seats in the woods

[GB SISSON]

I have been trying to find a set of seats for my woodie truck project. Seats that match and have the period look, whether ford or not. While attending the Portland Oregon swap meet in April I found a nice set of four willys wagon seats in good shape. These are a 60/40 split. Maybe more like 75/25 actually. The guy wanted 400.00, but when I peeled off the bills, he wouldn't sell them to me because "they are for a willys wagon, and hard to find in this shape so I want them to go to a willys guy."... But at least I saw what they looked like. Last week a friend mentioned a couple of willys wagons in the deep woods near his place here on the island. I contacted the owner and it sounds like they are mine soon. Yes, they need upholstery, but The three seats I have found are all different and I don't want to upholster a miss-mash of stuff. The tubular frames seem solid. Hope to pick them up this week. Meanwhile I have been installing glass all weekend.

[ford38v8]

Your Portland experience must have been hard to take, but you really have to respect that guy's integrity in refusing your money. Not too many guys can resist selling out their principles for cash on the barrelhead. Glad you found a set elsewhere!

[RalphM]

Always fun tracking down “lost” parts in the woods!

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

Your Portland experience must have been hard to take, but you really have to respect that guy's integrity in refusing your money. Not too many guys can resist selling out their principles for cash on the barrelhead. Glad you found a set elsewhere!

I know what you mean about that. I'm sure the willys guy that bought them later in the afternoon was really glad. We DO know the feeling when it comes to fords, and the rare parts we seek.

[Pete]

How about wood slat seats from a vintage railroad car?
I have seen that done in a model a woody before.
There are 3 maybe 4 vintage railroads in Wa. for sourcing.

[donald1950]

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that is a beautiful woody. my complements.....

[T Scott]

Hey Gary,

If you get stuck, school bus seats are cheap and they are easy to rework with the tube frames and such. Might get you by if the Willys deal doesn't come through.

[cmbrucew]

Originally Posted by T Scott

Hey Gary,

If you get stuck, school bus seats are cheap and they are easy to rework with the tube frames and such. Might get you by if the Willys deal doesn't come through.

But school bus seats don't come with seat belts.
Bruce

[Tinker]

...

[alanwoodieman]

and you think jeep seats come with seatbelts?

[Mart]

I'd be looking at trying to buy both the Jeeps, not just the seats..

[leon bee]

Those little Willys wagons were my school buses when I was a kid. Every time I see one I see it in yellow with school printed all over it. And me running out to it. In the winter we sat in a dead 40 Chevy out at the end of the drive.

[GB SISSON]

Thanks guys. I have two messages to this guy and he hasn't called back. There is another issue as well. The bucket seats are only 15" wide. It doesn't look like the stock jeep bucket and bench combo will fit in the front as they total 48" and I'm looking at 46" with my new door panels being fitted last night. I had hoped to use the two buckets up front but they are pretty narrow. I currently have an fj40 landcruiser seat on the drivers side at 19" wide and what appears to be a vintage school bus driver's seat on the pass side. It measures 21". I got the mystery seat from a 1/2 ton jailbar panel, but it clearly is not original. This seat has a great tubular frame and a deep cushion with a curved back. My wife says it is very comfortable. I already have a two person school bus seat I bought at Portland that I was planning to use for the rear, and it matches the look of the driver seat quite well. One thought is to widen this school bus driver seat into a bench and use stock jailbar seat as the cushions. If I had my druthers I'd match that seat and have two 21" buckets up front. I'll get some pics and maybe someone can identify it.

[truckdog62563]

Gary - I’ll offer again to donate that 53-56 Ford van folding back driver side bucket I’ve mentioned before. It measures 21” across. Finding one to match is naturally an issue. And shipping through Fastenal. Stu

[GB SISSON]

Well after work (which was very stressful jobsite today) I took my employee to the bar and while crossing the street at the intersection I met up with John who owns the jeeps. We transacted with cash through his window while the tourists backed up behind us and now I have a bunch of jeep seats. Really Stu, your's might be a good match up front and I love the fastenal thing, so let's keep it open. Maybe tomorrow morning I can get a pic of what's going on. The woodie window thing is at an amazing high point with maybe two days to go. After that it is seats, and more seats. Oh and a finished floor to mount them on....With work pressing so hard and the Orcas Island 4th of July parade looming, I have promised all my grandkids, ranging in age from 12 down to 1 that they can ride in Grandpa Gary's wooden car and toss out candy to their friends. We can fine tune the seats this fall! Then Grandma and I can take a week off and go for a tour in our 'wooden car'..........

[truckdog62563]

Glad you connected with the guy on the Jeeps. If you need mine too it’s a standing offer. Stu

[Dak Rat]

Man, I hate to see those two wagons rotting out there like that--they don't look that bad.

[truckdog62563]

The Mt. Pickett Orphanage is there to help them. Stu

[GB SISSON]

The solid color one is really bad. The roof is rotted through in the rear. They are both rusty as heck, but the two tone one has quite a few good parts. I was once a very serious enthusiast of the toyota fj series landcruisers and have seen the prices soar in the last few years. Then it started with the early broncos. Now even the scout 800 series are quite desirable. Then there's the volkswagen bus. Who'd a thunk? I'm sure the willys are not far behind. I just can't drag everything home. Being on an island it costs money to get vehicles hauled to the crusher so they might be there a while.

[GB SISSON]

Well the seats just wouldn't work in the woodie. The doors just taper too much towards the narrow cowl. BUT.... They fit real well in my Studebaker two ton pickup. The red with white piping even matched the color scheme.. . This weekend I had a couple of long days to work on the old vehicles. You might say the stars were aligned. The weather was pretty nice as well. I rebuilt the carb on the stude, installed the seats in it, and made up a set of running board extensions so it would look more like a real M15 pickup. The fillers at the bed I made a few months ago from a 1/2 ton ford frame rail. Just to top it off, just before Sunday dinner I built a 2 into one exhaust system and installed it in my 92 f350 IDI tow vehicle. That was done from under the vehicle on the gravel but I had an old sheet of 1/4" plywood that saved my back. well, sort of.....Edit: I'm sorry the pictures are quite bad. I just saw my lense band the camera was in the shop while I was sanding.