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Old 04-15-2019, 04:35 PM   #1
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Ford Lariat seats?

Has anyone put these into an E-series van? Does someone make a bracket/spacer for them?

thanks,
Chris

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Old 04-15-2019, 04:52 PM   #2
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Typically they are too low. Thus, you would need a bracket with risers. Since very few people love vans, I have not seen anyone making an adapter kit to put truck seats in a van. Mini-van seats, yes. Truck seats- no.
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Old 04-15-2019, 05:08 PM   #3
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Been asking this again and again and again on various threads. Nobody has said anything to me about "Yes they fit" or "No and you're wasting your time".

Big issue, as Gramps has pointed out, the physical mounts themselves are, well, quite different. Econolines don't have a recessed foot area, whereas the F-series do, hence the seating brackets for lariat seats are shorter than that of Econolines.

Nobody has written back with dimensions, and they're nowhere to be found on the internet as far as I can tell either (When intuition would say that someone, at some point, would have listed these...).

I've been chasing after them for the heated/power functions and the idea that the grey lariat seats would likely end up matching my interior and look almost OEM. Seat base wouldn't really have been an issue, since I'm vertically challenged and wanted to mount the seats up 2" and back 2-3" anyways.

If anyone has info I'd be interested in knowing as well. Finding Lariat seats with all the goodies seems easier than finding a pair of unicorn leather power econoline seats...
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Old 04-15-2019, 05:20 PM   #4
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Anything is possible with enough time and money. If you really like the seats, just weld them onto your bases. For heating and cooling, you would have to splice into the wiring harness somewhere to hook it up and have all the peripherals installed somewhere (like the fan for the cooling). I think most people who want to swap seats go with what has been proven: sienna seats with bolt in bases or aftermarket seats like scheel-mann. I haven't seen anyone doing a Lariat seat.
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Old 04-15-2019, 06:17 PM   #5
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Speaking only from what I've seen--

The Sienna seats seldom match the interior of the van. I'm usually not picky about things matching, but on the other side of that comment, some things just look out of place.

Scheel Mann seats are top of the line and probably the best seats you could put in a van, but they're no idiots... They know what they're selling and charge you accordingly.

There has to be some good reason that someone decided Lariat captains chairs were no good for the 4wd van application... The lack of interchangeable bases can't be the reason, nor the price (As custom seat bases have been made to fit other seats into Econolines, and that there are thousands of these captains chairs in wrecking yards yearly..).

If I had to bet it has something to do with the width of the seat, but that's just a shot in the dark because nobody knows how wide they are.
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Old 04-15-2019, 08:06 PM   #6
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I have never, until recently on this forum, seen or heard of anyone even thinking of putting pickup seats in a van, Ford or otherwise. They're just very different kinds of seats. Basically, van seats are like chairs, flat floor below you and you sit upright. Truck seats (and every other vehicle seat) are like recliners with your feet out in front of you and they suck in every way (that part just my opinion). I don't think it would work out, but ultimately what Gramps said above is the truth. It could work if you do the work. That said, I have never seen truck seats in a van.

I have seen virtually every type of van seat adapted to another van. My first Chevy G/20 moto van hardly hit the driveway before I had a nice set of Dodge Caravan rears mounted in it. Dual armrests, I was in heaven. I agree the Siennas don't always match the interior but there are many that do, typically the same manufacture as your van. If I was in the market for better seats I would go looking for a Ford minivan at a salvage yard. In fact, I have a few times. All manufacturers generally use the same interior colors and not many different ones among all van lines.

If you find van seats uncomfortable it is probably because your back is a wreck from all the years of sitting in a recliner type car/truck seat. I am a BMW fan but I can't drive one for more than an hour or so due to the seats and I've had LOTS of BMWs. Conversely I could sit in my base Ford Transit seat for about a thousand miles at last count and be ready to go for a run. Sorry MG.

YMMV.

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Old 04-15-2019, 11:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Scotty View Post
I have never, until recently on this forum, seen or heard of anyone even thinking of putting pickup seats in a van, Ford or otherwise. They're just very different kinds of seats. Basically, van seats are like chairs, flat floor below you and you sit upright. Truck seats (and every other vehicle seat) are like recliners with your feet out in front of you and they suck in every way (that part just my opinion). I don't think it would work out, but ultimately what Gramps said above is the truth. It could work if you do the work. That said, I have never seen truck seats in a van.

I have seen virtually every type of van seat adapted to another van. My first Chevy G/20 moto van hardly hit the driveway before I had a nice set of Dodge Caravan rears mounted in it. Dual armrests, I was in heaven. I agree the Siennas don't always match the interior but there are many that do, typically the same manufacture as your van. If I was in the market for better seats I would go looking for a Ford minivan at a salvage yard. In fact, I have a few times. All manufacturers generally use the same interior colors and not many different ones among all van lines.

