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Old 04-27-2014, 07:28 PM   #1
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Adding seats

hello, new member and new owner of a 1994 E350. this van is stripped of it's interior and i would like to add two additional seats behind the front seats.

ford made seats for the F150 that have the seatbelt integrated into the seat back. this would allow me to place these without having to anchor the shoulder belt mechanism to the side of the van.

has anyone done this? any concerns?

i'll add a few pictures of my new toy in the coming days.

thanks, dan

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Old 04-27-2014, 08:15 PM   #2
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Re: Adding seats

I have done it, just use bolts and big washers when bolting any seats for the floor, and be very careful what you are drilling in to below. The fuel tank hangs a few inches below the floor so it's not a huge concern but something to be mindful of, but there are other things. Rear AC lines (if you have rear AC), wiring, and most importantly the thick double or triple sheet sections where the body is stamped together. These can kill drill bits fast.

I have never seen an F150 seat in a van, but would think it would sit really low and be pretty hard to modify. Have you considered minivan seats? There are many that have integrated belts and then you could have more comfortable individual seating. I put 2 additional front van seats in the back of my last van (to match the front) but if I could do it over again I would use Ford Windstar rear seats. They recline, have armrests, have the same upholstery patterns, and they are super plentiful in any junk yard, mostly because they are junk, but the seats are nice.

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Old 04-27-2014, 09:26 PM   #3
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Re: Adding seats

Just keep in mind that with integrated belts you need much stronger anchors than a standard seatbelt anchor because the seat creates a larger moment during a crash. When Ford added integrated seatbelts, new body cross-members were added to tie into the rear bolts at each seating row. Duplicating this as a DIY project would not be easy, but some 2" square x 3/16" C-channel or tube would probably come pretty close.
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Old 04-30-2014, 12:54 PM   #4
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Re: Adding seats

thanks for the replies. i hadn't considered adding extra support to keep my seats (and my small children) from flying through the windshield in the event of a high speed front-end collision. that'd be a crazy ride for them.

-dan

link to a picture of the seats i'm considering:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-F150-Se...aa4515&vxp=mtr
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Old 05-12-2014, 10:37 AM   #5
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Re: Adding seats

Quote:
Originally Posted by danger
hello, new member and new owner of a 1994 E350. this van is stripped of it's interior and i would like to add two additional seats behind the front seats.

ford made seats for the F150 that have the seatbelt integrated into the seat back. this would allow me to place these without having to anchor the shoulder belt mechanism to the side of the van.

has anyone done this? any concerns?

i'll add a few pictures of my new toy in the coming days.

thanks, dan
brad-bknudtsen on Expo has (i think he's on here to)
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/t ... nes!/page5
starts on post#174
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Old 05-12-2014, 09:09 PM   #6
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Re: Adding seats

This is an issue I'm having too.. I have Ford Explorer F150 front seats that are real nice.. I plan to build a mount to lift them up a bit maybe 3" - 4".. but my bigger questions are mounting them to the floor. I know I need strong backing... I had thought of 4"x4" 1/4" thick steel plates under each bolt.

But I'm wondering if I need more than that AND what about vehicle inspections.... with seats in a cargo van I'm wondering if I will have issues, even if I have super duper mounting for the seats.

Thanks... I'll keep you posted too.
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Old 05-13-2014, 05:11 AM   #7
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Re: Adding seats

I posted a reply to a similar question in the Van Body sub-forum----reposting it here in case its helpful:

Recently mounted a full size Snap On tool box to my E250 floor. After routing a recess in the 3/4" plywood floor to accommodate the box's footprint 7/16" hardened threaded rod was used to capture a 1.5" equal length leg L aluminum angle, 3/16" thick. As seen in the photo below these pieces fit snugly inside two floor ribs which I believe are quite strong points in that area.



Were this for seat mounting I'd do much the same but maybe use 2" equal length leg L angle no less than 1/4" thick.

While the steel plate or large washers are good ideas I believe my method ties into stronger parts of the floor, not just a relatively small area such as 4" x 4" etc.

Obviously anything other than bolts and washers only through the single layer of the floor is better.

As to vehicle inspections I have no idea how this would affect that process.

HTH
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