08-AUG-2013
Rear seat bracket latch
I had drawn up a couple of ideas but I kept coming back to splitting a piece of 1.75 to use as a saddle to go over the 1.5 cross tube. This gives me a nice solid wide piece for the seat to sit on without any rocking motion.
08-AUG-2013
After cooling down
The clamps held the saddle in place and prevented it from moving while I welded it. I then welded the inside and then clamped it down again until it cooled.
08-AUG-2013
Welded saddle
I stitch welded the saddle on to the frame instead of welding the the whole saddle solid. I was afraid of the metal moving too much and then not fitting right.
08-AUG-2013
Inside of saddle welded
I stitched the inside of the saddle as well. After cooling everything still lined up great.
11-AUG-2013
Front seat tracks
After a long search (and getting jacked around by a Craigslist a-hole in Hollywood) I was able to track down and buy a complete set of YJ seat slides to use with my front seat for $40!. They came with the tilt forward bases but unfortunately the seats would sit too tall if I mounted them to the cage or even to the floor.
11-AUG-2013
Seat slides modified
The whole reason for the addition of adjustable seat slides is so that the rest of my family would be able to drive the Jeep. The YJ slides have 6" of adjustability (only one side has this amount) so that should be enough adjustment for everyone.
I am using a set of Corbeau GTS II seats for the front and since I am not using YJ seats the of the mounting holes for my seats are quite a bit different than the YJ seats. I needed to lengthen the mounting holes from front to rear by about 3/4" so I cut off the round mounting bung and welded it to a piece of 1/4" x 1" flat bar which will give me a little tilt as well as achieving the right mounting dimension. The side to side holes are off by about 2" so I will have to just redo the adjustment bar to compensate for that dimension difference.
15-AUG-2013
Modified seat adjusters
After figuring out how wide the seat slides were mounted on the seats I needed to narrow the seat adjusters by 2 1/2". This is pretty thin 3/8" tubing but it welded up nice and strong.
After a test fit I can then bead blast these and powder coat them for a nice durable finish.
18-AUG-2013
Seat tracks and adjusters installed
The modified seat slides fit great as do the modified adjuster bars.
18-AUG-2013
Front seat mounts
After numerous test fits with wood to get the height just right and the right amount of base tilt, I bent some 1" DOM tube to mimic the height. I them made a jig for all of my seat mounting tabs and welded them all into place for both seats.
18-AUG-2013
Slight rise
The slight rise for the front mounts is seen in the this shot. The angle of the mount works good in the forward and furthest back positions.
The main cross tubes are 1.5" chrome moly tube. I will mount the shifter to the front cross tube where it goes over the hump.
23-AUG-2013
Seat height
10 inches is about the lowest height that I can go down to because the seats are mounted to the cage. Any lower and it would just be uncomfortable sitting in the seats.
18-AUG-2013
All the way back
With the seat mounts welded in place and the slides all the way back I now have plenty of room for my long legs to fit behind the wheel. The addition of the tilt column is a nice benefit as well.