Project: Rear Seats with Shoulder Belts in Scout II

[Matt Hoobler]

I haul two kids to school every morning, and wanted to improve the rear seat of my Scout II. For my oldest daughter, there are very limited options for car seats that will use a lap belt to secure the car seat for a child between 50 and 75 pounds.

So, I researched the options. Most of the manufactuers offer vehicle seats with built in shoulder belts. The gap between my fenders is 42 inches, so I needed a seat that is roughly 21 inches wide. The Chevy seats were 22" to 23" roughly. The Dodge seats were the same. However, the Ford seats measured roughly 21" wide. I bought two Ford front seats from a 2005 F-150. (Note: it is very important to ensure that the seats you purchase have NEVER been in an accident. Most shoulder belts are designed to fail after they've saved your life one time).

[Matt Hoobler]

I removed my factory rear seat. Swept out all the broken goldfish crackers and bloody antelope hair out from underneath it.

For my new seat bracket, I used 1" by 3" box beam steel. I laid two support pieces across the floor. I utilized two holes (of the six) of the original mounting holes for the front piece. For the back beam, I made sure it bolted into the Scout bed railing for additional support. This is the bed railing located underneath the floor.

I then removed the sliding hardware from the Ford seats. I would have like to keep it on, but the headroom is limited as it is. I cut more box beam to act as supports for the new seats, and attached them to the original mounting holes on the Ford seats.

[Matt Hoobler]

Lined everything up and marked it with chalk, and pulled off all the box beam. I welded up the bracket, and cleaned up all the edges and holes. I primed and painted it up.

[Matt Hoobler]

I attached the two Ford seats to the bracket, and then loaded it inside my Scout II. Amazingly, all the mounting holes lined up. I cinched it all down.
My kids like the new "higher" view.

What did I learn? What would I do differently?
The factory Scout II seat was roughly three inches off the Scout II floor. By designing the factory seat this way, and by adding such a reclined nature to the seat, the occupant is afforded some headroom. New seats are not as thin and reclined.

The Ford seats have a little bit more bracketry that I could remove to try and copy the factory installation. If you do something similiar, I would recommend (1) making the base of the new seat have more slope or downward angle (like the factory seat); (2) put the rear of the new seat as close to the floor as possible.

Advantages / Disadvantages
The obvious advantage is that my oldest child now has a booster seat and utilizes a good shoulder belt. My youngest child now has a car seat that hooks to factory mounting hardware in the Ford passenger seat.

One minor disadvantage is that I lost 1/3 of my rear view mirror visability. It's not bad, and I'll trade that for the improved safety. Another minor disadvantage is that I cannot flip these seats forward like I could the factory seat. I didn't do it that often anyway.

Overall, I am very pleased at how it turned out.

Cost
Ford Seats (ebay): $350 plus shipping
Steel: $40
Time: overall, about 4 hours

[niroe]

Man the finished product looks great! I like the right up. I had made a similar mistake when installing Baja seats in my 800, had to pull the bases out and put them on more of a angle. When I get my new to me Scout II I will be getting those seats!

[Fred Demmon]

Originally Posted by Matt Hoobler

Lined everything up and marked it with chalk, and pulled off all the box beam. I welded up the bracket, and cleaned up all the edges and holes. I primed and painted it up.

Great minds think a like

That is exactly what I have been planning of doing. I cant seem to find any ford seats for under $400 a pair.

A guy on here called RailRider installed 2 seats like this for the front of his scout II and found them for $75 a pair, that is where I got the idea.

I knew the Ford seat were narrower and they would work
Thanks for the write up it will help me when I find my seats(I want to do 2 frt & 2 rear matching)

[Matt Hoobler]

I paid $350 for the pair of Ford seats, and I think shipping was around $70.

For me, it was a safety issue for my kids. So this cost was inconsequential.

Matt

[fredsterra]

Now you need two for your front seat!

[guidolyons]

Those seats come out nice.

[George Womack]

Nice work, Matt.