broken HOWTO - My C-for-C Loot - Installing Jeep Grand Cherokee Bucket Seats
#16
Those are some NICE seats! How much more comfortable are they than the bench seat you had? (I know, silly question)
Is that console a direct bolt-in?
I really like how the seats and console look together. It looks like a factory job.
Maybe you could get a short section of large metal pipe in the proper size and bolt or rivet that to the container you get?
(Or you could just set a roll of duct tape on top of the container and be done with it... )
Is that console a direct bolt-in?
I really like how the seats and console look together. It looks like a factory job.
You're probably right ... I'm more interested in something with function and durability ... than I care about appearance.
The military does have a lot of useful looking steel and aluminum containers. I might be better off looking at Cheaper than Dirt and Sportsman Supply for stuff like this.
No cup holders though. I'll probably have to bend something up and pop rivet it on the outside.
The military does have a lot of useful looking steel and aluminum containers. I might be better off looking at Cheaper than Dirt and Sportsman Supply for stuff like this.
No cup holders though. I'll probably have to bend something up and pop rivet it on the outside.
(Or you could just set a roll of duct tape on top of the container and be done with it... )
#17
out) so I'll just explain... The two front brackets are somewhat different
(although the rear ones look to be identical) but the larger problems are 1) The
rivet-like fasteners are of different sizes; one size is close to that of your thumb,
the other the size of your pinkie. I'd guess a grinding wheel would be best.
2) Access... the way things are shaped, the electrical sensors mounted on the
other side, the way the top portion of the slider assembly hinders access to
those "rivets," all of that makes it difficult.
It's purt obvious that stuff was put together with the intention of it never being
taken apart.
good idea to look at those, thanks!
Bingo!!! More below...
Those two separate brackets shown in my picture above are from a Ford
driver's side bucket seat; that was exactly my original idea, to put those
brackets in place on the Jeep buckets.
(As an aside, I got those Ford brackets from the same vehicle from which I got
the plastic center console.)
(As a second aside, it was an early 80s F250 extended cab (not crew cab as I
had stated earlier) that also had factory power mirrors! I had heard of the
existence of such an option but this was the first time I had ever seen 'em in
real life.)
Anyway... using the Ford brackets might still be an option but it'll be difficult
(explained above).
Right now, I'm leaning towards bending the tabs on the front of the Jeep
brackets to more closely match the Ford floor contour. I'll think about it some
more, ask a few people here locally to take a look and offer suggestions, that
kind of thing...
I'm the kind of guy who likes to think about things, look at various options,
learn from taken-apart vehicles in the junkyards before doing anything. This is
why I posted this stuff out here, to get some input & ideas from you guys.
elevated 'em up to the point that I had to squeeze my legs between the seats
and the steering wheel.
I have tilt steering, though, so it wouldn't be too much of a problem if they
were to stay there, I guess.
I also figured out that I'm glad I have a full-size truck! I'm 6'2" yet I still had
plenty of room 'til my head would hit the roof. But, pushing the clutch all
the way to the floor required extreme leg extension.
But, they're power-adjustable in every which away possible! Except side-to-side
tilt, I guess.
Should be, it was held on only with four sheet-metal screws. Not sure if it came
out of the factory that way or not but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.
are close and they don't look bad together, but they're not an exact match.
But, they're better than my current red velour bench seat (which is better than
the foreign seat that a PO had installed in it when I got it).
#18
Finally installed! Mostly, anyway. (WARNING: NOT DIAL-UP FRIENDLY)
Bringing back a thread from around a year ago, I got some leather, heated, fully
adjustable with all the bells & whistles (eject?) bucket seats from a mid-90s Jeep Grand
Cherokee during the Cash for Clunkers bonanza last year but the mounting of the same
took a bit of ingenuity seeing as how the holes & form factor didn't match up AT ALL.
Here it is about a year later and I *finally* got 'em installed (YEAH! I FINALLY HAVE
CUP HOLDERS!)). It hasn't snowed where I live yet so I can even kinda say their
installation was something I accomplished over the summer.
I need to give credit where it's due, me & a friend did this together in his shop so we had
some neato tools to help.
The finished product:
The console is a standard Ford plastic tub that's installed in some 80s-90s Broncos &
F-Series trucks with extended or crew cabs, I used sheet metal screws to hold it in place
and black shoe polish to clean up the scuffs.
How I ultimately did it
The Jeep seats bolt to the floor bottom in the rear but are bolted perpendicular to the floor in the
front:
I did some computer work for some people and they gave me two pieces of 3/16" plate
steel in return, this stuff flattened out the floor's contours as well as leveled it some.
For the rear
I drilled holes that are large enough to surround the raised portion where the seat belts
attach as well at the rearmost factory bolt location. Large washers under the seat belt
bolt and the factory seat bolts in the rear holes secure them to the floor:
For the front
We shaped some scrap pieces of the same size plate steel into brackets that we bolted
to the front of the floorboard, the seats bolt to them:
This is a good time to mention that the floor & tunnel contours are NOT symmetrical
(same on both sides).
