My Willys 3A and 3B Community
TECH FAQ SECTIONS => BODY and trim => Topic started by: 1955CJ-5 on September 25, 2020, 11:22:18 PM
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I have 6" foam seat bottoms and am thinking of going to the 3" thick bottoms.
As it is my forehead is above the window frame!
Anyone tried these?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Seat-Bottom-springs-NOS-originals-Fits-M38-M38A1-CJ2A-CJ3A-Willys-jeep/302469015053
For $20 (+$23.68 shipping!)maybe worth a try, or not.....?? I have the original seat bottom pans...
Randy
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I bought one set of seat bottom springs from Matt, it was complete except for the small springs between the coils, but very rusty. I just used it for parts to replace two broken coil springs in my original seat.
(http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/500/20200116_121518.jpg)
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I have seen images of earlier jeeps with thinner cushions. I used Beachwood for my seat kits and they tried to sell me thinner seat cushions explaining that many customers ordered that (I believe it was more for girth clearance vs. height) vs. the original thickness. I wanted stock height appearance so got the thicker bottom. I would think that the most important factor is will the thinner version hold your weight?
At $20 it almost seems worth the cost to experiment.
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My CJ-5 still has the original seat springs. The driver side is getting a little soft as you might expect.
Using the ebay springs for replacement parts is a good idea.
Do you have a source for the small tension springs that are arranged in an "X" between the coils? I found that tightening those helped firm up the seat a bit, but they are tired too....
I only sat in a 3b once, so don't recall if it is more like the 3a or the cj-5 in terms of leg room and seat height. I wouldn't mind sitting a little lower in the 3a but the leg room would suffer a bit....the 6" foam pads are plenty firm, I've been waiting 4 or 5 years for them to soften up a bit but they are not giving way at all...
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My tension springs were in good shape, so I reused them. Looks like McMaster-Carr has 36" lengths of extension spring stock in all diameters that would probably work in this application.
https://www.mcmaster.com/springs/extension-spring-stock-6/ (https://www.mcmaster.com/springs/extension-spring-stock-6/)
My M38 has foam blocks from WeeBee which don't give very much. The original springs in my 1964 CJ3B seats are very comfortable, much more so than the M38 seats.
Mice got into my seats and started pulling the cotton batting out and also looks like the burlap is getting a little rotten, so at some point, I am going to try to remove the original vinyl covers and replace the stuffing.
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Mcmaster -carr.....shoulda known!
I'm planning a clutch replacement and transfer case rebuild this winter on the cj-5.......good opportunity to spruce up the seats.....