I am looking for donor seats, (buckets) for the F1, "49". I lean toward a pair late 90's or early 2000's expy seats as they are large and comfortable. How about some pics and/or comments regarding what you have found that does or does not work in this era truck.


Thanks up front.

 

I'm going to use a set of Caravan seats. They fit nicely and were really cheap off of CL.

 

I just picked up a pair of bucket seats for my 51 f1 from a 1999 jeep grand cherokee the seats are the same from 1999-2004 mine are black leather & i got them from a friend of mine for $100 & they are power

 

These are out of a 97 Ford Taurus.



https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...lt-thread.html

______________________________________________
48 Ford F1 - Dark as it gets
46 Ford Tudor - Lightly toasted

"There are no excuses in Life, only choices"

 

I am looking for an original seat for my F-1, just in case someone is replacing one with a more modern seating solution.

 

where in Nevada are you I have one in auburn ca send me a PM

 

Roy, thanks, but you are about 600 miles away, I am south of Las Vegas. I do not know how to ship a seat, anyone ever done it?

 

Hey PBS,
We went with an S10 seat for our '50. We found the maximum width for our small F1 cabs was 52 inches - the S10 was 48 inches - leaving us room for the seat belt roll on the side of the seat. Any of the smaller modern bench seats will fit - Dakota, S10, Tacoma, Ranger, etc..


I liked the seat ideas on this link as well - some beautiful seats.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-pictures.html


Good luck over there in Delaware!! That's the one state east of the Mississippi still on my List to visit. I'll have to find some burning reason to get through there - food or beer usually does it.


Ben in Austin
1950 F1


Here is more general info. from the "Getting Started Tab" -


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. <!-- / message -->
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48 steel, those look great and I would not have thought of Taurus seats. Ben, thanks for the link. I did do a search but obviously didn't go back far enough. That said, I am the type that likes to regurgitate various issues as time goes on. There are always new people coming into the site and they are going to have the same problems others did before them.

 

Ben, if ya need a reason to see Delaware, here are a couple: The firsts state, there can only be one. Used to be part of the original grant to William Penn, (used to be part of Pennsylvania). The towns first city is a beach town founded by the Dutch in the mid 17th century. We have paces with names like "Murderkill" and "Slaughter". Dover downs, home of two NASCAR races each year is located in the capitol city. We have some great micro breweries. We border Maryland whose city on the Ocean, (Ocean City, Md), hosts one of the best cruise-in weekends in the entire Eastern Seaboard. I am the event coordinator the annual Fall Out Car and Bike show held at the Delaware Veterans Home each October. A great and growing show who offers all the proceeds to the residents of the home. Did I mention beaches and beer?

 

These are center seats out of a GM mini van of '89 vintage. Leather, adjustable fore and aft, adjustable back tilt and fold, two arm rests per seat, and a cup holder between the seats. I built the bases to have slight horizontal tilt adjustment for good leg support. I centered the driver seat behind the steering wheel and moved the passenger seat close to the door. I am please with the way they work. Very comfortable on a trip. The space between the seat back make the storage tray above the gas tank usable.

 

Ray, those look like they were made for the truck. Again, never would have thought of center row seats from anything.

 

I did not get into this thread in great detail but maybe I missed it somewhere. One of the issues that comes up with donar seats is the location of center seat to steering wheel. Some options may fit, but leave you sitting "off set" from center of the steering wheel. In some cases, I have heard of the column being slightly "tilted" where it mounts to the dash. Obviously this would also make it "out of square" to the seat. Im sure there are members who have more experience with this and maybe they can provide a solution.

 

The best price I came across shipping something large is Greyhound Bus. They can even handle a hood.

 

Have to agree. I have had fenders and hoods, for different cars, shipped via greyhound. Never an issue. They just don't deliver to the house. You have to go get them.