The (flat & crappy) carpet hides it all:
A bit of grinding & bending of the rear seat brackets to level 'em out some:
Bolting to the floor
Grade 5 & 8 nuts & bolts, some fender washers & lock washers from the hardware store:
A PAIN IN THE ***
Ford installed a heat shield between the exhaust & floor, this thing is flimsy and bends
fairly easily but it's riveted in place, I didn't want to remove it cuz then I'd have to figure
out how to put it back.
It kinda sucks stickin' your hands & tools up there, got lots of scratches as a result. I
used High Tack gasket sealer to help here, used it to glue washers to the floor while I
fiddled with bolts & wrenches (affects inner passenger side front only):
Still To Do
- Need to figure out all the wiring; I figured out which ones supply the power and all the
motors work but I still need to figure out how to make the bun warmers work.
From what I can see, the seats were originally connected to some sort of computerized
console-management thingy.
- Have to deal with the seat belts somehow... Ford male buckles don't fit into the Jeep's
females, I just used nylon tie straps to hold the original Ford females in the correct
general area until I figure out something more elegant.
- I like how Ford has their seats bolted to a lateral support underneath that runs the
length of the floor, I'd like to figure out how to use the Ford-supplied one or supply my
own:
The extra hole is from a PO who had installed different seats once.
My Thoughts
Well, these seats put you MUCH higher than the factory bench! So much so that I think
tilt wheel might be necessary for ease of ingress & egress; it certainly makes things
more comfortable.
I really wish I had at least an extended cab... these seats can recline to a dang near flat
position, kinda like a La-Z-Boy recliner. The back of the cab obviously prevents that from
happening.
I guess you could say this is a Beta installation; I plan on someday replacing the rot in
the floor & rocker panels during which time I'll possibly have to re-do some of this work
but I wanted cup holders sooner rather than later.
adjustable with all the bells & whistles (eject?) bucket seats from a mid-90s Jeep Grand
Cherokee during the Cash for Clunkers bonanza last year but the mounting of the same
took a bit of ingenuity seeing as how the holes & form factor didn't match up AT ALL.
Here it is about a year later and I *finally* got 'em installed (YEAH! I FINALLY HAVE
CUP HOLDERS!)). It hasn't snowed where I live yet so I can even kinda say their
installation was something I accomplished over the summer.
I need to give credit where it's due, me & a friend did this together in his shop so we had
some neato tools to help.
The finished product:
The console is a standard Ford plastic tub that's installed in some 80s-90s Broncos &
F-Series trucks with extended or crew cabs, I used sheet metal screws to hold it in place
and black shoe polish to clean up the scuffs.
How I ultimately did it
The Jeep seats bolt to the floor bottom in the rear but are bolted perpendicular to the floor in the
front:
I did some computer work for some people and they gave me two pieces of 3/16" plate
steel in return, this stuff flattened out the floor's contours as well as leveled it some.
For the rear
I drilled holes that are large enough to surround the raised portion where the seat belts
attach as well at the rearmost factory bolt location. Large washers under the seat belt
bolt and the factory seat bolts in the rear holes secure them to the floor:
For the front
We shaped some scrap pieces of the same size plate steel into brackets that we bolted
to the front of the floorboard, the seats bolt to them:
This is a good time to mention that the floor & tunnel contours are NOT symmetrical
(same on both sides).
The (flat & crappy) carpet hides it all:
A bit of grinding & bending of the rear seat brackets to level 'em out some:
Bolting to the floor
Grade 5 & 8 nuts & bolts, some fender washers & lock washers from the hardware store:
A PAIN IN THE ***
Ford installed a heat shield between the exhaust & floor, this thing is flimsy and bends
fairly easily but it's riveted in place, I didn't want to remove it cuz then I'd have to figure
out how to put it back.
It kinda sucks stickin' your hands & tools up there, got lots of scratches as a result. I
used High Tack gasket sealer to help here, used it to glue washers to the floor while I
fiddled with bolts & wrenches (affects inner passenger side front only):
Still To Do
- Need to figure out all the wiring; I figured out which ones supply the power and all the
motors work but I still need to figure out how to make the bun warmers work.
From what I can see, the seats were originally connected to some sort of computerized
console-management thingy.
- Have to deal with the seat belts somehow... Ford male buckles don't fit into the Jeep's
females, I just used nylon tie straps to hold the original Ford females in the correct
general area until I figure out something more elegant.
- I like how Ford has their seats bolted to a lateral support underneath that runs the
length of the floor, I'd like to figure out how to use the Ford-supplied one or supply my
own:
The extra hole is from a PO who had installed different seats once.
My Thoughts
Well, these seats put you MUCH higher than the factory bench! So much so that I think
tilt wheel might be necessary for ease of ingress & egress; it certainly makes things
more comfortable.
I really wish I had at least an extended cab... these seats can recline to a dang near flat
position, kinda like a La-Z-Boy recliner. The back of the cab obviously prevents that from
happening.
I guess you could say this is a Beta installation; I plan on someday replacing the rot in
the floor & rocker panels during which time I'll possibly have to re-do some of this work
but I wanted cup holders sooner rather than later.
#22
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ctubutis
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