New Seats

hey guys,
i just ordered some smittybilt standard high back seats for my 74 cj5.
i know alot has been said on this topic but does anyone have experience putting these seats in a 74? i would like to use the original seat brakets from the jeep if that is possible. i dont plan to use the sliders, just bolt the seats right to the brackets. the guys at collins bros said the seats just bolt in on a 76+ but didn't know about a 74.
any way any ideas or experiences are welcome.
thanks
b

also i will more than likely get rid of the original low back seats so if anyone has any interest in them let me know and i will post a photo. they are pretty rough and may not be worth the price of shipping but if there is any interest i will put them up.
b

 

You may be in for some disappointment, which can only be cured with a TON of fabrication.

First, I am unfamiliar w/ the smittybuilt seats. I put Besttop trailmax seats in my 75. The problem with MY seats was, the butt pad stuck out beyond the back of the seat. Since the wheelwell is so close to the back of the seat, it puts you 5" from the steering wheel.

My remedy:
Step:
1: Disassemble the seats by removing the bolts that hold the back onto the butt part.
2: Remove the upholstery from the bottom seat.
3: CUT the barackets that the upper part of the seat bolts to.
4. CUT about 3" from the lower butt part frame. Weld it back together.
5: Weld the brackets back onto the butt part AS FAR BACK AS POSSIBLE.
6: Bolt the seats back together.
7: Visit your friendly neighborhood upholsterer to reattach the butt pad to the butt frame.
8: Fab your own seat brackets. (Since the hole pattern on the bottom is now different.)

I can post pics in about 2 weeks....

 

Had you considered taking your low-back seats to an upholsterer? If you run into a lot of trouble with the high-backs, you might send 'em back and fix your old ones.

 

i took my old seats to two different upholsterers and both would not touch'em. something about the springs being inside the foam and all the rust and not being worth doing b/c new seats would cost about half as much.
the smittybuilt seats are a direct fit in a 76 cj5 and the collins bros guys thought i may just need to fab an adaptor to move the bolt holes to the right spots. i'm not real worried about the seats being adjustable b/c they will be in the farthest back position available anyway.
i have attached a photo of the new seat from the web-site. it has lots of padding on the sies but doesn;t look like too much in the back.
i guess we will see when they get here.
b

 

The problem is NOT the bolt holes. The problem is the butt pad part sticks 2" back behind the backrest. That means the seat can not physically go back! (the seat back rests on the back wheel well.

I wish I had taken pics of what I went through. It was well worth it though.

BTW, I sat my seats on the brackets BEFORE I did the mod. The bus steering wheel rubbed my belly, and I'm a pretty thin guy!

 

Check with Boyink. I think he did a mod on the wheel well to allow his seats to fit and also go back.

 

I've used the Boyink wheelhouse notch myself. It works very well!

 

Good news.
the smittybilt seats came today and although i have not bolted them in yet i placed them on my seat brackets and sat in them.
there seemed to be just as much room as with the originals!
i still think i will have to fab an adaptor to line up the bolt holes but as of now they seem to fit.

yea!!

keep everyone posted.

b

 

Seats Installed

all right guys,
installed the seat this afternoon and they fit great.
i had to make bolt hole adaptors for the passenger seat. i used the original holes on the drivers side bracket and drilled one new hole on each side of the new seats rails. (one on each side). i did not re-install the driver's seat slider. it is in a fixed position.
here is a link to some photos

http://www.zaclehr.com/seats/

the seats seem no closer or tighter than my originals and are very comforable.

just to recap
1974 cj5, original seat bracket, no sliders, no adjustment. passenger seat still comes forward to access tool box but probably not far enough to access the back seat (if i had one).
smittybilt/outland standard bucket seats, non-reclining.
just a little fab with a drill and an angle grinder.
about three hours time.