Alright...I just bought this 98 reg cab Taco.....was driving a 90 4Runner....Bit of a difference in room....but hey...it's a alot newer than what I was driving....anyway....I want to rip that gawdy bench seat out and slap in some buckets....without spending $1000 per seat from Ricaro or the like....Can't I just take the bench and the mounting hardware out....and bolt in buckets from around the same year say...Ext cab? Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

im sure if you took some measurement and the went to a junkyard you could find something that would fit. i did that with my old cruiser and got leather altima seats

 

Look under there and see if the mounting holes for buckets are there. I bet they are. Then its off to the wrecking yard (my experience is they're too proud of their inventory - they want hundreds of dollars each,) ebay, the parts stores... Offroad seats from the 4x4 suppliers run $300 - $400 each for very nice ones. Aftermarket seats (like the ricers love) start at $99 on ebay. etc... Also, ebay usually has bargains on used seats - I was looking at some power leather buckets from a 3000GT the other day for cheap.

If you get Yota seats they should just bolt in. Otherwise you'll no doubt have to make up some bracket adapters. It's pretty simple, but do follow this rule of thumb: If you aren't 110% certain they're stronger than they need to be - they aren't strong enough. In a collision, the seats must not come loose. Werd.

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33701

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Thanks for the advise guys...I'll look into checking out some local salvage yards

 

I have a friend who swapped in a split bench seat in place of bucket seats and everything bolted up just fine. He has a '99 Taco, and the split bench came out of a '95.5.

If you have a regular bench (not split), mounting buckets might be a bit more complicated. The mounting points should be there, you might just have to make a trip to the hardware store for bolts to fit them.


I have an '88 pickup that came with a bench seat. I swapped in '88 buckets and all I needed to do was buy two new bolts.

 

91 aurca intergia seats will fit and bolt up with there own mounting harware. well kinda bolt up. the front outside bolts and the back inside bolts will bolt up. but the seats stay very very secure in place. thats 2 bolts each seat. the back bolt u have to take the seat beat bolt out, remove the seat belt and replace the seat beat back ontop of the harware. then put the bolt back in. all works good. and its tight enough i dont think it would be scarey in a wreck. thats why i have in my 94 truck. i gonna guess its the same in a 98. acura seats have side and back lumbar in them plus a arm rest!!! i love my arm rest

 

You really ought to reconsider fixing those seat bolts properly. Really. The belts hold you in the seat. If the seat moves in an impact, that's another hundred pounds of kinetic energy added to your weight that the belts have to control, and that much more energy driving your face into the steering wheel.

I've personlly witnessed 2 very serious accidents in the last couple months, (one just last night - see the "I got another deer.." thread) plus I attend accident investigations and things like that as a course of my business. We all really believe it can't happen to us, but what if it does? What if your passenger sustains serious injury because your 2 bolts didn't hold? Then, how about a scenario like this: Insurance company investigator sees missing bolts, notices non-stock seats, refuses to pay claim! Now you're really screwed! Then, everyone sues you. I've seen insurance companies do much worse things than that...

Never, ever, screw with safety.
It's not a big deal to get those brackets modified so they bolt in properly.

 

Word taken to note. i felt like it was safe i used the factory bolts. bench seat is held down by 4 bolts. and i used the same amount. my frined done his, they did not fit there are just sitting in there. i asked him what about if he wrecked. he said " the seat will not move the seat belt will hold me and the seat in" lol...... i believe to actually put in buckets u would have to drill and tap two new holes then. correct?

 

Some basics...

The mounting scheme (number of bolts and/or locations of available holes) for the *single / one-piece* bench (regular cab) is different from the scheme for the buckets and 60/40 split bench.

In some Toyota truck generations, stock buckets will fit up to the existing single bench bolt holes and you only have to make holes for the remaining bucket bolts. I've seen writeups for other combinations where not all the single bench holes lined up with the incoming truck buckets.

It is common for these additional holes to already be in floorboard - either as moulded points to drill out or as actual holes with plugs inserted.

Your best bet for swapping is to use Taco seats from the *same generation*.

In any case, your single bench mount / bracket stuff is useless for buckets / 60-40's. If you're getting recycled buckets, be sure to get the mounts along with them.

For info on known writeups, see my seat tech articles over at CustomTacos.

 

i want to change my buckets to bench.. i have a tundra 04... anyone know if a swap can be done??.. ill be happy to do one.. but will shipping be possible?