1971 Cj5 Seat And Bracket Issues

Nice build! and yeah was hoping going to original would solve most the problem. Yes one of a kind indeed. Seat makes your legs cramp.

 

Holy crap you must be looking over the top of the windshield!

 

Well I have looked just about everywhere so if you guys run into a passenger side seat mount with the hold down brackets please let me know. I can find a machine gun bracket but no original seat bracket.

 

To be expected. Replacement seat brackets are scarce.

 

Factory seats on the original mounts will give plenty of leg room. I am 5'8" and I have plenty of leg room with my factory seats. My jeep is also a 71 model.

 

Thank you for letting me know. I was worried about wasting money on new seats seeing how these are in good shape but if it gets me more comfortable I am there. Is this seat similar to your original? And you don't have a wheel well notch or anything do you? I don't have the means for doing one even though it would help greatly.

 

Those look pretty close but the originals have a gap at the section where the seat half meet where you can slide your hand thru.

I do not have a wheel well notch for my seat.
This is not my jeep, to dark to take a picture right now. But these are original style.

66.CJ-5_Bryan_Pyke.jpg

F450.jpg

 

These are the stock seats in my 70 ( when they were fresh out of the upholstery shop).
No wheelwell notch but the drivers seat is as far back as it can go. I'm six ft tall and can drive it comfortably. My son is 5'6" and has no problem working the pedals either.

 

As Mcruff says, the factory seats should offer adequate leg room. Your driver side mounting base looks to be stock, before the high-chair spacers were added. The stock low-back seats had pretty soft foam, starting in '66. Unfortunately, most, if not all the similar low-back aftermarket seats have very firm foam. The difference is you sit "in" and lower with the stock seats, and sit "on" and higher with the aftermarket versions. By sitting higher, you end up close to the steering wheel, and more cramped for space.
The lower and further back you can keep the seats, the better. Under 6' tall with the right seats, you shouldn't need to even think about the seat notch into the rear fenderwell.
-Donny

 

Those are the Smittybuilt brand low backs. I was thinking of getting them but the reviews I read all had the same common issue, you sit high with them. So I ended up getting the Bestop Trailmax II low backs. I’m 6 feet 215 lbs and have no problem for room/ pedal operation. Very happy with the Bestop, but would have been nice if they looked like the Smittybuilt. No wheel well notch either.

 

Awesome info thanks guys, I really appreciate it. And those Bestop look good to me, I am going to go with your recommendation on those.

 

Something to consider is that the seats are part of the suspension, You need seats that absorb some of the bumps, as Jeeps have off road suspension and can be a little rough riding. My 64 has seats with springs in them from the factory, it helps the ride a lot.

 

The original molded buckets (not the earlier flat buckets) are supportive, bump-absorbing and comfortable, IMO. If you can find some original seats and have them recovered or rebuilt, I expect you will be happy (If you are of average-ish height).

 

These are the seats I will be replacing. Corbeau that list at 738$ a piece or at least a seat that is identical to this so I hope it works.

 

I believe I am average at 5'8"- 5'9" or at least not tall. I found some seats claiming to be OEM at 350 a piece. They look look like originals, hope they work out.

 

Very happy with them if you don’t mind the non stock look. But definitely you want to go with low back seats, mine had high back seats when I first bought it and they look so wrong for a vintage Jeep. I also did the matching back bench.

 

I think I would try to save that passengers seat mount - what is there to lose? If you ground the welds down you might be able to separate the upper and lower frames - possibly weld a thick washer to what remains of the hinge pin. The angle irons would be easy to remove. Even if this is beyond your comfort level I would think a local welder/fabricator could make something of it.

 

Yes after coming across nothing on the internet I think you are right. The only thing I would have to find is the little latch to hold it down. That's the wife's seat so no big emergency there.

 

The latch used on passenger seats is the same part as the one on the top center of the windshield frame to catch the hood loop.
The Willys CJ5's up through about '62 used a latch on the passenger seat, then they were discontinued until about '68 when they re-appeared. The latch was mounted to the seat frame and there was a loop on the floor near the toolbox hinges for the latch to hook to.
-Donny

 

Cool, thank you. Looks like they removed the latch and welded that spot to the angle iron. no loop either. welds look easy enough to pop and grind though.