Troll Question re: Front Bench Seat

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Sorry to bother you minitruck guys....I'm in the process of cutting up an FJ55 to make a service rig...the factory seat back is very thick and I want to keep the bulkhead as tight to the b pillar as possible in order to-BLAHBLAHBLAHlong story short...Can anyone post a pic or 2 of the factory bench seat and provide overall width across the back at the base and the shoulder and the rough thickness at the shoulder and headrest? TIA

 

[Combat Chuck]

Bench seats are kind of a four-letter word here, but I will post up some info after my next pick-n-pull run, providing they have any minis with benches.

 

[KLF]

Trust me, you don't want that bench seat. I've had a couple, and they are awful, very uncomfortable. I always thought that seat was Toyota's way to get back at us for kicking their butt in the WW2.

 

[80t0ylc]

............... I always thought that seat was Toyota's way to get back at us for kicking their butt in the WW2.

The "racing bucket" isn't much better. Course mine's 30 yrs old. Combat Chuck replaced his 1st gen seat with a Ranger bench. I'm thinking about doing the same.

 

[Combat Chuck]

The "racing bucket" isn't much better. Course mine's 30 yrs old. Combat Chuck replaced his 1st gen seat with a Ranger bench. I'm thinking about doing the same.

Ranger seats rock.
I already know that on that fateful day when I build myself am FJ60 with a 12HT/H55f, I'll go full-size, and swap in the F350 split bench seats.

Ford and Toyota are neck-and-neck for interior quality, but Ford doesn't do funny things with the seat-rail geometry.

 

[NorCalBorn]

Ford and Toyota are neck-and-neck for interior quality, but Ford doesn't do funny things with the seat-rail geometry.

Speaking of four letter words, REPORTED.

Mods, he cant be saying F**D in here. We gotta get you a Hilux bench from Oz.

 

[Combat Chuck]

Speaking of four letter words, REPORTED.

Mods, he cant be saying F**D in here. We gotta get you a Hilux bench from Oz.

you caught me!
I am a recently out-of-the-closet Ford guy. Don't tell my Chevy-loving family...
Hey, if you guys want to cover the cost of acquiring the Hilux seat, I will gladly place my bum on one side and gym bag on the other.

Good to hear from you, Shane!

 

[Badfish740]

Bench seats are kind of a four-letter word here,

OK I'm curious-can someone explain this one to a noob? My bench isn't all that comfortable but its mostly because the foam is shot-I was actually thinking about seeing if I could have it redone. My dog (70lb chocolate lab) would kill me if I put in buckets. He lays across the seat with his head on my lap wherever we go.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Speaking of four letter words, REPORTED.

Mods, he cant be saying F**D in here. We gotta get you a Hilux bench from Oz.

where do I find specs on these? wait. I'll use the search

 

[Combat Chuck]

OK I'm curious-can someone explain this one to a noob? My bench isn't all that comfortable but its mostly because the foam is shot-I was actually thinking about seeing if I could have it redone. My dog (70lb chocolate lab) would kill me if I put in buckets. He lays across the seat with his head on my lap wherever we go.

I was mostly joking, but the emerging trend is to go buckets as soon as possible.
Personally, I love a good bench seat, they're much more practical than buckets, especially from my own perspective of being in a utilitarian mindset, it makes more sense to have a bench. That's why I put the 60/40 split bench from a Ranger into The Mule: the best of both worlds!

Another trend is to run racing buckets, but thus far, 3:4 people who have run or presently have them dislike them, and I'm among the dislike group.

 

[Badfish740]

I was mostly joking, but the emerging trend is to go buckets as soon as possible.
Personally, I love a good bench seat, they're much more practical than buckets, especially from my own perspective of being in a utilitarian mindset, it makes more sense to have a bench. That's why I put the 60/40 split bench from a Ranger into The Mule: the best of both worlds!

Another trend is to run racing buckets, but thus far, 3:4 people who have run or presently have them dislike them, and I'm among the dislike group.

Thanks I like the 60/40 bench idea-did you happen to post about the install? I'd love to see pics. My wife and I about the same height but she is all legs and hates how close I pull the bench up sometimes. If I put the 60/40 in I can keep her AND the dog happy

 

[Combat Chuck]

Thanks I like the 60/40 bench idea-did you happen to post about the install? I'd love to see pics. My wife and I about the same height but she is all legs and hates how close I pull the bench up sometimes. If I put the 60/40 in I can keep her AND the dog happy

I did.
I spent some time scouring the interwebs to try and find if anyone had ever tried this before, but found no answers, so I made a post about it for future reference.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyo...-60-40-bench-seats-into-first-gen-pickup.html

Dimensionally, they're a tight fit for a first-gen, but for your third-gen, I think they'd be perfect.



Initially, I wanted to go all Toyota, but i remember reading that the seat-rail geometry is pretty funky with the Taco split-bench setup, and they cost a good deal more.
I walked off the showroom floor of the salvage yard with these seats for $200 even, they were in really good shape for the price, and the seat rails were the same arrangement as my stock rails, but about an inch wider on either end.

 

[cornholio]

I've got the factory bench in my '83, and even with half of the foam gone it's nice and comfortable. The springs will put your head through the ceiling in the bumpy stuff but it's comfortable.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

if you could post a pic with a tape measure in it showing the length, I'd be stoked. Thanks Corn!

 

[Pluton]

OK I'm curious-can someone explain this one to a noob? My bench isn't all that comfortable but its mostly because the foam is shot-I was actually thinking about seeing if I could have it redone. My dog (70lb chocolate lab) would kill me if I put in buckets. He lays across the seat with his head on my lap wherever we go.

The reason the mini truck bench seats will never be comfortable is because the only suspension they have is the seat cushion foam itself. There are no springs. The foam has to made soft in order to act as a suspension. Soft, in this case, is too soft.

 

[KLF]

Plus there's a bar in the back section that digs right into your back as the cushion wears out.

 

[Wasted Dragon]

Just saw this thread today, figured I might be able to help a little.

Here the seat length across the base. As you can see, it's around 4 ft.

This is the length across the bench seat across the shoulders. Around 47".

The width across the shoulder I think you were asking for.

The width across the headrest

I hope this helps at least a little bit, I know it's a little late, but hell I figured I might as well.

It is a rough estimate since no one is at the other end holding the tape measure.

As for people saying the bench seat uncomfortable, try having a hot chick sit in the middle. One sharp turn to the right makes it all worth it hahaha.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

dude AWESOME!!! thank you! I don't even get in here very often and as this has been back burnered, I had forgotten about it. Dude, that seat would fit like a glove in my pig up. Cheres!

 

[Wasted Dragon]

No prob, I'm glad I could help. Good luck with your install.

 

[NorCalBorn]

Oooohhhhh-Oooohhhhh-Oooohhhhh-Oooohhhhh!!

Now my thoughts are racing! What about using a rear seat setup from a 2nd-Gen Runner? They have headrests, all you'd have to do is figure out the seatback latch assembly and then you'd have 50-50 fold and tumble's. For that matter how about grafting in the entire 2nd-Gen 4Runner body assembly since you're making it into a cab'd pickup anyhow? You'd get the jack storage point as a bonus. Leather not necessary.

Just an idea. More work, but if done right it would be pretty sweet IMHO.