I would like to replace my bench seat in my '66 with a set of buckets. What model year should I be looking for for the conversion? Thanks, Erik

 

Erik, If your in the Atlanta area I will swap you the buckets in my truck for your bench. I'll throw in a 13" steering wheel to boot. The previous owner of my truck thought buckets would be cool so he had them installed. This caused the steering wheel interfered with the driving position (a lot), so he swapped in a smaller steering wheel. Without power steering the truck was not driveable, so he sold it. First thing I did was to add PS, now I am looking for a bench seat and steering wheel.
you can e-mail me off line at dahnwr@forscom.army.mil
William

 

William, I am in Iowa. I also have a smaller wheel in my truck and no p/s. That is something I'd also like to add. How did you do it? Thanks, Erik

 

Hey William I have a bench seat and I'm looking for bucket seats! I'm north of you in Grenville, SC but I'm usually in Lawrenceville, Ga quite a bit as my inlaws live there. Send me an email and I'll give you a call and send you pics of the Bench seat.
Cliff
63 short styleside
302 2v

 

Erik, Read the tech article on converting to disk brakes on this site. Then read back through the archives on the PS conversion subject. There is a lot of information available on this subject. next, start a thread on this site asking for help with the PS conversion. Basically, replace the steering gearbox, add a PS pump, hoses and drive pulleys and change out the steering column, (yours is to long). There is more! But this conversion is not complicated and requires no special tools or skills.

Cliff, Sounds like a deal....I can't get to your e-mail???! mine is william40ford@cs.com I am out of the Country until the end of April. E-mail me please! I'll get back with you.
William

 

Hey , Ive been considering the bench-to-bucket swap myself. I have a 77' F150 std cab,with power steering and the wheel is too big as it is even with the bench (im 6'2"). If I do want to convert to buckets , what would be the donor to look for??and how small of a steering wheel should I get??

SEANSTER 77F150 XLT RANGER 400/C6 2WD
Edelbrock performer cam, intake
CARTER 625 cfm :O)

 

Seanster, Consider a tilt column. These later model trucks had them and you may find one that bolts in at a Junk yard. I saw a nice one from a 78 mustang on a 66 F 100 (manual steer) that looked stock, add an after market wheel and your in business. A while back there were some threads on this subject or you could start a new one. I have a 13" steering wheel, (cheap crap) definitely to small for my comfort, truck steering is to sensitive. I plan to have my original wheel rebuilt and maybe add a little more toe-in. You may consider a flatter steering wheel from Grant, about $100.00 for a nice wood and chrome model. I believe my seats are GM. The best bucket seats I've ever sat in are in my Volvo 850. Some of Volvo seats even have heat. You could have heated, power and leather seats. The really nice thing is that Volvo seats raise and lower and have memory.
William

 

I had a column shift but ripped it out and put a B&M star shifter in ( lots-o-fun) so would I need to find a donor with a manual shift,tilt steering?? which model donor should I look for?? mustang only??? I have factory power steering....

 

I recently drove my truck on a 500 mile trip to go 4-wheeling at Tellico OHV in Western NC. The stock bench had been recovered with an aftermarket seat cover that has a huge ridge that hurt my back. So I knew I needed a nicer seat for my truck.

The main two problems with buckets in our Fords are the short cab depth and the high seat mount position. You need seats with very short brackets. Minivan seats (my first idea) are simply too tall to go into our trucks. I then noticed the Ford Bronco II/Ranger Supercab had the same seats as Ford minivans, but had shorter brackets. I finally managed to get a set of Bronco II seats into my truck, and they work pretty good. Making a bracket is hard, though. You have to chop the stock brackets all together off only keepind the sliders. You really need a weld something together, I used wood to make a mock up for now, and will make metal brackets soon.

The other problem is the farther you want the bucket to lean back, the farther forward you have to put the seat bottom. I am still slightly too close the the wheel (vertical leg room is ok, though, even with stock wheel.) I got high back buckets. I would recommend low backs, they should lean back more for a given distance for the seat bottom from the pedal.

But here is my best suggestion. Get a different bench seat. This will keep 3 person carrying capability. The space between my two buckets is pretty wide, but not wide enough for 3 buckets. Have to make a big console. A bench from a newer model ford (80-98) will fit in with only a bracket change which is bolt on. Get seats from a Super Cab and they should be real comfortable. Or if you have to have buckets, get them from a Bronco. These should be pretty easy to put in, too.

If you don't stay Ford truck, seats from a Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick, Mercury, or even a gasp Che*** Caprice or any other full size car should go in pretty easy. Get one with a fold down armrest, and it will be just like two buckets. I can say Chrysler 5th Avenue seats are particularly comfortable. Most of these seats are 6-way power, and are easy to hook up, and with the power they go up and down, so you should be able to find a height that doesn't require a wheel change.
The two most important measurements when you go to find some seats are the seat height from the mounting bracket (Ford has flat floor, so measure from bottom of bracket to seat top and compare to stock,) and the distance from the seat back to the back of the cab. Put your seat where you like it and measure from the corner of the two cushions to the cab back. Them measure the new seats from the same spot on the seat to a string hung down from the top of the seat (this will simulate it being pressed agains the cab wall.) A seat swap will probably take a day or so, but the more you measure and find the right seats, the better off you will be. Being only an inch or two off on these two measurements can make quite a difference in how well you fit in your truck. You also need to check width and seat depth.


fordmando
78 F-150 4x4 400 4 on floor
86 Nissan 300ZX
George

 

Good stuff George, I put a 76 truck seat in my one of my 66s and have to bring it forward to unlatch the seatback. While kicking the gas tank exchange idea around I noticed that the seat was already hitting the back of the cab. Looks like until you get to extended cabs there still isn't much room there.


John

66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night, you can hear chevys rusting away.

 

I have a 89-90 model F150 Lariat seat in my 68.It rides like a new truck>very comfy:7. See my page TAZFORDS at the Ford Truck Hot 100. Go to home page and click the Hot100 link scroll down to TAZFORDS click on link inside is a pic of the seat. All you have to do is change out seat rails(easy)does not interfere with steering at all.Also have to remove the seat fold forward lock,so it will not touch gas tank. But thats it.
You'll love it, I can't beleive the difference it made in my 68.The tank hurt my back too not to mention bottoming out on hard bumps.But not now:7.