If you find van seats uncomfortable it is probably because your back is a wreck from all the years of sitting in a recliner type car/truck seat. I am a BMW fan but I can't drive one for more than an hour or so due to the seats and I've had LOTS of BMWs. Conversely I could sit in my base Ford Transit seat for about a thousand miles at last count and be ready to go for a run. Sorry MG.

YMMV.

Well... my thoughts, trying to keep them short:

I figure my van is worth $20K. It's old, it doesn't have a desirable motor, about the only thing some might consider noteworthy is that it has less than 120K on it and has had reasonably good maintenance.

The idea of spending $5K on SM Seats to put into a 22+ year old $20K van doesn't seem like a financially wise choice.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I'm going to call those Sienna seats ugly, whether they're plug and play or not.

While cloth seats heat up and ventilate better, when I spill my coffee in the morning due to a lack of good suspension, I'd like to be able to wipe it off the seat before it soaks into the seat.
--

Finding a minivan sounds like a good idea, but I'm not sure I'd like my odds of finding a 50,000 mile rolled Windstar SEL/Limited from '00-'03, when the alternative is a '03-'10 Lariat. BUT, now that you do mention vans and how comfortable the transit seats are... I suppose the other alternative is seeing if you can fit Transit seats into the Econoline. Looking at the build-your-transit thing Ford has, the transit seats are advertised as 10-way & heated, as well as having the more correct geometry for mounting in a van. Alas, my guess is that yards are not ripe with those for the pickings, either.

----

And, on the tangential side note of BMW's.. Every now and then I get to drive an E60 M5, those seats are fantastic. The only thing better is the S85, playing its beautiful tune!
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Old 04-25-2019, 01:14 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Scotty View Post
I have never, until recently on this forum, seen or heard of anyone even thinking of putting pickup seats in a van, Ford or otherwise. They're just very different kinds of seats. Basically, van seats are like chairs, flat floor below you and you sit upright. Truck seats (and every other vehicle seat) are like recliners with your feet out in front of you and they suck in every way (that part just my opinion). I don't think it would work out, but ultimately what Gramps said above is the truth. It could work if you do the work. That said, I have never seen truck seats in a van.

I have seen virtually every type of van seat adapted to another van. My first Chevy G/20 moto van hardly hit the driveway before I had a nice set of Dodge Caravan rears mounted in it. Dual armrests, I was in heaven. I agree the Siennas don't always match the interior but there are many that do, typically the same manufacture as your van. If I was in the market for better seats I would go looking for a Ford minivan at a salvage yard. In fact, I have a few times. All manufacturers generally use the same interior colors and not many different ones among all van lines.

If you find van seats uncomfortable it is probably because your back is a wreck from all the years of sitting in a recliner type car/truck seat. I am a BMW fan but I can't drive one for more than an hour or so due to the seats and I've had LOTS of BMWs. Conversely I could sit in my base Ford Transit seat for about a thousand miles at last count and be ready to go for a run. Sorry MG.

YMMV.

How tall are you Eric? Must be shorter than 5'8". Us taller people cannot stand the short depth of the Transit seat bottom for long trips--ouch!

For front seats in an E-Series, if you want to go entry budget, get some 2011 and newer Sienna cloth second row captain's chairs(less than $200/pair all day long), front mounts from MG, easy and done!
https://base-fab.com/products/
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Old 04-25-2019, 03:00 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by mk216v View Post
How tall are you Eric? Must be shorter than 5'8". Us taller people cannot stand the short depth of the Transit seat bottom for long trips--ouch!

For front seats in an E-Series, if you want to go entry budget, get some 2011 and newer Sienna cloth second row captain's chairs(less than $200/pair all day long), front mounts from MG, easy and done!
https://base-fab.com/products/
Do the sienna seats work up front? all the pictures I have seen of people putting them in the rear of e-series they look too "raked" on the seat bottom and like you would end up too reclined.

I would love to see what they look like mounted in driver/passenger configuration. I am leaning toward a pair to put in the second row sourced from base-fab but havnt pulled the trigger yet (other things a bit higher in priority at the moment).

For driver/passenger I was looking at Corbeau Baja XRS's 750 a pair base and 1200 a pair if you add lumbar and heat. They dont sell a direct mount adapter but they have a "universal" adapter that I suspect could be modified to work (I will be having my fab shop do a bracket for me).
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Old 04-25-2019, 03:23 PM   #10
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Sienna seats work well up front... Look good too!





The mount is designed to tip the seat forward just enough to make it feel right. They are a deep bucket if you mount them flat relative to their base.
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