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    Box/aero seat swap?

    Can i put 96 seats into my 88? Both are ltc with 6-way power on both sides. I know "anything is possible" but i'm wondering if it is a straight bolt/plug-in or is it too much of a frig to frig with?
    96 MGM
    sigpic
    Cruisin up and down the road...

    #2
    It's not a straight swap. The floor bolts are different locations. You would have to swap the rails from your old seats to the LTC seats. And without seeing the wiring connector diagram for the 6-way on the LTC and comparing it to the diagram on the 88, I don't know that it would fit much less be electrically compatible. There's definitely a "needs to be modified" part to this swap.

    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
    rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
    Originally posted by gadget73
    ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
    Originally posted by dmccaig
    Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

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      #3
      Nope. Won't bolt up as stated above. Rails are also different. I had Marauder seats in my 85' but it required cutting and welding the rails.

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        #4
        Originally posted by Mr Bean View Post
        Nope. Won't bolt up as stated above. Rails are also different. I had Marauder seats in my 85' but it required cutting and welding the rails.
        Ok. So a marauder is around 02/03 as i recall. but i'm guessing seats from a 96 would bolt into an 02/03 easier than a box? right?

        i can probably get rails swapped, but if i'd need to cut/weld/drill mounts, me no can do. 96 seats into a box.

        Also is the wiring totally different, not just a matter of splicing in a new plug, but something else?
        again, 96 into a box. thanks for the help
        96 MGM
        sigpic
        Cruisin up and down the road...

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          #5
          1990-2011 seats will physically interchange. Just requires electrical wiring changes. Prior to 1990 floorboard is different.

          96' wiring will be different since 96' seats have controls on the doors. I would avoid newer Panther seats and looking for a set from another car. If you have to mod the rails anyway might as well get something supportive and comfortable.

          90 and newer rails aren't level. If you place a seat onto the ground it will sit lopsided because one side is higher than the other.

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            #6
            You want seats with controls on the side, otherwise you're going to have to transplant your stock controls to the side of the seat yourself. Its possible, it just requires a little surgery to do it. Definitely want the 80s rails though, its just not going to fit to the floor without a bunch of messing around otherwise.

            The only direct no effort involved swap is 1979-89 Grand Marq / Crown Vic. Everything else is at least a little bit different. Even 80s Towncar stuff isn't quite the same, they had door mounted controls.
            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

            Originally posted by phayzer5
            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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              #7
              To elaborate on the '90-up seats, you can't just unbolt the tracks from them - the nice folks from Lear (IIRC they are who made them infernal things) decided to build those into the hinge/recline mechanism for the seat back. On the box seats the seat back is attached to the seat bottom, and the rails bolt to the bottom as well - unbolt factory rails and bolt whatever rails fit wherever you wanna put the seat in (such as a pickup truck for example). Not so much with an aero-up seat, if you pull the four bolts on its underside that appear to hold the rails to the bottom the only thing that will happen is the seat bottom will come off the rest of the seat. So in the end you gotta play steel surgeon to make a newer seat fit into a '89-down car, which is majorly annoying but certainly not impossible.
              The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
              The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

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                #8
                Is that only on the power recline ones, or do the manual reclines work the same?
                86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                Originally posted by phayzer5
                I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                Comment


                  #9
                  TecNickal used ‘93 Town Car seats in the ‘87. IIRC, he’s mentioned a few times he had to swap the seat base and tracks around so he could use them. They work well and are plenty comfortable.


                  My Cars:
                  -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                  -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                  -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                  -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

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                    #10
                    I swapped an earlier box power seat bracket onto my first '90. It worked and the plug even fit, but the controls worked backward and i had to shim the fuck out of the bracket to get it level. Think i had to re-drill some of the holes for the seat to mount to the bracket too. Anyway you cut it, just get shit that fits right, otherwise you end up in a weird convoluted hassle.

                    Piggback question; what year did they go to non-seat-mounted controls? Wondering if i can find something like bucket seats from an early aero that'll fit and work in my '90. Hate my seats.

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                      #11
                      My 88TC in question has the seat controls mounted on the door panel.

                      The bracket change thing sounds like more work than I'm able to do, or pay someone to do. Sounds pretty confusing actually.

                      My 88 velour seats are in nice shape just not entirely comfortable on longer trips the way the early aero leather ones are.

                      thanks for all the input-
                      96 MGM
                      sigpic
                      Cruisin up and down the road...

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                        Is that only on the power recline ones, or do the manual reclines work the same?
                        The ones I was messing with were full manual buckets from an aero cop car.
                        The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
                        The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Kodachrome Wolf View Post
                          TecNickal used ‘93 Town Car seats in the ‘87. IIRC, he’s mentioned a few times he had to swap the seat base and tracks around so he could use them. They work well and are plenty comfortable.
                          See this is one of those things where you wish the person who successfully pulled it off shared some pictures of the job in progress. Not saying that he didn't but if he did it would be nice to link to them here now.
                          The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
                          The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by BoulevardRide View Post
                            My 88TC in question has the seat controls mounted on the door panel.

                            The bracket change thing sounds like more work than I'm able to do, or pay someone to do. Sounds pretty confusing actually.

                            My 88 velour seats are in nice shape just not entirely comfortable on longer trips the way the early aero leather ones are.

                            thanks for all the input-
                            Its the lack of lower back padding. I have the same problem. At some point I want to retrofit the power lumbar from an aero seat, but short of that I bet a simple block of foam added into the right area would take care of it. My inelegant solution has been to fold up a bath towel and put it behind my lower back so I don't sink into it like a hunchback old lady. The back of the seat will come off, its got those christmas tree clip things holding it on. Once that is off, you can see the padding and the springs that are behind it. Should be able to fish some foam between the original foam and the springs to push it out.
                            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                            Originally posted by phayzer5
                            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                            Comment


                              #15
                              That's funny, Ash finds the velour seats in my Townie to be ultra comfy. Most days I do too but for city trips I find myself adjusting a lot. Seat position and the position of your butt matters a lot. Try to stick your butt right in the corner where the seat cushion & back meet nice & tight. Then angle the seat such that it sort of resembles a bucket, so rather than your ass slide toward the steering wheel after bumps and such it wants to remain nice & tight with that corner. Gadget's solution sounds like the ticket.
                              1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                              1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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