I was wondering if anyone knew what other bench seat would fit a 51 f1

 

I think the 51 has a narrower cab, but I know a mid 80s GM truck bench seat is a fairly popular seat to put in the 53-56 trucks and they can be found pretty much anywhere.

 

The stock seat works pretty well. I re-covered mine...after cleaning the frame and repairing a few springs. I then painted the frame with POR-15. The cover came from Raybuck.

 

And I'll add that the picture looks good, but it doesn't do the cover justice. That seat looks really good.

 

Post #6 gives some good info on this:


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-articles.html


I used a bench from a Honda Passport on Dodge Caravan brackets in mine. Fits well and is comfortable.

 

There's been several people on here that have utilized Ranger seats


Bobby

 

Hey Bob,
Here is the Bible for Seats in our trucks. It's a little rough but it does go through the alternatives commonly used in our trucks. For the '48- '52 F1's we used 52 inches as the maximum width for a seat. We went with an S-10 seat I picked up in Houston. It's 48 inches wide - leaving us room for the seatbelt roll on the side.


You may also find that you need to build some sort of box for your seat to sit on to get the most comfortable position for your steering wheel, pedals, etc.


Ben in Austin
1950 F1


Seat info
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An excellent article by ferguson777 I`m reposting here, it`s also part of the above link https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/i...rd_Trucks.html
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Here are some measurements that you might want to consider when looking for a new seat.
· Inside cab width from door panel to door panel (where the seat bottom is the widest)
o 1948-1952 F-1 = 53.5 inches
o 1953-1956 F-100 = 58 inches
· Distance between the door handle tips
o 1949 F-1 = 51.5 inches
· Distance between the fat part of the door handles
o 1949 F-1 = 45-5/8 inches
· Distance across the cab at the rear door post
o 1949 F-1 = 57 inches
· Distance from door panel to door panel
o 1957-1960 F-100 = 62 inches
· Distance from door handle to door handle
o 1957-1960 F-100 = 56 inches
· Stock bench seat width
o 1960 F-100 = 59 inches
There seems to be an issue (particularly found by older members of the forum) with the space between the steering wheel and the seat shrinking over time, resulting in limited intestinal accommodation. Fortunately the newer seats use a different type of spring so they tend to be thinner in the back. This provides more room in that area. This is something to think about before you buy a big, fat seat out of a Cadillac or Lincoln or some other land yacht. With a newer seat, you will usually pick up storage space under the seat bottom as well.
The following suggestions are based upon input from this forum. There is also an article in the August 2004 issue of Classic Truck that deals with this subject and contains many pictures of the suggested alternative seats. Note that we are not spending time discussing bucket seats. Once you ditch the console, you can pretty much fit any bucket into any truck, although generally you’ll end up with a built in headrest sticking up in your back window.
1948-1952 Trucks – Seat Width No More Than 52 Inches
· 2000 Ford Escort buckets
· Mid/late 1980s to 1996 Ford Ranger or Broncos
o 60/40 bench or buckets
o Perfect fit
o Used by many
o Bench is 51” wide at it’s widest point
o Back folds forward
o No headrests to poke up in the back window
o 2-door donors fold, 4-door donors don’t
o Very popular with members of the forum
· 1989 through mid 1990s Ford Explorer
o Buckets or 60/40 bench
· Middle or rear seats out of a 1996 Dodge Caravan
· 1996 and newer Chevy Astro Van
· 1996 and newer full sized GM van middle or rear seats
· 1995 and newer Toyota Tacoma
· 1994 and newer Chevy S-10/Sonoma
1953-1960 Trucks – Seat Width No More Than 58 Inches
· 2001 F-150
NOTE: There are several different styles of bench seats used in the late 1980s through late 1990s GM trucks – quasi-buckets, 60/40s and full benches. They all tend to have thin backs which helps to increase leg space where needed. Some have built in arms rests and a level of seat bottom sculpturing to them, some don’t. These seats are also well liked by a number of the members of this forum.
· 1988-1998 GM truck seats
o Excellent looking brackets
o Easy to adapt
o Headrests tend to be removable
· 1988-1994 Chevy Silverado bench
o No headrest
o Fold down arm rest
o Very stylish
· 1997 and newer F-150 bench
o Has a built in headrest
o Brackets are a bit of a challenge
· Late 1990s Chevy Suburban
· 1987 Chevy pickup bench
· The 2000 and newer Suburban
o 60/40 bench
o Removable headrests
o Not the most stylish thing
o Brackets are clunky looking
The 1999 and newer GM Silverado 40/20/40 “bench” is an interesting possibility. It’s 60 inches wide, but it’s really more like two buckets with a “jump seat” between. You could easily omit the middle section and put in a narrower console or nothing. They do have built shoulder belts, saving you the issue of mounting the shoulder restraint to the wall between the rear window and the doors. You might fit this whole set up into a 1953-1960 F-100. The 1994 through 2001 Dodge truck also has a similar set up, though less stylish than the GM version. It will have the same pluses and minuses.
Another issue to consider is that you need to build some sort of bracket to mount your new seat(s) to your truck. If you’re using the 1988-1998 GM seats, it’s pretty straightforward. Just look at the stock GM mounting brackets and it’s a no brainer. However, if you’re using Ford seats or buckets, this can get a little tricky. For a few good pictures of the brackets one member made to install a later model seat check out this thread. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=114729 The work was done by KAI - our German buddy. He was putting a 1980 F-350 seat in a 1954 F-100. His brackets deal quite nicely with the weird bend/angle in the front of the stock Ford brackets. They are wonderful in their simplicity and could easily be modified to compensate for a shorter driver.
For an excellent example of brackets fabricated to hold the 1996-2000 Ranger 60/40 bench/bucket, check out those made by Scott123 (Scott Jones). He has provided pictures and plans, so you could make a copy of the “Scott123 Super-Duper seat frame 2000” if you wish.
Check out their galleries for the pictures/plans referred.
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Fomoko1..Morris Chapter Leader Manitoba/Saskatchewan
2012 F150 Super Cab FX4
56 F350 dually & 53 & 56 M100 93 F150
98 Ranger XLT S/cab
65/67 Mustang Fastbacks

 

second row seat out of a 2013 exploder... I think. Fits awesome.

 

I've been using a rear seat from a late model Dodge Caravan in my 51 F1.

I just sectioned and widened it as I'll be having it upholstered soon. I added 5" to the width. And removed the folding mechanism and built my own brackets to orient the back and seat.

Will add some photos soon.

If I did it again, I'd fit something that was a little wider initially. Still, I spent maybe 4 hours sectioning and welding in new material.

Cheers,

Doug

 

That Honda Passport seat looks awesome. Also dig the middle seat from the Explorer.

 

Here's the dodge caravan seat installed. I widened it 5 1/2" and raised it 3". The sectioning work I did outboard of the base mounts. I also built a horseshoe - shaped trim panel below to cover the sliding mechanism. My upholsterer built up the seat from scratch based on my design and the frame I modified. Since I widened it, I also added to the bench's suspension, which was made of coil spring and tension wires. I added four more coil springs with their respective tension wires.

Probably in to the seat for 15 hours of my own time.

Doug