Rear seat options?

[iflylow74]

Hi all!

I have a question about rear seats for the CJ3A. It seems like they are as scarce as hens teeth and expensive if you can find one.

Someone told me that a seat from an old school bus is a good fit. I remember as a kid one of the last seats in the back of a schoolbus was a little shorter than the rest. Has anyone heard of this or tried it?

I realize it wouldn't be stock and may even be considered "ghetto" but hey if it works it works!!

[jamesr]

Another option is a rear seat out of a Samari Samari (Sic). They are 36" wide, and flip and fold. Jim

[iflylow74]

Another option is a rear seat out of a Samari Samari (Sic). They are 36" wide, and flip and fold. Jim

Very cool! I didn't know that, thanks for the info!

[calvinhunt]

If you don't care about stock there are some nice rear Jeep seats for around $230 now listed on eBay. I just searched, "willys jeep back seat". �That includes the frame, cushion foam, and the cover. �A stock reproduction back seat from www.beachwoodcanvas.com cost just over $600 for the frame, foam, and cover. That's more than a bit pricy, but that was the last thing I needed for the completion of my restoration and I wasn't up to building a stock replica myself. �Below is a photo, sorry it's not a closer shot. �

For the Jeeps of my youth, I always made rear seats from angle iron, conduit, plywood, foam and vinyl. �They were strong, light-weight and easily lifted out to set by a campfire. �I made and sold many for other Jeep owners at that time. �I could easily draw up the simple plans and share them here if anyone is interested. � �

[athawk11]

Calvin,

I would love to see a plan for a rear seat. �I'm in the same place as IFlyLow. �Repros are just too pricey for me.  And I'm not afraid to fab something up.

Tim

[iflylow74]

calvinhunt,

I would love some plans as well! On my budget, even $230 is a little pricey for me. Luckily, I have access to a welding shop at the technical school where I work. That may be a great project for the students to build!

[Chasm]

Wow! As sorry as my basket-case CJ3A was 6+ years ago when it adopted me, I am really surprised that it had the original rear seat frame and pans still in it!

[mud pie]

I never knew the rear seats are hard to find.  I took my original out and put it in the family room as an "extra" seat, as a joke.

I took it out to make room to stand up behind my replica 1919a4....

[calvinhunt]

Chasm,
I think you were very lucky to have an original back seat with your Jeep when you acquired it. �I had never seen a factory back seat until I started making contacts with other Jeep owners as I did my restoration 3 years ago. �I don't think the poor people of rural Southern Utah could afford such luxuries back then (now either). �

mud pie,
You better buy a love seat for your family room and get that valuable rear seat back into your Jeep!

iflylow74 @athawk11, �
Happy to get you some plans (really sketches with dimensions and materials needed) for a great little home-made back seat. �This weekend is full (actually hitting the first trail ride this summer--hope to get some photos to post on the 3A Page). But I'll make good on my promise. �Just give me 2 or 3 days to make it happen. �I think you'll be very pleased with the seat's simplicity and ease to build.

There is an old 1963 CJ-5 stilling running around in town that still has the back seat I made for it back in '63. �The present owner, who lives on the other end of town drives it regularly. �I'll see if I can catch him. �I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I took some pics. �That CJ-5 was purchased new by my boss when I used to work at his service station. �You older guys will remember such things--a place where they pumped your gas (29.9 cents per gal), cleaned your windshield, and checked your oil. �If you really needed car repairs they did that too.

[jamesr]

Calvin, For us car buffs, back then, working at a gas station after school, or weekends was a status symbol.  My boss allowed me to work on my own car if we were not busy and the bathrooms and lube room was cleaned and in tip top shape.  The hoist and air compressor and tools were the best thing since canned milk.  Jim

[mud pie]

Calvin, For us car buffs, back then, working at a gas station after school, or weekends was a status symbol. �My boss allowed me to work on my own car if we were not busy and the bathrooms and lube room was cleaned and in tip top shape. �The hoist and air compressor and tools were the best thing since canned milk. �Jim

Amazing....I did the exact same thing in high school !!

I used to change the oil in my M38A1 every Saturday morning, just because I could !!  

I had, oh, maybe 20 miles at best, between oil changes...  

We even had a old timey Coke machine (the one were you opened a small door and pulled the Coke out by the neck) in the service bay for us, another one out front for customers.  Theirs was filled with various soft drinks, ours was filled with beer.

[jamesr]

My wages of .95 per hour included 10 gal. of gas a week, free, that he gave me after work on Fri. night---made for great weekends.  To bad we did not have a beer cooler in back, maybe I could have worked a deal with him! Jim

[iflylow74]

I missed out on working at the old fashion small town gas stations but I do remember going to them with my dad when I was a kid.

There would always be a couple old men setting out front just shooting the breeze. Dad would buy me a coke from the old fashion coke machine with the little door on it. I remember one station had a 50 gallon barrel full of the old coke bottle lids accumulated over the years.

[mud pie]

Yep, back then, working on cars was considered "man work" and it was totally acceptable to be sipping on a beer while you worked; even if you were only 16, like I was.  You never got drunk, there was too much work going on.

Nowadays, there'd be news reporters, choppers in the sky, policemen, and psychologists offerings counseling for the "abused child laborers"........

[Gunslinger]

Thinking about that back seat, I also needed some storage room in the old girl, so I went to Fleet Farm and bought an aluminum storage box, from the truck section.  Its 30 inches long about 14 inches high and about 14 inches deep, comes with a heavy duty latch and lock, with a hydraulic lift for the top.  it was $169.00 but they had other choices too.  I'm going to put it right behind the front seats and put a small pad on it right between the seats.  That way the little squeegies can sit on it without falling out of the jeep.  I was thinking about putting it in the far back but I'll have to build a back rest for it if I do.

Like you guys:  Welder at a dock fabricator on night shift in high school, part time at the gas station in town for car wash money, but I drove a 72 Plymouth Duster, 318, G60s on Keystone Classics, 3 speed manual with a Zoom 12 spring clutch; 18 second 1/4 mile, no jeeps until I started dating ones owner in 1978.

Longtime by Boston top favorite song!!!