Enjoyed the Chateau Folding Rear Bench Seat thread.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ench-seat.html

Now have Q's about the differences in front seats. May have finally found the my 92 Chateau's replacement, a '98 Chateau. The upholstery on these front seats give the impression of being the same, but the seat bases are dramatically different. By '98 FORD incorporated the seat belt anchor into the base, instead of the floor, giving more open floor space between seats.

Does anyone know if the '92 seats will fit on '98 bases? Don't think the bases swap.

As was mentioned, FORD downgraded Chateau, losing the folding rear bench/bed. Hadn't noticed the loss of opening rear windows or rear stereo outlet, but did see power seat & remote lock was gone.

May want to move Crystal blue '92 folding rear bench/bed into Medium graphite '98 w/3 pass bench. Am considering moving all 4 capt chairs. Two of the gray seats have damaged fabric, that look like they'd mend OK. Added plus is the power driver seat.

IF EVERYTHING WILL FIT.

 

Hi guys,

I was wondering if you could help me with a couple questions regarding seating arrangements. I'm considering buying a 1992 club wagon (heavy half) for my band. Currently we have an 84 extended dodge and it's just not doing so hot anymore, although it's taken us everywhere. It was a 3/4 ton upgraded to 1 ton springs because it used to sag alot because of either the overhang or worn leafs. We've since downsized our gear, so less weight than before. This van we're considering has 4 captains chairs and a queen bed/bench in the back.

My first question is, can the bench in the back be put in the middle and one of the captain's chairs be put in the back? The reason I ask is because we have 5 in the band and I want to utilize as much cargo space as possible whist keeping optimal comfort.

My second question is, will this be a significant downgrade from a payload standpoint? We really don't need an extended van for space, but my theory is that because most of the gear will be over the axle rather than near the back of the van like an extended, we'll be in better shape for the van staying level.

I appreciate any thoughts you may have.

 

Bluebellbus, the short answer is no, the buckets and the bench brackets are different. If the 2nd row was a bench then you could interchange in row 2 and 3, a 3 person, 4 person or bench bed

 

wow this is a cool thread, I bought my dream van today but it only came with 2 3seat benches(1mounted). I didn't even realize Ford made a folding bench for the fullsize vans after 91. I'm going to do some hunting now.

my new baby: 1994 E250 15 pass. clubwagon 7.3 powerstroke 366,000km . last owner used it for construction work so inside is kind of rough, but it goes down the road great.

I would love to find 2 of those folding benches and spread them out in the van. the front bench is almost to far forward for our kids.

I only got the brackets for the 2nd row bench too. not really what the guy promised but I was just so happy to find the clubwagon w/diesel I took it anyway. drove it home on my boss' dealer plate and it actually worked better than I expected.

usually things don't work like that, I've been dissappointed many times.
now I need to sell the aerostar and switch the plates over.

 

Typically the seats themselves would swap from differnt year bases as there seems to be a bit of standardization in seat construction especially the tracks which mount to the bases.

Having worked in a van conversion/refitting shop most any seat manufacturer's tracks aligned front-to-rear and side-to-side with existing factory bases, very very little drilling or resizing holes ever required. Its quite likely the different years will be an easy swap given that the change in the bases may have been more to accomodate the seat belt anchor system than totally different seat design or construction. Of course if its possible take measurements of the seat track mounting bolt locations to be sure.

 

I did some surfing last night and found one from a 1997 for $50, but the guy isn't sure if it is a conversion van seat or not. i'll be taking a look tonite its only about 15miles from my home

 

68 Merc, hope it is and OEM seat for only $50.00, that would be a great deal. those seats are getting harder to find and a working frame by itself is worth more than $50.00

One thing on those seats to look for is; does the recline to bed lever system work? I posted below a long version of putting that set up together on my '03. Along the way my first one had issues and I found out from the ford dealers, all the parts for these seats are long gone! Good luck! Mike

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

 

If OEM seats and bases are the goal I'd suggest Craig's List for local stuff, eBay for the hard to get/find items or the online salvage parts outfit LKQ Online.

By far the best stuff for seating will be OEM stuff and with a bit of patience gently used or salvage can be found at the right price.

 

Craigslist is almost non existent here in Ontario, just never caught on? kijiji is huge, big enough for Ebay to buy into it!

thats where I found my van and have made contact to look at the folding seat.

My 94 seems to have some conflicting year parts on it, its got disc brakes on the back and a local wrecker tells me that never came out until 98 on the eseries. I had some reservations about a 94 with a powerstroke but its there so ?

it might be a nightmare to find parts for...... we'll see.

hopefully I can get in to see the folding seat on Wednesday.

 

Does anyone know if the folding seat in a 1990 E150 is interchangeable with a 1983 rear seat?

 

i dont mess with these vans much but we have one for our church. the rear seat was taken out for insurance reasons. we have since switched insurance agencies and i want my rear seat back. the guy who took out the seat lost the brackets but has the seat. i need to know which years brackets will fit. most of what i see for sale is 08-14. will these work for my 91 van?

i thought it was a 92 but looking at the registration its a 91.

 

hello im new to this i was wondering if it was possible to take the 1998 ford club wagon 8 seater and add seats/an extra row