Seat bracket madness!

[sly]

So in other words, Ash's 89 TC will not accept seats from a 1990-1995 TC without modification?

pretty much. You'd have to swap the tracks out and possibly change the wire harness to the 6 axis on the tracks.

[VicCrownVic]

So in other words, Ash's 89 TC will not accept seats from a 1990-1995 TC without modification?

I think some test fitting at one of our local yards is in order to see what actually works and what doesn't, but as long as you leave the rails bolted to the floor of her 89 then I think the 90+ seats should bolt to the 89 rails. The 90+ rails will not mount to the floor of her 89 without modification as knucklehead0202 found out the hard way.

The wiring may be different, as Sly said, but I can give you a hand with that.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks fellas, appreciate the tips!

Ash and I stopped by PG on 8 mile this past weekend and found a 93ish TC with blue leather seats & the cupholder armrests. Despite being leather she liked them and said they're more supportive than what she has. Didn't snag them mostly because I wasn't sure they'd be a direct fit and they're leather. If we could keep her rails and swap seats like you say Vic that would be sweet and we'd sure appreciate the help with the wiring. There's two box TC's at that PG so we could test fit this weekend.

[Mr Bean]

90+ seats will all interchange. There is a guy with a box on Cardomain running 2003+ CVPI seats.

I have Marauder seats in the 85' but they required modding the tracks. I had to chop the rail on one side and reweld it back up and move one of the bolt holes over.

[gadget73]

The 90s seats can be fitted to 80s frames, but I think you have to drill out 2 holes and use a nut and bolt to make them mate up. I don't recall if its the front or rear holes that match up, but one set does and one does not. Not a big deal, and nothing you cant sort out with very minor work.

I've actually been meaning to find a set of 90s seats with the air lumbar support to see if I can harvest the lumbar parts to fit into my 1983 seats. Not sure what sort of hunchback fucks those things were designed for, but there is absolutely no lower back support on stock Townie Signature seats. I ride around with a towel folded up back there. If I can't fit the adjustable stuff, plan B was going to be simply get a piece of foam and stuff in there to give me some lower back padding.

[DerekTheGreat]

Haha you nailed it Thain. Ash loves my seats but I'm always adjusting them because I can't find a comfortable spot for my lower back. I think I got it set now but next time it goes in the shop for something it'll be back to square one. Was going to try to get seats from a poverty model as those seem stiffer or maybe even pillow type seats from an 80 or 81. Can't ever find her color or my color in decent shape. If only Grand1 would let Ash swap him seats before he sells his TC lol.

[TecNickal]

I put 93 Town Car seats in my 87 Colony Park.

Problem - besides the seat track I used from the 87, was that the 90-94 design butt cushion bracket does not mount to the 89 and older seat track. This leads to a new issue...

So I ended up bolting the 93 backrest to the 87 butt cushion bracket. Then I swapped the leather and foam from the 93 to the 87 butt cushion bracket. And Voila, Town car seats that mount perfectly in an 87 with 2 cavieats.

1) The 89 and older seat belt buckle design has it do that curve when it comes out at the butt cushion from the trans tunnel mounting at the other end, whereas the 90+ come straight from the seat track up.

2) The length (from backrest to thighrest) measurement is a tad shorter than what the fabric is designed for on a 90+, so the tuck n roll of fabric from the 93 won't lock in to the butt cushion bracket on a 89 and older. No biggie.

[knucklehead0202]

Haha! Tec hit on one thing I forgot to mention: My seatbelt bolted to the side of the bracket/frame and we forgot it in the process of "customizing" the goddamned mess to fit. For now I'm plugging my seatbelt into the center passenger belt because I didn't feel like taking the whole stupid seat out again Saturday night. As Thain mentioned, 2 of the bolts line up, but the rears require "messin' with" to bolt up. Others may experience different things but in my case, the seat does not sit level. As a stopgap, I stuck a bunch of washers under the bracket-to-floor, but I really need to shim the seat-to-bracket to make it all right. Even now I've got a pronounced gangsta lean, which is very uncomfortable with what are otherwise pretty flat, shapeless seats. When I get this bastard back apart probably over the weekend, i'll sort out the seatbelt situation as well as the level issue. Fuckin' Ford, always keep me guessing...

[knucklehead0202]

So I thought it time to re-hash an old thread just to give people angst. I'm still leanin' like a homie, albeit a bit less after some more creative shimming, but this seat just plain blows. The upholstery is in decent shape but I reckon the innards of this seat are just shite. Sooner or later i'll dig up a proper junkyard seat bracket, but the main reason for me stirring up this old mess, is that I wonder if there are other seat options for these. Perhaps something on the order of a bucket seat. These cars already roll like the queen mary in turns, and flat-assed seats only serve to exacerbate the situation.

Long story short, has anyone put different seats in their car with good result? I eagerly await a sign from the panther gods...

[87gtVIC]

I seen this in the junkyard the otherday:



1984 Town Car with some sorta neato buckets bolted in. Three of the four mounts looked to fit like stock. The rear mount towards the tunnel was nut and bolted.

[sly]

All the ones I've seen done with good results basically mount the different seat to the stock tracks either directly or with some adapter plates or new holes drilled in the seat mounting plates or the rails... depending on what worked for the installer at the time.

[knucklehead0202]

Hmmm, guess I just need to find some seats that look close and figure out how to bolt them to the brackets I guess. Have to get them upholstered too. Of course, I still need to get the right bracket as well, lol. Think there's a couple early aeros at the local yard I can maybe yank one out of.

[knucklehead0202]

Shit, nothing weird is going to work with power seats, so i'll have to find a manual bracket won't I? That will pose an interesting feat.

[sly]

use the power seat rails and take the control off the seat and move to the new seat. Then you can mount ANYTHING in there. Just need to drill holes out to match the new seat and bolt on to the stock rails.