonight, I guess)

hee

t

 

[SteveH]

Pick and pull seats are typically $60/pr. full-price yards often charge $150-250/pr. - more if leather/power/heated. These do not have an adjustable lumbar, but the latent lumbar support is pretty impressive.

I found a set of tan ones nearby for $50 and may try to snag those. '99 Camry seats are comfy, but the rail spacing is pretty wide. I found the act of trying to custom fit seats very frustrating, so a near-bolt-in deal is a big thing for me. I think I'd rather pull an engine than try to fab in some hard-to-fit seats.

Re: seat covers - good ones are $200/pr - so if I can find cheap tan Rodeo seats, I'll be money ahead. If I do, I may sell these gray seats to a fellow MUDder who needs them.

 

[SteveH]

I failed to give credit to this poster: https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-...lmost-bolt-seat-upgrade-2002-rodeo-seats.html

Also, the reason my 'foot' doesn't fit properly is that I have an FJ62, not a 60, and the seat rails are higher on an FJ62. Still, the Rodeo seats are by far the closest to a bolt-in deal that you will find.

 

[Woodie]

I went to Pick and Pull today and was happy to find a set of decent front seats for my FJ62. I discovered a 2000 Rodeo with a set of cloth non-power seats worth taking. After a few squirts of some PB Blaster, wrenched four bolts off, paid $60 out of pocket, my ass started to feel better. Actually I am hoping the whole left side of my body will regain feeling after I replace the OEM milk crate I am sitting on now.
I have yet to begin installation but do realize the seat frame spacing issue with the 62/Rodeo seats on the rails next to the door. I have a decent concept for a bracket to compensate and it may well be a simple bracket to fab but before I start I was wondering if anyone has fabbed some already. If so could you please post a photo? I will be happy to contribute photos of mine when I build them. Thought we could give future seat swappers who read this thread some good concepts for their own installs.
Cheers,
Woodie

 

[Woodie]

To clarify, the outside seat rails or door side is where the anchor bolt foot runs about 2" short. As SteveH's first photo illustrates at the top of the thread.

 

[Woodie]

I built a few simple brackets to compensate for the disparity of the door side rails on the Izuzu Rodeo seats in my FJ62.



I sketched a rather crude concept based on a few precursory measurements. Hope you can read the layout alright. I chose to use a 2” wide ¼” thick piece of steel stock. The 2” width fit nicely inside the “foot” of the seat rail. The holes are centered in the middle or at 1” and are exactly 2” center point to center point. The hole that the top bolt fits through is ¾ of an inch from the edge of the bracket to its center point. So draw a center line down the middle of your piece and then another line ¾ “ from one edge across the width of the piece. Where those two lines meet is the center point of your top hole. Measure down 2” from the top holes’ center point and draw another line across the width of your piece. The new line cross marks the center point of the bottom hole. Take note that the holes are not centered lengthwise. At the top of the bracket the hole is closer to the edge and the hole at the bottom is further from the bottom edge. I drill the holes before I cut the piece to length as it was easier to clamp on my drill press. I drilled the holes with a ½” drill bit. Once I finished the holes I used my steel chop saw to trim the length to a hair under 3 ¾”.

 

[Woodie]

I found when I test fit a cardboard prototype I realized that a straight bracket would not work to secure the bolts evenly. The little ridge on the floor of the cruiser where the bottom bolt fits has a very slight angle to it. I figured that I needed to bend the bracket at 1 ½” from the bottom edge of the bracket to meet that angle. I drew a line at 1 ½” and set it in my vice on that line. I tapped, with moderate force, the piece with my sledge until I had met the angle. I have no idea of the actual amount of degrees but as you can see in the photo it is very slight. I basically just tapped a little at a time and checked it in the cruiser until it fit. My goal was to meet the angle at the bottom of the bracket and have the top portion be close to straight. Once I got the correct set up I bolted the bottom in first and then tapped the rail “foot” to meet the bracket flush.
I hope this description makes sense and is helpful. I sure had fun putting the new seats in! Many thanks to SteveH for his insight and in starting this thread.
The dimensions of my finished bracket are:
2”w X 3 ¾ “L X ¼ “d

 

[lazydogoutfitters]

Snagged a set of these recently for mine and this post helped alot! Thanks to the OP