Page updated: 01/14/2003 11:07 AM

Less Bang for Your Butt!
Researched, implemented, and written by: Darrell (a.k.a. Boston Wrangler) Also check out: Darrell's Jeep Page
Darrell explains how a wide range of readily-available Mustang seats are a 95% bolt-on improvement to your CJ or YJ! Save your butt!

THE END RESULT

Introduction

I used seats from an 88 Ford Mustang. I did some research and I found that 76-95 CJ/YJs have the same exact seat floor bracket/riser. I had my friend at a Ford dealership parts department check their computer to find out which 'Stang seats are compatible. All 86-94 Mustangs use the same seat pattern. Therefore, all seats from 86-94 Mustangs will fit in all 76-95 CJ/YJs by following the procedure below.

The installation is easy! Maybe about 30 minutes each side.

This is a one beer (maybe two beer if you drink quickly) job. (Disclaimer: Never drink when using power tools!)

The tools involved with this installation are:

-1/2" wrench
-1/2" socket
-power drill w/ assorted size metal drill bits
-masking tape (so that your drill bits don't wander when starting the hole)
-measuring tape/ruler/yardstick
-a few matching nuts and bolts (grade 8 for safety)

Step 1: Unbolt seats from the frames

Taking the seats off the risers is just a matter of unbolting the four nuts that hold the them together. It may be a wise idea to spray the bolts with some penetrating oil a few days ahead of time as old bolts are likely to be rusty and the heads will come right off when torqued.

If you have sliders, you will need to take those off of the seats also. You will, more than likely, need an internal star (internal Torx) socket (not bit) to get the sliders off of the seats. Jeep loves to use Torx as we all know!

The Mustang seats also have sliders and frames that need to be removed. The bolts holding these on were 9/16 so a regular socket is all that is needed.

Note: Save ALL bolts and nuts since several will be reused!!

Step 2: Bolt the CJ/YJ slider

If your stock seats don't have sliders, or if you are not going to use them, skip to Step 6

Using the bolts from the mustang seats, bolt the bottom of the slider to your choice of four holes in the Mustang seat.

Note: The only hole that will be tapped out of the four is the one that the bolt was threaded in originally. You can thread (tap) the metal in one of the previously unused holes with the stock bolt.

Step 3: Drill seat to accept slider

Since the Jeep slider is shorter than the shortest combination of the holes in the Mustang seat, you will need to drill the seat and use a bolt/nut to secure it to the slider.

Mark where the front bolt needs to go and drill a hole through the metal (maybe 1/16" thick). Put masking tape over the area (maybe 2 or 3 layers thick) to keep the drill bit from wandering around. This ensures that you drill right where you want the hole to be.

Step 4: Bolt sliders to seat

To secure the Mustang seats to the Jeep sliders, put a nut and bolt through the slider hole and the hole you just drilled in the seat. A lock washer and flat washer will assure that they will stay tight. I used grade 8 bolts with 1/2" hex heads for safety/peace of mind.

The slider adjustment bar (not pictured) is relatively self-explanatory to re-install. The adjustment bar is a U shaped rod that connects the two sides of the sliders and allows them to disengage the cogs so you may slide the seat forward and back

Step 5: Install seats in the Jeep

Simply align the mounting studs in the sliders back up to the holes in the floor risers in the Jeep and put the 1/2" nuts back on and tighten.

If both of your seats have sliders, repeat the above steps and you are done with the installation.

Congratulations!

If you have decided to install non-slider equipped seats, continue below:

Step 6: Drilling seat riser

Because there is no slider, the seat directly bolts to the riser in the Jeep. This means we need to drill the Jeep riser to match the bolt hole spacing on the Mustang seat.

The stock holes in the Jeep risers are 11 1/2" apart (front to back) while the Mustang seats have bolts spaced 11", 12", 13" or 14" (remember the four bolt holes at the bottom/back of the seat)

I chose to drill a hole 1/2" back from the rear hole in the Jeep riser. It is visible in this picture. Again, I used masking tape to prevent the drill bit from dancing.

Step 7: Installing the seats in the Jeep

The original bolt from the Mustang seats are self tapping. The only hole out of the 4 available was the one that it was bolted to originally. It is a good idea to run the bolt through the new hole that you want tapped while it is on the ground instead of trying to tap the hole while you are upside down in the Jeep installing the seat.

Again, this picture shows the four holes at the rear of the bottom of the seat.