1st gen bucket seat mod?

[Fordexplorerguy1]

Hey everyone now that my truck is running but still no battery I have been thinking about the seats and how the tops show from the back window and block my view when im trying to merge, I was wondering if anyone has chopped them down and sewed the cover back? Kinda like a bench seat back, Has anyone done this? would i be the first? and do i need to keep the back rest for Crash protection IE whiplash,. if anyone has or has any suggestions or pictures that would be greatly appreciated!

and i was planning on chopping it down to that black line on the pic i provided...eh maybe a bit higher like 2-3 inches,.

 

[safn1949]

Dude,just put spot mirrors on your regular mirrors and you will be fine.

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

I more or less want to do it for the look too cuz i cant stand how high they sit

 

[69Explorer69]

just leave them alone..go buy some aftermarket seats then that are a little lower maybe visit the junk yard..they maekt the seats that high for a reason and its called YOUR SAFETY..i dont mean to sound like a ##### but i would say thats the most stuiped question i would think to ask.

If you were to cut them down just think of getting into a front end crash at lets say 25 mph and its a dead stop.your lower back will be protected but your top half will keep going from the g-force of hitting something..Now your talking about disk injury and neck injury even more.I only say that because i have been a volunteer firefighter for a rescue squad for the past 8 years and have seen ALOT of people mess there lives up because they wanted to do something this stuiped.Please dont cut them for your safety and who ever rides along with you at anytime...

Like safn1949 said buy some spot mirrors they only cost $5 from walmart $5=saves your back and neck...cutting seats=not being able to walk ever again in a crash..remember a crash at 10 mph can cause serious problems

 

[huntman58]

They sit that high for safety in a wreck to help stop whiplash. This is why all new autos no matter the make or style now have them. Cutting them down is the same as removing the seat belts because there not comfy for you or the E brake because you never use it. There all things that the day you need them you will wish you had not done it.

Now if you really want to go forward with it then find an older Bronco two with the low back buckets and use them . You will have to mod your seat covers still but at lest you will keep the seat integrity unlike if you cut the explorer seats

 

[Fordexplorerguy1]

Why is it such a big deal for the front seats? it would have the same protection as the back seats.

 

[69Explorer69]

if i was you i would just go to the junk yard and find some shorter seats that you like and bolt them in your X anything can be done.....

 

[FIND]

Why is it such a big deal for the front seats? it would have the same protection as the back seats.

The rear seats are not as safe in an accident as the drivers seat.... that is just common knowledge. They are ok... kinda for small children... but the headrest is there for a reason in cars... it is not so you can relax and lean your head back on a comfy pillow while you are driving. This is why newer cars have headrests or high back seats in the rear seats as well. Would you like a picture of my Lincoln's back seat?

They didn't put high back seats in the back seats of cars for several reasons... the main was visibility. Drivers they figured... well fine, not like they have eyes in the back of their head, plus, if there is a passenger in the vehicle, most of the time they are front seat passengers. Most of the time an average person is operating a vehicle, they are the only occupant. Most rear seat occupants are children. I remember cars that didn't have shoulder belts in the rear. I have seen cars that had only seatbelts for the front.

By the way, trust me when I say this, you would be really uncomfortable in that seat without the high back.... I had the headrests out of my contour for a couple weeks there after they got wrecked by a dog.... Really felt weird not having them there, even though I don't rest my head on it most of the time.

 

[huntman58]

As was said above I agree! I also find they do not get in the way at all when I turn my head to look in the blind spots.

I also remember cars with no seat belts at all. Then only in the front and so on. I also remember riding in the back of an open pick up bed and states with out seatbelt laws. But then again I remember when there were 18 year old legal drinking age laws too and 50cent a gallon gas at full service stations, and no laws about were one could smoke even in a hospital.

Point is things change and most of the time it is for the better.
Now days you can not by a new auto with low back, back seats they all have head rest and shoulder belts by law. this is also why most autos now days really are only for 5 people not like when it was always for 6, but now with high backs and shoulder belt laws the center seat in the front is almost all but gone. But in the back even the center seats have head rest and shoulder belts.

Again if you really want to do this I know the older Bronco II had low back buckets. Along with many other autos of that time. But cutting yours will hurt the seats ability to with stand any hard force as the head rest is also a part of the seat back that is formed from metal that makes up the seats skeleton.

 

[92exp4x4]

It would be alot more work than its worth. The tube metal frame goes all the way to the top of the seat and would need to be heavily modified. The older ranger and bronco seats will work in the explorer. Most Ford seats of the same time frame (80s-early 90s), will fit the explorer's seat tracks even those from cars. Take a tour through the junkyard and find something you like.

I have bought quite a few seats from my local bone yard for about $35 with tracks and all.