I have been considering replacing my 2003 Expedition with a 78/79 Bronco. The question is...

Does anybody make a third row seating kit for this truck that has upholstery that would match the factory seating.

Also, are the 60/40 split bench from a Supercab dentside a simple bolt in? My Expedition seats 9, I need something to seat at least 7.

 

For a 35-year old truck that was designed to be a "utility vehicle"? The short answer is "no". There were no such things in 78-79 or the "post sale" market thereafter. There isn't enough floor space for a third seat unless it is going to have car seats (read as: passengers with legs too short to reach the floor) because the second seat in the Bronco mounts to the cargo section of the floor that is about 4-6" higher than the cabin floor. This affords the back seat in the Bronco the marginal amount of "leg room" that it has. Any seat mounted aft of the rear seat would have no such space available. Furthermore, raising any such seat any higher in the cargo section of the truck would block a significant amount of rear view and/or reduce headroom to a point where the occupants would hit their head on the ceiling.

Now, if you are talking about strictly using a "seat" in this area for occupants under the age of say 10 years, you could most likely go in search of another rear seat for a Bronco of the same age and fabricate some sort of mounting for it. In truth, it would probably be easier to do so and mount it with the seat facing aft rather than forward (kind of like the old station wagons).

Either way, reaching it would be the challenge as the tailgate would drop for entry leaving the necessary distance to reach to buckle children in would be a challenge and if it was mounted forward, both occupants and parents would have to crawl over the second seat to reach the third. This would be feasible given the collapsible nature of the rear seat back in the Bronco. Albeit, challenging with the nearest door 3-4 feet forward of the third seat.

If you decide to come up with some method of accomplishing this modification, I would truly like to see what the end result looks like and know how functional it could be.

As for the bench seat swap, it may be as simple as changing seat rail mounting locations. I don't have enough experience with the 78-79 body to know if they are set up like the late models that had holes for the seat rails for both bucket and bench seats and the factory simply plugged the unused holes at the time of assembly. (I can only speak with certainty that this is true for the early-90's through the end of production units).

 

A guy we used to go to the woods with had a seat set up that attached to brackets on the floor directly behind the rear seat when the top was off. Obviously, you couldn't use it with the roof on, but it was a neat set up. He had brackets welded and thru bolted to the floor with a stud sticking up. He had a small half round "tab" that had a hole for the studs and large wing nuts to clamp it down.
I read this thread and thought of the older station wagons that the far rear seat faced backwards.....but the Bronco doesn't have the required room.
Then I thought of the smaller extended cab pick ups with the small jumper seats. Maybe one of those on each side behind the rear seat???? Just a thought!!!

 

A rear facing seat will probably be the solution. I have 4 kids, but my oldest will be moving out soon. I kind of want to get rid of my Expedition, which is why I posted this question. My remaining children are aged 4, 7 and 12. The little ones could ride in a rear facing seat pretty easily, hell they fit in the "backseat" of my Mustang before I removed it.

 

Yea, the small pickups like Rangers and some S-10's have small "jumper seats" that fold down and mount to the sides of the cab. I'm sure you could build a mount that would work with the Bronco and they could fold up when not in use. That way you could still have your cargo area.

 

FWIW--the dentside supercab's trucks only came with a bench (not 60/40) that split in the middle of the back to lean the seat forward to access the rear cab area. But those seats will bolt right up in a 78/79 bronco with no drilling required. I have done it to one of mine.

 

This sounds like a great solution any particular year or model....?

 

IIRC, any of the bench seats will be a direct swap from 73-96 trucks (including 97 F250 & 350). But since you will want rear cab access you will need to get the seats from a supercab that flip forward and slide...

 

I currently have the rear flip down jump seats from a 1979 F150 Supercab in the garage waiting to be installed in the rear of the 78 Bronco behind the back seat. I am not looking for more seating when traveling, but plan on using them when we hit the beach and need a place to sit my son for lunches and rest without tracking all of the sand into the front of the interior. Unfortunately it will be a while before they get installed because they are behind the things that will get it running on the to do list. Post pics if you instal something.