Hey guys,

I've got an 85 F-250 extra-cab with a bench seat and 4 spd tranny. The bench is pretty broke down and just about swallows me up when I sit in it. I really want to swap the bench out for a late model 40-20-40 bench with a fold down console. I don;t want to lose that middle seat since the rear bench is almost useless for all but kids. I've found used 40-20-40 set ups on e-bay and the like from just a 2004 lariat for about $600-700.

Obviously, at a minimum, this set up would have to fit inside the cab etc., and I've got a buddy with an 05 F-150 so I can measure what he's got and look at bolt patterns. I also will obviously have to drill some holes as the bench has no mounting holes on the inside part of the seat.

My question is essentially has anyone done anything like this? What might I expect to have to do to ensure this is safe? I've seen people on other forums just talking about adding a backing plate where you have to drill through, as it doesn't have the proper rigidity already in place. Is there a particular year I should look to. I know that everything 80-96 is essentially on the same basic truck, but don't know how well a say 1995 seat would fit.

Also, if anyone is aware of an aftermarket upgrade for our truck that would fit better or be easier to make fit, I'd love to hear about it.

 

You could always find one of those fancy XLT lariat bench seats. Although to be a bolt in deal, you'd have to find one from another Supercab as those had unique mounting patern.


It's like a 40/20/40 bench with a fold down center arm rest.

I swaped out the standard bench out of my F150 for this XLT one.

 

I have a 40/20/40 split bench from an 04 f250 in my truck. Near bolt in just takes some time to measure it all out! I got the seats for cheap (175.00) from an insurance yard. I still like the XLT trucks that had the electric lumbar adjust and flip down center section!



Be warned the 40/20/40 do not work very well for supercab trucks as they do not move enough to get in the back seat! It is a huge downfall of them as all newer 99+ supercab trucks have rear doors that open unlike ours.

 

^What year model is your truck?

I saw some kind of adapter bracket being sold on ebay that says it is to allow for 40-20-40 mounting to a bench seat set up. Here's a link to it - 80-96 FORD truck F-150 BENCH to BUCKET seat TRACK mount | eBay

Would I need something like this? I found a company, Qualitex that lists a part number for mounting hardware for my year and it says bench.

Thanks for the responses so far!

 

look at my pics I have converted seats in mine