Happy New Year to all...

The front seats in my 96 Aero are really in bad shape.
Has anybody got a set of good seats they want to sell (gotta be blue/grey)? or has anyone put other seats in successfully? I'm thinking a set of seats from an Explorer would be about right...

Don't know what Ford did, but the seats in my '91 with 150K are almost perfect, while the seats in my '96 with only 61K are worn out, fabric worn thru, and bolsters are compressed out of shape... must have been some quality engineering applied in the newer vans... :-(

KenP

 

i too have been keeping an eye out for seats.i didn't find anything much better than what i have. on my 91 the drivers seat is like yours, bolsters flat ,material worn through. last year i took the seat out and reinforced the sides with upholstery foam and sewed it. this year my wife is going to make a cover for the seat only, as the back is still good. i was going to see if i could get the seat redone, but it seems too costly so far.
as i remember its not too hard to get the seat out, an an explorer or ranger seat would seem about the correct size. it may be possible to install them on your current seat frame. good luck rick p.s. in a previous post one guy mentioned checking on e-bay. i also checked through the used parts route, some will search for you and relay info back to you. i did find other parts this way happy new year!

 

 

ken, i found a bunch of seats for my 91 at "car-parts.com" i still haven't taken the plunge though. rick

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 28-Jan-02 AT 10:04 AM (EST)]Here's some food for thought. Seats from a lot of Ford products will supposedly bolt right in. The list below #####umes that if Aerostar seats fit Rangers, then any seat that fits a Ranger will fit an Aerostar. This list was made buy a guy named AllanD who frequents a Ranger message board, so he's the guy who gets the credit. It lists seats that fit Rangers. Also, junkyards with a Hollander Interchange should be able to tell you what fits. The hard part is finding the color to match.

P.S. There must be some software not letting words like "A$$ume" and "Pa$$enger" get posted as I noticed that some of the letters are automatically replaced by ####.

Seatlist V3.3

Posted by AllanD on June 08, 1998 >REVISED 0EC00
In Reply to: bucket seats: list of what will work?

TEMPO/TOPAZ, All years. Tempo GT's are nicest
tilting "pillow" headrest (same as turbo Thunderbird Turbocoupe) and
frequently power lumbar.

These have a relatively plain seat base that is more appropriate
to a 4x4 as the nicer seats in the Mustang GT and Turbocoupes
can be difficult to get out of unless you can get your feet on something
to lift your backside out of the relatively "deep" seatbase.

ESCORT/LYNX 81-91? (Second Generation Escort seats do not fit)
GT's again the nicest, "Halo" style headrest, sometimes power lumbar.
same seatbases as Escort, but "tapped" differently.

MUSTANG, Don't bother looking they will be gone when you get there.
But if you're a lucky person look for Mustang GT's
Also halo style headrests on GTs. but the "nice" seat bases
were still optional on the GT's.

(Note: the really early Mustang-3 ("fox") body cars sometimes (rarely)
came with genuine Recarro seats with the Mesh/halo headrests
these will require a mounting kit from Recarro to install them, but...)

THUNDERBIRD 82-88, Turbocoupe has nicest seats same as
Mustang GT but with tilting "pillow" head rests, almost always
have power-lumbar, adjustable thigh support, adjustable
side-bolsters on base. The best factory ford seat(IMHO)
and they were STANDARD equip,ment on the Turbocoupes,
OPTIONAL on the 5.0 "sport" models.
Also available was LEATHER, but relatively rare.

(Note: if you already have power lumbar seats in the ranger
you will have to swap your seat wiring harness onto the TC seats
as the TC and the Ranger/Bronco2 use a different connector)

EXPLORER seats are similar but not identical to Ranger seats,
As Explorers usually have 4drs the tilt-forward provision has
been deleted from some seats. so you MAY have to exchange some
of these parts from your original seats.
Some of the nicer Explorers will have power adjustable side bolsters
and thigh supports similar to those used in Later Mustangs
"perforated" Leather (Similar to that used in Mustangs) seats
in some fully equipped models.
Well equipped Explorers also have Power lumbar, thigh supports
and adjustable lateral support cushions on the back rest, these are
exceptionally nice...

AEROSTAR front buckets are similar, but the seat base is thicker
(taller) in an Aerostar. These may be a solution for short statured
individuals, additionally the Aerostars have a narrow armrest that is
adaptable
to most (if not all) of the seats on this list, but finding them in any
color other
than Grey or Blue can be a challenge (red is the rarest Aerostar interior
color)
NOTE: some seats already have the holes drilled for the nut plate that this
armrest
hinge bolts to in the seat, but be careful when unbolting it from the
"donor" seat,
there is a "nut plate" inside the seat that can easily be lost inside the
seat back frame.
Additionally many of the seats that are not drilled for the armrest
mounting will have
"dimples" in the location where the holes (21/64") need to be drilled.

POWER LUMBAR can be added to most seats as all of the mounting tabs are
present
in every seat I've ever had apart. but specific instructions for adding it
are too much for
this simple list (I.E. You can do it, it isn't all that hard, but you are
basically on your own

All of these seats will bolt directly to your factory tracks if you have
either Buckets or split-bench.
If you have a conventional bench then you will need to replace your
tracks with split-bench/bucket-seat tracks.
(Toss your solid bench tracks they are compleatly different).

You will have to run a Tap (8mm x 1.25) through some pre-drilled holes in
the bottom of the seat frames. The holes are already there but
unthreaded.

If you have a conventional cab Ranger you will probably have to
use the "halo"style headrest used in Mustangs and Escort GT
models, as the pillow style will hit the rear window.
This forces the seat back into a very upright position.
(and is EXTREEMLY uncomfortable)

If you have a Supercab Ranger or a Bronco2 headrest clearance
against the back of the cab is not an issue.

One other word of warning Ranger Standard-cab, Ranger Supercab,
Bronco2's and Explorers all have different floor pan profiles and so
use different seat tracks,

So if you want to put buckets or a split-bench into a Std-Cab Ranger
you must get your seat tracks out of a Std-Cab Ranger.

And a last note:
On Bronco2s and Ranger Supercabs there is a pull rod
that releases the "double" seat track on the p#####enger side seat.
ONLY the Supercab/Bronco2(late) Recliner/tilt latch has the little "ear"
that this
pull rod attaches to, so you will need to retain the latch from the
original
p#####enger side seat to install into your "new" seat so that ease of
entry/exit
to the back seat is retained.

Also this latch was slightly revised for the '88 model year, so different
side trim is used on the
seat with an additional release lever.

************************************************** *********************************************
This publication may be reprinted provided proper credit is given to the
author (ME)
AND no changes are made without specific permission of same (Again, me.)
************************************************** *********************************************
Hope this helps someone in their junkyard seat searching,

AllanD