To set up my window cleaning van it would be great if I could move the passenger seat to be behind the driver seat. Is this a simple matter of drilling holes and putting in bolts or is there some major structural difference in the bottom of the van that would prohibit this moving of the seat?

 

How rusty is your 96's belly? Have you taken out the passenger seat yet? How "great" would it be to move it behind the drivers seat?

If you haven't tried to remove the seat base, rust could be a Deal Breaker. A little dirt/corrosion can make the special, fine thread, bolts (required to pass crash tests) real Ball Busters.

The floor is specially reinforced underneath to provide crash worthy, seat mounting points. It is NOT "a simple matter of drilling holes" to relocate the seat anywhere you want, IF you want to do it right. You really need to inspect the underside of your Econoline to see what you've got & what's in the way. IMO just "putting in bolts" anywhere, w/o a serious attempt to reinforce the thin floor panel, would be half fast.

Not sure if all Econolines are built w/reinforcements underneath, to accept brackets for, latch release, middle row, Capt chairs, like Club Wagons. This alternative requires a matching Capt chair base & bracket, possibly the entire seat & must use the factory location.

 

Thanks for getting back, I appreciate your help. I did not really think this one through very well when I posted.

You have a very civilized forum here, other parts of the net I would have been burned at the stake.

Cheers friends.

 

i have a '95 E350. i regularly take the first row of seats (bench seat for 3 people) and flip it around so that it faces the rear of the van. you are not asking that, you just want to put the front pass seat behind the driver and (i assume) have no other seats. my preference would be to get a local shop to build a rectangular frame that would bolt to the van floor via the factory 3 person bench seat holes and just bolt the stock seat and belt to it.

on my van there are 4 brackets per bench seat and two bolts per bracket. just use a total of 4 factory bolt holes and incorporate the front seat floor mounted seat belt (the receiver end) into the rectangular bracket. then use the stock shoulder harness for the window seat of the bench seat - sb long enough. alternative would be to use two of the leftmost bench seat bolts holes and just add the two you need to the right. just remember to use a plate with a nut welded to it for those two - you need to spread the load an impact will create across the sheet metal floor.

ohhh and don't forget to look underneath before you start drilling. then do a small pilot hole and stick some thin wire thru it and crawl under and inspect before going for the bigger hole.