My Ford Truck Project (And Other Projects)

[joesregalproject]

For a while it seemed like these seats were everywhere. Now that I need one, nobody has one. I guess I could fix the frame for the one I have, but I'd still need to get the foam for the bottom and the lumbar air cushion which is also NLA. It'd really be a lot easier just to buy a complete seat. The bottom cushion is easy to take apart and put back together because it velcros together, the top is a pain in the *ss because the cover is held on with hog rings. If any if you Pittsburgh area guys come across a gray drivers seat out of a 94-96 F series with 40-20-40 seats give me a holler.

 

[pagrunt]

For a while it seemed like these seats were everywhere. Now that I need one, nobody has one. I guess I could fix the frame for the one I have, but I'd still need to get the foam for the bottom and the lumbar air cushion which is also NLA. It'd really be a lot easier just to buy a complete seat. The bottom cushion is easy to take apart and put back together because it velcros together, the top is a pain in the *ss because the cover is held on with hog rings. If any if you Pittsburgh area guys come across a gray drivers seat out of a 94-96 F series with 40-20-40 seats give me a holler.

Did you think about another trip Renicks to see what he might have?

 

[joesregalproject]

Did you think about another trip Renicks to see what he might have?

That's my next step. I called today and he said I'd have to come up and see for myself because he has no idea if there is one back there. It's a one hour drive one way so it might suck if he doesn't have one. Tomorrow might be a good day to take a trip up there.

 

[joesregalproject]

I got a tip from a tow truck buddy of mine that he dropped off a 1995 F250 at U-Pull in Penn Hills on Wednesday. He said it had the same seats as my truck. So I took a ride out this morning and sure enough they had the truck. Seats looked decent but there is no way to check the seat frame without partially removing the cover. They were easy to pull and I paid less than $60 for both passenger and driver seats, so regardless not a bad deal.

I got them home, vacuumed them off, and slid the cover up. Sure enough this driver's seat has a broken frame too.

I could go on playing this game for a while, buying seats and hoping they aren't broken, but instead I'm going to take the ones I have to an upholstery shop and have them put together one good driver's seat. I could weld the frame myself, but I don't trust myself to get the cover and the foam off the frame without destroying them. So I'm gonna leave it to the upholsterer. They can rebuild the foam, fix the frame, make sure the lumbar is working, clean it and reinstall the cover nice and tight so I can just bolt it back in.

 

[joesregalproject]

Well one place that wasn't closed today was the upholstery shop, so I took my seats over and explained the problem. I've never used this shop before but he had some really high end cars inside that were being worked on and seemed like a pretty knowledgeable guy. There was a 70 Chevelle with a big block, a 69 Mustang, a wild looking custom Chevy G10, and a few motorcycles among others.

They are going to disassemble the seat, weld the frame up, rebuild the foam on the bottom cushion, fix the lumbar support, reassemble it and detail it. The guy I talked to said he'd have it done by Friday. Price seemed reasonable too. If it makes the truck more comfortable it'll be worth every penny.

 

[joesregalproject]

I'm planning on picking my seat up tomorrow, I'm kind of excited for it. Hopefully it'll be a lot more comfortable. I think my next upgrade on this truck will be to replace the steering wheel. The "brick" airbag wheel isn't very aesthetically pleasing but I'm more concerned about the ergonomics. This was before Ford figured out how to integrate the airbag and the horn together so it's got these tiny horn buttons and I can never seem to find them when I need to lay on the horn. Also the original leather cover was ripped when I got the truck and I have a cheap parts store cover on it that isn't very comfortable to grip.

I don't want to lose the airbag so the best route IMO is to swap in a 99-07 Super Duty Wheel. The SD wheel is also pretty dorky looking but they can be bought brand new from Ford pretty cheap and they have a decent grip and the horn is where it's supposed to be.

My wheel-

Super Duty wheel-

The wheel bolts on but I believe the Super Duty clockspring requires that the wires are depinned and put into the original connectors to connect the cruise control buttons and the airbag. I'll look into it more. An entire column with wheel probably costs $50 at the junkyard.

I also need to get some shocks and I've got to research it a little more before I buy anything.

 

[Turbolq4]

Funny. I almost swapped steering wheels the exact opposite of what you want to do. I hate the ergos of the SD wheels. Instead of screwing around with that I just bought a different steering wheel. It just happened to come with a different truck mounted to the back of it.

 

[joesregalproject]

Funny. I almost swapped steering wheels the exact opposite of what you want to do. I hate the ergos of the SD wheels. Instead of screwing around with that I just bought a different steering wheel. It just happened to come with a different truck mounted to the back of it.View attachment 139769

What about the ergonomics of the SD wheel didn't you like? I've driven quite a few of them and my old Town Car had one very similar albeit with more buttons and I didn't mind it.

The horn buttons drive me absolutely insane on the brick wheel. Laying on the horn with your thumb just isnt the same as using your entire forearm and open fist to let someone know they are an assh*le.

 

[Wageslave]

My wheel-View attachment 139686

Seeing that steering wheel gave me a flashback to my ex-wifes Taurus. I'm not sure if the ex-wife or the car made me more angry.

 

[joesregalproject]

Seeing that steering wheel gave me a flashback to my ex-wifes Taurus. I'm not sure if the ex-wife or the car made me more angry.

90s taurus, blecchh. They were pretty atrocious. My borderline psychotic Aunt's ex-husband had one. I suppose I too don't associate them with fond memories. But they used those brick wheels in everything. Trucks, vans, Tauruses, and Fox Bodies too.