Seat swap?

[socal1200r]

Can anyone tell me what bucket seats, if any, are a DIRECT swap with the bench seat in my '88 Comanche? I've read that Cherokee buckets and seat rails might be a direct bolt on? And the 2-door Cherokee buckets are preferred, since the seat backs tilt forward?

 

I have no welding or modification skills like that, or the patience to fab anything, so I'm looking for something that is a direct bolt-on swap. Also, would the center console from a manual trans 4wd Cherokee swap as well?

 

Thanks

[89mjpioneer]

The center console from any cherokee will fit. For the seats you need to swap the brackets off the bench to go on the xj seats.

[Pete M]

2-door XJ seats with the straight slider are preferred. 4door XJ seats with the straight slider are second best. Or just get MJ seats. :D

The curved rocker slider will jack you up a couple inches so avoid those if you're tall.

 

 

 

[64 Cheyenne]

You gotta be able to wrench a little bit.

2 door buckets are convenient. Direct bolt in swap, no.

If you can't wrench even just a little, or don't have the patience, and you can't bust a move to make it happen, maybe try snapping your fingers, hop up and down on one foot, say abracadabra, and poof! It might happen, I think.

[socal1200r]

Pete - thanks for the pictures, that helps. So XJ seats with those types of sliders should bolt right on? It's hard to tell by the pics, but the mounting points look almost exactly the same as the MJ bench seat brackets...

[socal1200r]

...If you can't wrench even just a little, or don't have the patience, and you can't bust a move to make it happen, maybe try snapping your fingers, hop up and down on one foot, say abracadabra, and poof! It might happen, I think.

 

Spoken like a true Harley owner...guess owning one forces the owner to be mechanically inclined, lol...I used to own an '05 1200R, but after a couple of years, still didn't get it, so I sold it...even have some license plate frames on my cars that say, "If Harley Made An Airplane, Would You Fly In It?!"...

 

I can turn a wrench, having installed all kinds of things on vehicles I've owned, from aluminum Agostini timing gears on a Moto Guzzi to a front chassis brace / rear suspension crossbar on my Saturn Sky. But with this Comanche, the easier the better. It's going to be my daily driver, so I don't want to get too deep into making things work. If it's a simple swap or bolt on, great, those things I can tackle. But if it involves any kind of welding, cutting, fabricating, etc., I'll pass...

[WBKrazy]

the seat tracks for the xj and mj are the same, but the floorpan is just different enough that xj seat mounts won't work.... mj buckets are plug and play(if you can find a set) but barring that, 86 to 94 xj seats are the easiest to swap in, 95 and up seats have completely different seat tracks that you can't easily adapt mj mount brackets to.... it sounds hard, but it's really not....took me roughly 2 hours to do the job, and that included running to the hardware store for a cheap electric drill when my cordless drill's battery went dead, and vacuuming up all the nastiness collected under the old seat after i removed it..just be prepared to break a bunch of 1/4 drill bits drilling out the rivets for the mount brackets... i bought a 10 pack from harbor freight and broke 6 of them when the rivet drilled through and the brackets shifted... there's 16 total rivets that hold the mounting brackets to the seat tracks that you need to drill out(4 each on the buckets, and 8 on the bench...), and a couple spot welds that are easily broken with a medium sized hammer and chisel... once you drill all the rivets out and break the spot welds, you just bolt the mj bench mount brackets to the xj bucket seat tracks with 1/4 bolts and locknuts.. i wish i could help you with pics, but i didnt take any while i was doing the swap, twas done before i knew about this place and it's member's insatiable hunger for knowledge..

[socal1200r]

WBB - thanks for the info, it helps me to visualize what's involved with doing that kind of swap. I haven't made any visits to local junkyards yet, but it's nice to know that with a little time, the right tools, and your explanation, I can probably do this. Do you have any pics of the inside of your Comanche? I'd like to see how the buckets look in your truck.

 

Thanks

[WBKrazy]

WBB - thanks for the info, it helps me to visualize what's involved with doing that kind of swap. I haven't made any visits to local junkyards yet, but it's nice to know that with a little time, the right tools, and your explanation, I can probably do this. Do you have any pics of the inside of your Comanche? I'd like to see how the buckets look in your truck.

 

Thanks

 

 

no problem! here's one with the bench and a couple with the buckets, they're from a '94 4door...

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[socal1200r]

That bucket seat / center console setup looks great. I also like the door panels with the carpet at the bottom, and the storage bins. I've read that pretty much everything from the front doors forward on a Cherokee will work on a Comanche, so some different door panels might be on my wishlist too. I noticed the position of the headrests on the bucket seats in relation to the back window. Are you sitting lower on the buckets, or at the same height as on the bench? Maybe it's just an optical illusion or something that you're sitting lower on the buckets?

