Seat swap experiences?
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 182
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From: Oklahoma City
Seat swap experiences?
I am at a cross road with my bench seat. The original fabric is starting to tear and I must decide if I want to reupholster or replace.
Is your modern replacement seat a good fit? I am most concerned about the seat sitting higher or lower; more forward than original or about the same?
Is your modern replacement seat a good fit? I am most concerned about the seat sitting higher or lower; more forward than original or about the same?
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 262
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From: Upstate South Carolina
Here is what I learned so far thru trial and error and talking with different customers.
This I know.
1967 - 1979 seats will bolt right in tracks and all.
1980 - 1996 seats will bolt directly onto the 1967 - 1979 tracks.
Here is where it gets murky.
apparently the 67 - 72 seats are a little narrower (side to side) and a little thinner (front to back) than the 1973 - 1979 seats. So if you somehow find a nice 67 72 seat and put it in your dentside, you'll be swimming in room if you can get used to sitting a little right of the steering wheel! LOL!
Also apparently the 1980 and newer seats are thicker (front to back) so they hit the back of the cab making you sit a little forward thru not being able to slid the tracks all the way back. This is just what I was told and confirmed thru measuring later.
All that being said, I run 1980 - 1996 seats in my 73 - 79 trucks and don't notice much difference. Granted I am 5' - 10" but...
This I know.
1967 - 1979 seats will bolt right in tracks and all.
1980 - 1996 seats will bolt directly onto the 1967 - 1979 tracks.
Here is where it gets murky.
apparently the 67 - 72 seats are a little narrower (side to side) and a little thinner (front to back) than the 1973 - 1979 seats. So if you somehow find a nice 67 72 seat and put it in your dentside, you'll be swimming in room if you can get used to sitting a little right of the steering wheel! LOL!
Also apparently the 1980 and newer seats are thicker (front to back) so they hit the back of the cab making you sit a little forward thru not being able to slid the tracks all the way back. This is just what I was told and confirmed thru measuring later.
All that being said, I run 1980 - 1996 seats in my 73 - 79 trucks and don't notice much difference. Granted I am 5' - 10" but...
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 6,993
Likes: 15
From: Costa Mesa, CA
I'm almost done putting a 99 F-150 split bench in my 74 crew. It was a bit of a frustrating experience. If you want an explanation on this I could go on and on, but let me simplify by saying Ford did some WEIRD arsed bolt locations for the bottom of the smaller (driver) portion of the seat.
Keep in mind when people say a an 80-96 BENCH will bolt in - that is exactly what they mean - a BENCH seat. The split benches are more of a task to put in, but in my opinion they are worth the effort.
With my 99 seat it seams I am a bit closer to the steering wheel than with the stock bench and I can only slide it forward - not back. With the seat pushed back as far as it will go it's just right for me to drive (I'm 5'-10"), and seems to sit about where the old seat was when it was about the middle of the travel on the slider. But now it just means none of my taller friends can drive my truck
The seat seems a bit narrower than the older seats, but maybe that's because the overall shape of the newer seat is more "curvy" in shape and the older seat seems to be much more of a true rectangle shape.
I can put pics in the gallery if anybody wants them.
Keep in mind when people say a an 80-96 BENCH will bolt in - that is exactly what they mean - a BENCH seat. The split benches are more of a task to put in, but in my opinion they are worth the effort.
With my 99 seat it seams I am a bit closer to the steering wheel than with the stock bench and I can only slide it forward - not back. With the seat pushed back as far as it will go it's just right for me to drive (I'm 5'-10"), and seems to sit about where the old seat was when it was about the middle of the travel on the slider. But now it just means none of my taller friends can drive my truck
The seat seems a bit narrower than the older seats, but maybe that's because the overall shape of the newer seat is more "curvy" in shape and the older seat seems to be much more of a true rectangle shape.
I can put pics in the gallery if anybody wants them.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 182
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From: Oklahoma City
I desperately want the new style and comfort of the more modern seats but my stock bench is reasonably comfortable. Perhaps I am just use to it. I would really like the ability to recline a bit but that seems out of the question. At 6'4" I don't have much room to spare. And I have a pair of big ol' subs behind the seat.
I really appreciate the info. Particularly the confirmation that the latter the seat year, the thicker the upright becomes. I can still slide most of the way back now and I like that.
I really appreciate the info. Particularly the confirmation that the latter the seat year, the thicker the upright becomes. I can still slide most of the way back now and I like that.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,037
Likes: 9
From: Kasson, Minnesota
I bought a new modern 40/20/40 seat and I like it very much. I am 6'0" and it allows me to recline a bit, but at 6'4", you might have trouble finding any seat that would allow that. I'm going to have my brother in law seat in my truck at some point just to see if it's comfortable for him...He is about 6'4" or 6'5". Not that it matters to me, but I'm curious. I'm sure there are better seats, but way more expensive. I spent just under $600 for mine and no where near the $1000 or so you could spend on a new seat. Much cheaper if you can find one out of another truck and make it work. The seat I bought was made to fit a bolt in style bracket (for $45....ouch), but it bolted right in. That was a plus.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2006
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I went to a local junkyard, tore out a bench seat with fold-down center armrest out of a 92 F150 XLT to put into my '76 F150 Supercab. I paid 20 bucks for it! (and beat the crap out of my knee as I pulled the siezed mounts from the cab!) It had the built in power lumbar adjustment which I have yet to hook up.
