"Seat Delete" Panel?
Jan 10, 2007 | 06:06 AM
#21
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,685
Likes: 1
From: Ashburnham, MA
I have a 89 DLX that I bought new that has the seat delete panel.
Back in those days - the 4 doors would get taxed LOWER than the 2 Doors - hence the VERY RARE 1990-1991 2 dor hard top 4Runner (cost MORE than the 4 door version)
VERY early 4Runners appear to have had a "bench" seat that was a "port add". Later ones had the nicer split rear seat.
Back in those days - the 4 doors would get taxed LOWER than the 2 Doors - hence the VERY RARE 1990-1991 2 dor hard top 4Runner (cost MORE than the 4 door version)
VERY early 4Runners appear to have had a "bench" seat that was a "port add". Later ones had the nicer split rear seat.
YAY! Someone that agrees with me, I am not just losing my mind!
Apr 25, 2007 | 01:01 PM
#22
Contributing Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 458
Likes: 0
From: Loveland, Colorado
Well, guess what? I was around then, and wasn't riding my tricycle 
In fact, I bought my 4Runner brand new, the second year they made them in large quantities.
Intrepid is the most correct. In the mid 80's there were import quotas on passenger vehicles, but not on trucks. So they imported them as trucks (no rear seat) and then put in the after-market rear seat, domestically. I have one. Looked at several of them at the dealerships at the time (1986), asked the dealers why the rear seats didn't exactly match the front. In fact, at the time there were conversion shops that would take a Hi-Lux and cut the back of the cab out and turn it into essentially a 1st gen 4Runner. Saw a couple of those in the lots at the time as well.
Other units (SR5 models) came from Japan with the back seat in them, but were more expensive and harder to get due to the quotas on passenger vehicles. Of course they also had the instrument cluster with the tach and the altimeter/inclinometer combos. The rear seatbelt winders are also inside the sidewalls, as a result. The DLX units did not have self-winding rear seatbelts, just the manually adjustable type.
The reason there weren't many 2nd Gen 2-doors sold is that there wasn't any demand for them. Everyone wanted a 4-door at the time so the rear seat passengers didn't have to climb through the front door.
HTH
In fact, I bought my 4Runner brand new, the second year they made them in large quantities.Intrepid is the most correct. In the mid 80's there were import quotas on passenger vehicles, but not on trucks. So they imported them as trucks (no rear seat) and then put in the after-market rear seat, domestically. I have one. Looked at several of them at the dealerships at the time (1986), asked the dealers why the rear seats didn't exactly match the front. In fact, at the time there were conversion shops that would take a Hi-Lux and cut the back of the cab out and turn it into essentially a 1st gen 4Runner. Saw a couple of those in the lots at the time as well.
Other units (SR5 models) came from Japan with the back seat in them, but were more expensive and harder to get due to the quotas on passenger vehicles. Of course they also had the instrument cluster with the tach and the altimeter/inclinometer combos. The rear seatbelt winders are also inside the sidewalls, as a result. The DLX units did not have self-winding rear seatbelts, just the manually adjustable type.
The reason there weren't many 2nd Gen 2-doors sold is that there wasn't any demand for them. Everyone wanted a 4-door at the time so the rear seat passengers didn't have to climb through the front door.
HTH
Last edited by 86Original; Apr 25, 2007 at 01:19 PM.
Apr 26, 2007 | 04:49 PM
#23
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Thought I might help you with this one. I'm normally on pirate but came over here for a bit. That rear panel you saw on ebay is actually part of a factory folding rear bench. My local junkyard has one. The bench is set up so that once folded forward it lays perfectly flat and turns the bed into a true 6' bed. When folded back it connects to additional brackets to the roll bar not found on normal runners. I thought the same as you until I saw a complete one firsthand. If you just buy that plate your screwed. There would be nothing underneath it when folded down to support any weight on top. Hope this helps.
Apr 27, 2007 | 12:25 PM
#24
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
From: Enfield ,Ct
Thought I might help you with this one. I'm normally on pirate but came over here for a bit. That rear panel you saw on ebay is actually part of a factory folding rear bench. My local junkyard has one. The bench is set up so that once folded forward it lays perfectly flat and turns the bed into a true 6' bed. When folded back it connects to additional brackets to the roll bar not found on normal runners. I thought the same as you until I saw a complete one firsthand. If you just buy that plate your screwed. There would be nothing underneath it when folded down to support any weight on top. Hope this helps.
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