Original Seats...?

I need to make a call on these seats - are they original to my 1966 Tux and worth refurbishing, or are they some 1970s aftermarket junk and I should start over from scratch?

Passenger seat:


Rear bench

Driver Seat


Pax and rear

 

Those look to be correct, what do the mounting brackets look like.

 

Agreed. Those look like originals.

 

They don't look that bad I would recover them, new seats are pretty hard foam and you sit on the seat rather than in the seat, if I could find some originals I would be super happy. I would find the covers and do it yourself, upholstery work is not really that hard, but so few people do it they charge out the wazoo...

 

Keep and rebuild those original seats!
-Donny

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Well I went to two places in Reno/Sparks, one guy quoted me $4000 with a mandatory $2,500 deposit (!), so then I found an old timer who does a lot of classic cars and said he could recover them and refresh the foam for way less - around $300 per seat. So I'm thinking of going with him.

Question is which way should the pleats go to re-create the factory look - are they vertical or horizontal?

I have pictures in my reference library on “original” or “correctly” restored jeeps that show both ways…

 

Just an observation--
The next to the last picture in post #7 above , the red Jeep w/column shift and vertical stitching is, I believe, a tux and my '66 tux 2/3 -1/3 seats have vertical stitching also.

 

The upholsterer said the he was 99% sure the pleats should be vertical in this era like the ones in the pic you pointed out, but I wanted to check with the experts.

 

My only point is the 2/3-1/3 seats on at least some 1966 Tuxedos were vertical. A link to an original promotional brochure for the 1966 Tux with bucket front seats show horizontal seams. Vintage 1966 JEEP "Tuxedo Park Mark IV" Dealer BROCHURE booklet * 4x4 | #1863280225

Regarding vertical and horizontal, a person could probably pick your favorite and be okay??? My small, small amount of research leans my vote toward horizontal for buckets.

 

Your bucket looks original. Here is the 60-40 in my '65, (vertical ).

And the buckets in my '67 (horizontal).

Both have been recovered years ago, but followed what was original.

 

Fabrics and pleats changed over the years. Likely your best source is the Jeep sales brochure from that year.

 

The foam bucket seats ('66-up) had horizontal pleating. The 1/3-2/3 "bench" seat with coil springs (up thru '65) had vertical pleating. I think the 2 piece bench seat with foam cushions used horizontal pleats, but these seats were really rare.
-Donny

 

I've seen occasional reference to folks using '60's era Mustang seats in an old cj5. Is that really a thing? I may be able to pick up an original pair for about $200. Any comments on if it's a worthwhile pursuit? Thanks