I love it. The foam is much more firm, and more contoured to the curvature of my back - which really helps on longs trips. The center armrest is sweet and works well with my 4spd T18 tranny. There's a cupholder that also fastens nicely to the seat. It is cloth and way more comfortable. I'm 6 foot 5 and I am still super comfortable in it. I am a bit more reclined in position, but since I have such long arms and legs, it works out great. I have the seat moved back as far as possible, so I'm sure it would also work well with someone who's not a freakishly tall as I am! It makes my truck way more comfortable to drive than with the springy, bouncy old nasty vinyl seat. (Wife and bandmates approve as well). One of the best mods I've done yet.
I love it. The foam is much more firm, and more contoured to the curvature of my back - which really helps on longs trips. The center armrest is sweet and works well with my 4spd T18 tranny. There's a cupholder that also fastens nicely to the seat. It is cloth and way more comfortable. I'm 6 foot 5 and I am still super comfortable in it. I am a bit more reclined in position, but since I have such long arms and legs, it works out great. I have the seat moved back as far as possible, so I'm sure it would also work well with someone who's not a freakishly tall as I am! It makes my truck way more comfortable to drive than with the springy, bouncy old nasty vinyl seat. (Wife and bandmates approve as well). One of the best mods I've done yet.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 6,948
Likes: 44
I used a rear seat from an extended cab truck as a front seat. Just about anything can, and will fit. Simply used the original tracks from the early truck and bolted it up to a late model seat.
Image of Used a sliverado x-cab rear seat. - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Image of Used a sliverado x-cab rear seat. - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,037
Likes: 9
From: Kasson, Minnesota
I went to a local junkyard, tore out a bench seat with fold-down center armrest out of a 92 F150 XLT to put into my '76 F150 Supercab. I paid 20 bucks for it! (and beat the crap out of my knee as I pulled the siezed mounts from the cab!) It had the built in power lumbar adjustment which I have yet to hook up.
I love it. The foam is much more firm, and more contoured to the curvature of my back - which really helps on longs trips. The center armrest is sweet and works well with my 4spd T18 tranny. There's a cupholder that also fastens nicely to the seat. It is cloth and way more comfortable. I'm 6 foot 5 and I am still super comfortable in it. I am a bit more reclined in position, but since I have such long arms and legs, it works out great. I have the seat moved back as far as possible, so I'm sure it would also work well with someone who's not a freakishly tall as I am! It makes my truck way more comfortable to drive than with the springy, bouncy old nasty vinyl seat. (Wife and bandmates approve as well). One of the best mods I've done yet.
I love it. The foam is much more firm, and more contoured to the curvature of my back - which really helps on longs trips. The center armrest is sweet and works well with my 4spd T18 tranny. There's a cupholder that also fastens nicely to the seat. It is cloth and way more comfortable. I'm 6 foot 5 and I am still super comfortable in it. I am a bit more reclined in position, but since I have such long arms and legs, it works out great. I have the seat moved back as far as possible, so I'm sure it would also work well with someone who's not a freakishly tall as I am! It makes my truck way more comfortable to drive than with the springy, bouncy old nasty vinyl seat. (Wife and bandmates approve as well). One of the best mods I've done yet.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2006
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It's not perfect, by any means - a few burn marks, a little foam wear on the driver's side so that the seat dips a bit, but the seat is clean. I worked my tail off to get it out of the truck, though. Beware if you're gonna pull these yourself. Three of the four mounting bolts were totally siezed into the floor when I tried to remove it, a process which eventually required a sawzall. That's part of the reason I got it for $20.00. 
The junkyard I go to rocks. The original owner loved the old Fords, and hasn't crushed many of them at all in the last 20 years.
The junkyard I go to rocks. The original owner loved the old Fords, and hasn't crushed many of them at all in the last 20 years.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 30
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From: Meadow Valley, CA
Like 75F350 said, practically anything will work, especially if you're willing to have a non-bolt in application. For my 74 regular cab, I found a 2001 Dodge quad cab front 40-20-40 high back on the local Craigslist for $200. It just happened to be the exact color I was looking for, and in great shape, so I bought it. Had to revise the seat brackets to fit my flat floor, but it was worth the effort. As it is now, the seat sits about 2 inches higher than the OEM bench seat, but at 5'9", that's not a problem.
Les
Les
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Oklahoma City
Thanks for the continues replies. Perhaps there's hope for me yet. I think I will have to try and talk a deal that if I don't like the fit I can return them; or better yet, try it at a salvage yard in the parking lot.