Bucket seat installation

[jaekl]

I might have new information on the subject. Initially, I follow the trend and removed the bench seat brackets and mounted them under Cherokee seats. Sure enough the seats are high and inboard.

I have a Cherokee so my goal is to locate the buckets as they are in the Cherokee. I decided to use the Cherokee brackets and modify as required. I decided that the inboard studs are in the same location as the Cherokee but at different heights. I drilled a new hole in the front bracket for the outboard stud. The seats were still one inch too high, but were centered better.

I checked my Comanche brochure and there is no mention of the rocker/slider type buckets that Cherokees had, just pedestal buckets. I decided that the front inboard stud is at the same height as a Cherokee, so I used this as my starting point and modified the bottom of the front Cherokee bracket to look like the Comanche bracket. The inner rear needs to be reshaped to get maximum height. The outer rear stud is directly below the track. These brackets were cut and welded to allow access to a bolt. With the slope of the floor, the outer bracket locates the height of the rear, which makes the track fairly level, but the rocker can compensate for that.

The end result is great height and centered seats. The problem is that for some reason now the seats run out of travel before they hit the rear window. For my height it is enough. The previous mountings had more travel, but now the seats need to be rocked more to get some slope on the cushion , which moves the set forward.

It was a lot of work but I wanted buckets so that I wouldn't be sliding off the edge and to get access to behind the seat without having to get out. The next project is to see if Cherokee 4 door seats can be modified to flip farther.

[mjeff87]

You wouldn't happen to have a pic of the modifed bracket, would you? ;)

 

MJ bucket brackets are proving to be a chore for me to find.....I was even thinking about seeing if the dealership :eek: could order them. I'd like to use the XJ brackets I have (where I got the buckets from).

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[pingpong]

with all the work you all are going through, it would be just as easy to custom fab some mounts like I got in Pong. Just a thought

[jaekl]

After I posted the topic, I took another look under the seat. Since the floor brackets are slanted toward the center of the truck, I assumed that the tracks were mounted in the center of the seats. Not so. The rocker tracks are in the center and the straight tracks are outboard of those. The Comanche bench seat floor bracket offset is to the center of the seat and lines up with the curve rocker mounting bolts. If you want to duplicate a factory mounting, the straight tracks from the Cherokee are needed and then remove the rocker mechanism. The straight tracks should mount to the same holes as the curved tracks. Some adapters may be required. Now the bucket can be mounted to the bench floor brackets and the seat should be at the right location. I've had my Cherokee for 20 years and never moved the rocker position once it was set. That can be done with some spacers.

Sure, modifying the Cherokee brackets was a lot of work, but sometimes we need an excuse to tinker in the shop. Therapy you know.

Now the question is do I attack the rocker mechanism? Some of those bolts are hard to get at. But then it would be factory design. We all have are own strange reguirements.

I'll be taking the seats out again soon to work on the headliner. I'll take some pictures then and post them. If you can't find Comanche brackets, it is a way to go.

I quess we all have to prove things for ourselves. I'm convinced that Comanches did use the same floor bracket for both bench and bucket. Now all you have to find is a 2 door Cherokee with the base pedestal bucket without the rocker. Probably easier to find a Comanche with bucket seats.

[jage]

I've had my Cherokee for 20 years and never moved the rocker position once it was set.

I moved the rocker position almost every day. Almost a dozen times when wheeling. It was one of my favorite things about my XJ. Crusing the highway or doing 2wd trails I'd roll the front up and chill out. For city driving I'd have it just slightly above level, for most wheeling I'd have it level and for complex stuff offroad I'd roll the front all the way down - gets your head up over the hood and clears your legs for throttle brake and gas.

 

I'm convinced that Comanches did use the same floor bracket for both bench and bucket.

I've got bench brackets laying around if anybody wants to compare measurements...

 

Now all you have to find is a 2 door Cherokee with the base pedestal bucket without the rocker. Probably easier to find a Comanche with bucket seats.

And of course getting the owner to part with said seats...

 

I'm convinced anything thin in the seat will do- think like NEONs, vws or something. With the bench brackets and a steel or alumnium plate for an adaptor you could be set. I've just been too lazy to go to the junkyard, and most places around here are a rip off and they won't let you just wander around the yard anymore.

[Pete M]

[Eagle]

I'm convinced that Comanches did use the same floor bracket for both bench and bucket. Now all you have to find is a 2 door Cherokee with the base pedestal bucket without the rocker. Probably easier to find a Comanche with bucket seats.

Or an early 90s Cherokee. Chrysler dropped the rocking chair along about 1990 or 1991. But they didn't change the lower seat pedestals until 95 or 96.

[jaekl]

I took another look at the XJ buckets with rockers. What a mess under there. No wonder Chrysler got rid of the rocker option. In order to mount these seats with MJ floor brackets, the tracks from the XJ would have to me completely removed and a bracket is still reguired to reach the holes where the rocker tracks are mounted. The drawing shows it a bit. At this point it is clear why the factory didn't put the rocker option in the MJ. The rear of the seat can't be mounted low enough to put the seat in the best place. My installation is okay, but it is definetly different than the Cherokee.

The bottom line is use whatever seats you can find and make your own brackets, just as PingPong said. Only base Jeep bucket seats will fit directly.

I have photos of the brackets I modified. I can email them to anyone interested. Or is there some public site I can post them?

[mjeff87]

Send me your pics and I'll put them up on my photobucket account and link them to here.

 

Jeff

[jage]

here are jaekl's brackets:

 

[jaekl]

Update for the few who haven't put buckets in yet or can only find buckets with sliders.

The previous modification was okay but the seats were still a little high (watch your head thru the door) and the slider wasn't effective due to the high rear mount the seat has to be rocked all the way forward and the seat pushed all the way back. Now I've decided to remove the curved tracks and turns out to be a much simpler modification.

In order to incorporated the curved tracks, Renault/AMC offset the straight tracks to the outside by making a bracket where one side has outrigers. These need to be cut off in order to allow the base bracket to be mounted between the main frame of the seat.

Remove the curve tracks from the base bracket. 5 of the 6 bolts are easy access. Once they are out the remaining one is removed by rotating the curved track. Cut off the offending outrigers and weld two strips of metal between the middle and front raise sections of the base bracket. I curved these strips to simulate the shape of a factory bracket. Drill new holes in the rear raised section centered with the straight track. Attach the seat to mark the location of the front holes in the new metal strips. Looking at my XJ with sliders and how the seat is adjusted, these hole locations virtually duplicate the seat location.

The finish seat is very close to a factory setting and I no longer have to watch my head. The front of the seat might be a bid low compared to the rocked XJ seats but I might have those a bit more than a non-slider seat. Perhaps the straps should be straight or use a couple of washers or since the back holes on the seat are slotted, I can slide the seat forward and drill new front holes.

Go ahead bring the earlier seats home with the rocker/sliders. They'll work with a little bit of work. While I had it apart, I looked into the feasibility of turning a 4 door seat into a folding 2 door seat. It doesn't look good. Sure enough there is a pivot for the reclining part but it is fairly high. The pivot for a 2 door right is at the base of the seat so the 4 door frame would need a section cut out in order to insert a pivot. Of course some form of latch should be made as well.

[jaekl]

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