New Seats.

[Sheep Shagger]

I was after some new seats for the van since I've never liked the lapbelts on the rear ford seats, and the 3 point Ford seatbelt are such a pain. In my searching I came across some full recliner seats from a Toyota minivan, new take-offs from a 2011 Toyota Siena, that looked so cool I just had to give it a shot of trying to fit them. I really liked that they have 3.5ft of travel on the runners, have built-in 3 point seatbelts, foot rests, and can be removed by just pulling 1 handle that releases all the catches. They are 2nd row seats and since I wanted matching seats and I couldn't find the matching fronts, I decided to buy 4, and I'll gut them for the front. I have yet to do the fronts, but here is the rear install.

As for the install, it was a real pain. I had to cut and re-weld each seat track and make up brackets for the top and underside of the van. each bracket was slightly different due to the corrugated floor and me wanting to get the seats as far back and apart as possible. I had to mount them 1/4" higher than I wanted to get as much room inbetween them as possible, an extra 1.5".. That created a lot more work than it was worth. I really need to put some more underlay under the carpet, or make some filler strips. Also all the plastic caps and covers (and a few missing parts) you see on the rails will be replaced once I get down to the Toyota dealer and order it.
Here are the build/install pics.

Brackets I made for the underside, the holes are taped, and the bolts you see in the mounted picture are just there as extra security. 4 sets of these were made in various shapes and sizes.

Front of track, with my brackets welded.

Rear of track

All tracks mounted up

Brackets from the underside.

Carpet cut and backdown. Not the best fit, but I'll clean this up later.

Seats in.

 

[1sweetvan]

Nice job! I'm going to have to do something similar some time in the future, but will want to mount 3 across. I just can't understand why Ford does not incorporate head rests on their bench seats. Seems like a no brainer to me. It didn't keep me from buying a Ford though.

 

[ujoint]

That's awesome, they look right at home!!!! Look ultra comfy too.

They seem pretty low, can you see out while seated?

 

[Sheep Shagger]

That's awesome, they look right at home!!!! Look ultra comfy too.

They seem pretty low, can you see out while seated?

I have to admit, I'm amazed at just how comfortable they are, by far the best vehicle seats I've sat in. I'm kind-a concerned about putting them in the front since I do a load of driving through the night.

I can see out, not sure about my son or dog. I did have std fronts bolted in there, and the front of the new ones are higher, but the rear is a tad lower. They clip in using something very similar to door catches, so I was thinking of raising the rear, it would be quite simple. I'll see if the kid complains first, since I've got the fronts to do next, and they look to be even more of be a pain.

Here is the underside.

 

[BajaBus]

Man, those things look comfortable!

 

[Heavyopp]

I've been looking at them as replacements in a Suburban.

Did they come from Ebay or did you actually order them?

If you don't mind... What did they cost?

 

[Sheep Shagger]

I've been looking at them as replacements in a Suburban.

Did they come from Ebay or did you actually order them?

If you don't mind... What did they cost?

eBay, new tack-offs from the Toyota factory, sold through a 3rd party. Got 4 for $1k, tracks were $150 for 4. Just checked, the ebay asking price is $1150 a set now. New they are over 3k each.

 

[dsw4x4]

Nice job those are pretty slick. Looks like a Maybach econoline!!! As for price that is what it would cost you to buy new seats so that is not a bad deal.
Derek

 

[Heavyopp]

eBay, new tack-offs from the Toyota factory, sold through a 3rd party. Got 4 for $1k, tracks were $150 for 4. Just checked, the ebay asking price is $1150 a set now. New they are over 3k each.

Wow! At $1000 for all 4 I would have been all over that too.

Did you contact that seller with an offer for that price?
They want $1,150 for 2 as you say.

If you get a chance --- Could you measure the height from floor to the top of the headrest-- the overall height?

Thanks

 

[Sheep Shagger]

Wow! At $1000 for all 4 I would have been all over that too.

Did you contact that seller with an offer for that price?
They want $1,150 for 2 as you say.

If you get a chance --- Could you measure the height from floor to the top of the headrest-- the overall height?

Thanks

41" with headrest down, 43" with it up. Thats to the finished floor level and on the tracks. So add another 1.5~2" to the actual floor.
I made an offer on 2sets (4 seats) when the asking price was ~$750 a set. That was when they were first advertised, and he had a lot to sell.

 

[Lynn]

We've got a '04 Sienna XLE, and I, too, was surprised at how comfortable the seats are. And ours don't recline.

I have seen the recliners, and have been dreaming of getting some for use in our van now, and then have them available for our someday overlander. It's good to have confirmation that they are comfortable, as well. As opposed to the stow-and-go seats, which I thought were a pretty good idea until I had to ride in one for a short distance. I couldn't imagine putting in a long day sitting on one of those...

For you junkyard scavengers out there, unless I'm mistaken these reclining seats are an optional upgrade, and only available in the last couple of years. In other words, used ones are probably pretty scarce.

I'd sure love to score some, though.

 

[Sheep Shagger]

Passenger front done.

I have finished the passenger front. As you know Ford left no legroom in the front passenger side. So I decided to fix this issue, the seat's most forward position is identical, but it's rear most position is 6" further back. My legs can't touch the firewall with it back that far. But this put's the seat back behind the B pillar, which is where the ford seatbelt is mounted. This makes the stock seatbelt useless. So I modified it so that the builtin Toyota seatbelt works with the Ford pre-tensioner that's linked to the airbag system, had to modify that and mount it up to the toyota base.

First I stripped the seat down to the base, and cut out everything I didn't need so the electric base could fit high inside the base. You can see some wood I used here as spacers to get the right height while mocking everything yup, and also to get the left / right position correct as the Ford seat mounting in the van are not central to the seat, so you need to shift everything over.

Then to mount the seat base onto the electric sliders I decided to use 3" angle that's mounted to the stock seat mounting holes (bottom of the seat) and then onto the slider. Cut the angle to fit all the protruding parts and welded spacers to make everything fir flush and tight, looks a mess but it's a perfect fit.

I made the base from 3x2 tube box section & 1.5" angle, used the Ford mounting points to bolt it to the floor.

Ford seatbelt pre-tensioner mounted up and all working so the charge in the long tube you see will pull the steel cable around the mounting hole and pull the seatbelt clasp down in the event the airbags go off.

All finished.
Seat is about midway here, and it's still behind the B pillar. Also need to get a better color match on the switch panel controls you see on the seat side.

Back as far as it'll go. The foot rest is a kind-a gimmick in the front, but it was easier to leave it working.

I need to make a skirt to go around the seat base and cover all the mechanical parts you see.

 

[naterry]

These seats make me want to take a nap.

 

[ujoint]

So nice. Still in love!

 

[RocKrawler]

Great seats, but here's another question... what year is your van and are the grab handles on the A pillar stock? I need those for my 97, along with one for the B pillar for the shorter members of the family