Captain Chairs
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Captain Chairs
I just stole a rust free perfect 1994, with 110k on it form a little old woman for $1200 bucks, this is now my second Aerostar. My 1991 had 182k on it and of course it was full of rust but it was still running stong when I sold it. I looked for weeks and found a few for sale in my area, but not many people seem to want to part with these vans. Idealy I was looking for a short one with captains chairs but could not find one.
My question is, can the bench seat be replaced with captains, and if it can be done, what is it that I need to do, and is it difficult? I would appreciate any ideas, THANKS
My question is, can the bench seat be replaced with captains, and if it can be done, what is it that I need to do, and is it difficult? I would appreciate any ideas, THANKS
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 129
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From: South Carolina
Captain Chairs
Someone mentioned that they had done this a while back... I remember them saying that for the passenger side something had to be done with the seat belt or something...
I would like to put them in mine too, so if anyone knows please post....
Right now i'm running third row seat in the middle and middle row seat out. gives room for everyone and still lets me carry what I need... I'd still like to put captins chairs in the middle row though..
Here's a little tip, when the third row seat is moved to the second row it gives more leg room for the people in the back... The third row seat must be mounted farther back on its frame to allow enough room when it is in the far back of the van... this sure does make back seat passengers in my van happy...
by the way 1,200 was a steal... I don't think I could have took a deal that good... i'd have had to offer a little more to be able to sleep at night... I paid 2,600 back in 2001 for my '92. It was and still is in perfect condition, the actual book value was 3,000 when I bought it, it had 120k on it...
I would like to put them in mine too, so if anyone knows please post....
Right now i'm running third row seat in the middle and middle row seat out. gives room for everyone and still lets me carry what I need... I'd still like to put captins chairs in the middle row though..
Here's a little tip, when the third row seat is moved to the second row it gives more leg room for the people in the back... The third row seat must be mounted farther back on its frame to allow enough room when it is in the far back of the van... this sure does make back seat passengers in my van happy...
by the way 1,200 was a steal... I don't think I could have took a deal that good... i'd have had to offer a little more to be able to sleep at night... I paid 2,600 back in 2001 for my '92. It was and still is in perfect condition, the actual book value was 3,000 when I bought it, it had 120k on it...
Last edited by aerostarman2002; Jun 22, 2003 at 07:39 AM.
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Captain Chairs
I have the same interest. I can see why the seat belt would need modification, but here's what I'm not sure about: Are the slots into which the captain's seats would slip already cut into the floor of the vehicle? In other words, there are two slots already to secure the standard middle row bench. Does that mean there are two more slots ready to go but covered up by carpet? BTW -- I"m new to the forum. Bought my 94 Aerostar extended length with the 4.0 last summer for 3000.00 (82K). What a great vehicle or vacation. Ice cold air conditioning and storage to boot. I'm a convert. Thanks.
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Captain Chairs
My 94 extended with benches had 4 slots in the floor for either bench but my 93 with captian's chairs only has two, each captian's cahir only requires one slot so there should be no problem putting them in.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2003
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Captain Chairs
Several years ago I replaced the seat cover on the rear bench seat. It was an OEM cover, and matched perfectly! I would like to replace the drivers seat cover, but can't find an OEM cover. Any ideas where I could get a 94 OEM cover?
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 510
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From: Portland, OR
Captain Chairs
You will have problems, I think the 91 only has lap belts, not shoulder? The 94 has shoulder, the pssgr side anchors down in the sliding door well. Also, the hangers on the top are longer for the captains chairs, you need a longer bracket and sew into the old belt.
Mark
Mark
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Captain Chairs
I had a 95 with captain's in the 2nd row. They fit into the existing 2nd row slots in the floor (there were 2) Biederboat is right, Getting back to the third row was a bit of a pain, because of where the belts were located even with the longer hangers.
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Elder User
Joined: Jul 2001
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From: Portland, OR
Captain Chairs
Now that I have a moment, I'll clarify further. If I recall correctly (having done this conversion twice and, yes, it's definitely worth the effort), the driver side is a clean and easy swap (assuming you have a 92 or newer with 3-point belts). The pssgr sides needs the lower top bracket (I think it's more for comfort than pssgr access into the back, though) and the outboard tether point mounted into the footwell. The attachment point is there, you just need the adapter bracket from the unit with the captains chairs or you can bolt the end of the belt tap directly with a through-bolt (kind of "cheesy"). In a 91 though, I think it's going to be tough. They did make captains for 86-91 style belts but they are rarer.
Good luck,
Mark
Good luck,
Mark
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Captain Chairs
Thanks to all who picked up this thread. Mark, it sounds like you've got the big picture on this project. Appreciate your time. I think I've got a clear understanding of the issues. I think I'll start snooping around junkyards for seats when I get back from vacation. Heading out soon on a 4,000 mile roundtrip to the west coast. Should turn over 100K on my 94 XLT and will kiss the beast square on the grill if it pulls off this trip without a hitch!!
Thanks again,
Matt
Thanks again,
Matt
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 510
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From: Portland, OR
Captain Chairs
Matt, good luck, I went and reread your thread, thought originally you were tying to stick captain chairs into a 91 but now I see that's not the case. Not sure how nice your's is, one my wifes I have gray captains in a blue van and it's still worth it. If you find one, try and get the seatbelt for the passenger (right) side, including the receptacle and bolt in the wheel well, it will save a lot of headache. You needn't pull the whole sidewall trim, just the cover over the belt mechanism and enough screws to pull the sidewall cover away so you can exchange the two.
Mark
Mark
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Traverse City, MI
Seats
I'm on my third Aerostar and have always saved my last one for hauling wood so I usually have whatever spare parts I need for minor repairs since the woodhauler doesn't have to be at all nice.
I took the captain's chairs out of the woodhauler (92) and put them in the new van (97). I removed all the hardware from the old rear seat and am going to try to bolt a seat belt retainer to the footwell anchor point so that I can swap back and forth between the captain's chairs and the bench seat and have working seat belts for either. I think it'll work. I stripped everything from my spare rear seat and made a carrying rack out of it. It works really good. You can see a picture at http://community.webshots.com/photo/...44574669PPQgPs
Doug
I took the captain's chairs out of the woodhauler (92) and put them in the new van (97). I removed all the hardware from the old rear seat and am going to try to bolt a seat belt retainer to the footwell anchor point so that I can swap back and forth between the captain's chairs and the bench seat and have working seat belts for either. I think it'll work. I stripped everything from my spare rear seat and made a carrying rack out of it. It works really good. You can see a picture at http://community.webshots.com/photo/...44574669PPQgPs
Doug
Last edited by dornbos; May 13, 2005 at 09:02 PM. Reason: bad link to picture in post
Elder User
Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Houston, TX
Originally Posted by mattbova
I have the same interest. I can see why the seat belt would need modification, but here's what I'm not sure about: Are the slots into which the captain's seats would slip already cut into the floor of the vehicle? In other words, there are two slots already to secure the standard middle row bench. Does that mean there are two more slots ready to go but covered up by carpet? BTW -- I"m new to the forum. Bought my 94 Aerostar extended length with the 4.0 last summer for 3000.00 (82K). What a great vehicle or vacation. Ice cold air conditioning and storage to boot. I'm a convert. Thanks.
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From: Mitchell, SD
Originally Posted by cookkd
..... I just added 2 captains from a 90 Eddie Bauer to my 91. Bought the front two, the captains and the third row seat for 80 bucks on eBay.....