Bucket seat upholstery interchange???

[magellan]

I just installed bucket seats in my '89 MJ using bases from an '88 (I think) Eliminator and seats from a '93 Cherokee 4-door. I initially didn't get the buckets from the Eliminator because the upholstery was trashed. The Cherokee seat donor only had 24K miles so the upholstery was in excellent shape. I paid $30 for the pair. It was in a junkyard because it had been hit hard in the right B-pillar. I removed the upholstery from the seats, washed it, and reassembled the seats. Upon installing the seats, I realized they don't flip forward, so I don't have easy access behind the seats.

 

This afternoon I went back to back to the yard with the Eliminator with plans to buy the seats and swap my upholstery and cushions over to the Comanche seat frames. The cushions are badly ripped and the trim was busted around the driver's side tilt hanle. The woman who runs the junkyard started out at $50 each for the seats. I offered her $20 for the pair. We didn't reach an agreement.

 

The bottom of the Eliminator seat frames and the seat padding are identical to the '93 seats. The '93 seat backs are all one piece with one pad. The Eliminator seats had separate pieces for the lateral support. I assume the padding style is a difference in years. Can anyone tell me when the seat back padding switched from 3 pieces to one? Are the internal frames the same for both styles so that I could swap my '93 padding and upholstery to the earlier frames? Obviously, I'll have to cut the holes in the '93 upholstery for the tilt latch and handle.

 

Thanks for the help.

[HOrnbrod]

The extra side bolster pads (3-piece back) seats were an option on the lower models (Sport, Base, etc.) and standard equipment on the higher end models (Eliminator, Laredo, etc.). Not written in stone but generally true. This continued until the seat redesign in 1994. The internal frames are identical, except for the tilt latch hardware, and the latch "lock" slot in the bottom. So you can interchange the two frames providing you transfer the tilt hardware and might have to cut a slot for the lock. The 1-piece and 3-piece upholstery backs will also swap using the appropriate pad(s). Retain the side bolsters if possible - much more comfortable. :cheers:

 

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[fiatslug87]

If your seats look like this the frames are the same. These are '88 MJ frames with '92 4 door XJ covers. I had to zip tie the covers a little.

 

 

[HOrnbrod]

Good pics Fiat. :cheers: The geniuses at Thomas & Betts Co. who invented tie-wraps in 1958 are true American heroes.

[fiatslug87]

The geniuses at Thomas & Betts Co. who invented tie-wraps in 1958 are true American heroes.

Zip ties and duct tape hold the world together.

[magellan]

Thanks for the info everyone. The '93 XJ seats I have installed right now do not have the separate side bolsters. If I can find a nice set of seats that have the separate side bolsters, I'll use them. If not I'll swap my current pads and upholstery to 2-door XJ/MJ frames.