Need Seat Help

I am needing to repair/replace my front seats (low back buckets). Does anyone know if the YJ front seats will work in a CJ5? I seem to remember looking at a YJ, years ago, that had a passenger seat that folded over and flipped forward. I am not a fan of the replacement seats for a couple of reasons and not folding is the biggest concern. I’m afraid my seats won’t be repairable at a price I can afford. The molded padding is in bad shape and the frames are pretty bad as well. I have done a little looking around for original intermediate CJ seats but I figure they will have the same internal issues that mine have. Anyone have any advice?

 

I don't know specifically about the YJ seats, but it seems very unlikely that any application after the 1975 Jeep CJ "fold and tumble" seats would have that feature. Almost everything changes for the 1976 model year. The under-seat tool box was gone, and the new design for the passenger seat remained upright, moving forward into the front passenger foot well on a pantograph bracket. No folding, no tumbling.

Pretty sure from the mid-60s through 1975, the seat core and frame is the same. For 1972, seating position changed for the driver, but the only changes to the seats themselves was the vinyl patterns. If you want to keep the fold-and-tumble feature, you are pretty much stuck with a passenger seat from a pre-'76 CJ. Or maybe a Commando seat will work, but they are scarcer than the CJs.

 

More like a pantograph than cantilever - I changed my post.

 

Ditto on my '88YJ. Plus they would be considered high-back.

No fold feature but Smittybilt low-backs work well in my '57, after lowering the mounts.

 

The seats may fit the brackets in the early but the brackets from the yj won't fit the early Jeep.

 

To all,

I have just recently purchased new seat cover's for my 6t6 cj5. I bought them off ebay from autointeriorkits located in California. I have the original low back seats along with the original non folding rear seat. One of things the company wanted/needed was photos of the low back seats in my jeep. The photos were sent to them and the next inquiry from them wanted to know if I wanted the original style wide spacing on the horizontal pleats or the narrow style like was pictured in the ebay ad. I opted for the narrow style. The original seats are a tan color and it did not look good with the new spruce tip green paint job, so I opted for black ones. Anyway, the covers arrived yesterday and are currently inside the house getting warm before I put them on after I photograph how they put on/fastened the original covers.

With shipping the total under $450 for all the seats.

Frank

 

Thank you all for the feedback. I even looked up pantograph so now I understand. I should have remembered the part about the passenger seat moving forward but not folding because I owned a 78 CJ5 at one time. For those of you like Fino and Pete who have installed the replacement low backs in an early or intermediate CJ did you use the original seat mount frames? On the right front seat were you able to attach the original seat hook on the back. As you know this frame pivots at the front. How do you keep it from flipping forward when you brake hard and no one is sitting in it? Am I worrying about something unnecessary? I would like for it to be as close to the original configuration as practical but modifications for safety are always acceptable to me.

 

Funny you mention that. Years ago in a land faraway, myself and my el Capitan were walking back to our hooch from the helo pad. A guy I knew stopped and asked if we wanted a ride. Yup Cap gets in front and I pile in the back [no seat back there] Away we go.... We turn a rather sharp corner and Cap, rifle and gear go out the right side of the Jeep. Including the seat. There is a bout a foot of silty dust right there and when Cap gets up he is literally covered.. We put the seat back in and he says he'll walk. We get back and I tell the guys. Uproarious laughter and Cap walks in. Looking like the Pillbury doughboy. He hands me his rifle and gear and says "clean this up funny man"..

 

Pete, when you say lower the mounts are you talking about cutting off the original floor mounting brackets? Are the reproduction seats too tall or am I missing something?

 

I replaced my OEM low back seats with New seats, high back. I ended up using the original mounting and welded some pieces on so I could drill mount holes in the proper spot. I kept the original frame pivot and could unhook the seat if needed. While it didn't flip totally out of the way it was enough to access my under seat tool box. The the seat hooks got so worn that the seat wouldn't stay in place.. I ended up welding big washers to it and used large bolts to secur eit. It still tilts a bit. Then the wife decided she hated the Corbeau seats I had in it. So I bought some Best Top seats. The Best tops required a lowering of the OEM seat tubes..

 

It is to bad no one makes a bolt in replacement seat for a ECJ5 that you can use as is. The padding is to thick so you sit up and forward. A folding front pass. seat would also be nice. We can only hope someone listens. The OEM Jeep seats are usually in bad shape after 50 years.I recently bought a pair of '71 front seats with high hopes of rebuilding and new covers.

 

I sold my OEM seats for $200 after I removed em. Other than a few small tears they were in great shape. The guy I got the Jeep from had only put 1575 original miles on it.. Old dewd just didn't use it.

 

Thanks for all the replies but still more questions. I spoke with a local shop that does custom interiors and he said he could redo my seats with new padding but I would be much better off money wise if I could find prefab seat foams. I have found lots for classic cars but none for old jeeps. Has anyone done this research before? Are they available or is there a classic Ford or GM that would be close. Also can someone tell me when Jeep went to the poured foam cushions? I don't want to put new upholstery over crumbly foam. I may have to go with the aftermarket seats.

 

I am in the hunt for the same thing. I know an upholstery guy, but he suggested finding the foam and covers if possible as he will be $$$.

 

I see low backs in the Quadratech and 4WD catalogs... SUpposed to be like OEM.

Smittybilt 44801 Low Back Bucket Seat in Black Vinyl for 55-75 Jeep® CJ

 

^ I have a set of these in my cj6. They are not bad, but I am not crazy about them because the butt pad is too thick and it puts my head up too high. I'm fairly short at 5'9''. Pretty comfortable I guess.

 

That's what I'm worried about 3b. I'm 6'3" and getting old so I'm not very flexible. Not only that but my new Fiberglas body (the jeep not me) is a lot thicker than the steel body so I'm losing an inch there too. I don't want to have my head sticking above the windshield!

 

Years ago I bought these seats to replace my worn out originals. They are a bit thicker and the bottom of the seat is a tiny bit longer. My answer was to modify the original frame a bit. This mod is not for a the faint of heart because it requires some cutting and welding to lower the seat frame. But I'm happy with the result. I also went with power steering and a smaller steering wheel so that my belly stays outta the way.