 

But here's what I'm working with:

 

http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showph ... hoto/52751

 

http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showph ... hoto/52750

 

The bench seat and other interior parts are a dark red / burgundy looking color, so it might be hard to find a matching set of buckets. But who knows, I might get inspired at the salvage yard...

[WBKrazy]

That bucket seat / center console setup looks great. I also like the door panels with the carpet at the bottom, and the storage bins. I've read that pretty much everything from the front doors forward on a Cherokee will work on a Comanche, so some different door panels might be on my wishlist too. I noticed the position of the headrests on the bucket seats in relation to the back window. Are you sitting lower on the buckets, or at the same height as on the bench? Maybe it's just an optical illusion or something that you're sitting lower on the buckets?

 

But here's what I'm working with:

 

http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showph ... hoto/52751

 

http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showph ... hoto/52750

 

The bench seat and other interior parts are a dark red / burgundy looking color, so it might be hard to find a matching set of buckets. But who knows, I might get inspired at the salvage yard...

 

 

nice mj, i like the 2 tone scheme... yeah, the doors are the same as 4-door xj front doors, and front end parts are the same as the xj, so door panels and such from one of them will work.... the ones with the storage bins were on the truck when i got it, don't know if theyre original or not but ive got no reason to believe they aren't.... as far as the seats go, i think its just an illusion because ive got them reclined a little, but you actually sit just a little bit higher on the buckets than the bench.. you might also want to put up a "want to buy burgundy interior parts" thread on here, you never know what someone might be hoarding 'round these parts... :brows:

[case5412]

Sorry to barge in on your post, but I'm heading to the salvage yard tomorrow and there's over 30 XJs there with plenty of seats, sadly only one MJ :( Anyway, I've got the same problem and I'm going to pick up bucket seat tomorrow. I will get the seats from the 2 door XJs with strait rails. But my main reason for barging in is that I have long legs and I'm trying to find the seat that go the furthest back against the cab... I can see that in those pics they are reclined and prolly not all the way back on the tracks.

 

Thanks for the great information in this thread :cheers:

[xj_dummy]

Socal1200r,

I have a 1986 Mj with a bench seat and I converted it to Buckets.

1. Easiest way is to find a two door xj with buckets. (color might be a problem, I have tan buckets in my blue interior. Soon I will get them recovered)

2. Take out your bench seat, turn it over and using a drill, drill out the rivets on the bottom of the seat where your brackets mount. Do this also on the buckets as well.

3. Go to Fastenall or your local hardware store and but new bolts and lock nuts.

4. Reinstall your mj brackets on to your new buckets.

5. Install buckets.

 

P.S. Are your in the navy? my nephew is in and at norfolk va.

[WBKrazy]

Sorry to barge in on your post, but I'm heading to the salvage yard tomorrow and there's over 30 XJs there with plenty of seats, sadly only one MJ :( Anyway, I've got the same problem and I'm going to pick up bucket seat tomorrow. I will get the seats from the 2 door XJs with strait rails. But my main reason for barging in is that I have long legs and I'm trying to find the seat that go the furthest back against the cab... I can see that in those pics they are reclined and prolly not all the way back on the tracks.

 

Thanks for the great information in this thread :cheers:

i think all the xj seats will go back to the wall... mine do, but i'm 5'6 and i can't drive it like that :rotf:

[socal1200r]

Socal1200r,

I have a 1986 Mj with a bench seat and I converted it to Buckets.

1. Easiest way is to find a two door xj with buckets. (color might be a problem, I have tan buckets in my blue interior. Soon I will get them recovered)

2. Take out your bench seat, turn it over and using a drill, drill out the rivets on the bottom of the seat where your brackets mount. Do this also on the buckets as well.

3. Go to Fastenall or your local hardware store and but new bolts and lock nuts.

4. Reinstall your mj brackets on to your new buckets.

5. Install buckets.

 

P.S. Are your in the navy? my nephew is in and at norfolk va.

 

XJ - thanks for the step by step. Coming from someone who's done it helps a lot. It sounds simple enough, now it's just a matter of hitting up some of the local yards around here and seeing what they have. As for the Navy, I'm actually in the Air Force Reserves, currently a Lt Col. Was in the California Air National Guard for almost 20 years, in a C-130 unit. Been in Norfolk on "temporary" active duty since Nov 2004. Worked on the ship side of Norfolk Navy Base, as opposed to the HQ / staff college side, for a few years. It's still a sight to see when 4-5 of the carriers are pier side! Not quite as cool as seeing the Raptors up at Langley, but close, lol!