Bench seat - making a 3-seater into a 2-seater

Vantime

Member
Thanks for posting this mod, I followed suit and got my three turned into a 2. I had a local auto upholstery shop strip the seat for me, then I cut out the middle seat and welded it back together. It went surprisingly well - I opted to weld it back together in the van with the two bases clicked in to avoid any issues with alignment. Dropped it back at the upholstery shop and they modified the foam and fabric as needed. Looks great and frees up so much room!
 

glenlavers

New member
Just in the process of doing this mod. I’ve got the seat cut and welded, the cushions cut and glued and will embark on the upholstery or bring it to someone do. In the meantime can anyone comment on how the upholsterers are cutting and sewing the fabric? Jolls mentions in his original write up cutting down the center of the hump. But photos of mods do not show a new seam on the hump. So it would appear that they are taking the fabric apart at the seams and re-stitching. Is this the case? It appeared to me that those seems are stitched with the plastic rails and not easily unstitched and re-stitched but please let me know if anyone has a more detailed procedure I can use. I’d love to do it all myself and am on the home stretch! Otherwise I might have to bring it in to a shop. Thanks in advance!


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sprinterPaul

Well-known member
Just in the process of doing this mod. I’ve got the seat cut and welded, the cushions cut and glued and will embark on the upholstery or bring it to someone do. In the meantime can anyone comment on how the upholsterers are cutting and sewing the fabric? Jolls mentions in his original write up cutting down the center of the hump. But photos of mods do not show a new seam on the hump. So it would appear that they are taking the fabric apart at the seams and re-stitching. Is this the case? It appeared to me that those seems are stitched with the plastic rails and not easily unstitched and re-stitched but please let me know if anyone has a more detailed procedure I can use. I’d love to do it all myself and am on the home stretch! Otherwise I might have to bring it in to a shop. Thanks in advance!


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Use a seam ripper and split at seat seam plastic rail comes off. You need to reattach it.

The back is harder because you have to cut and rebuild a corner to avoid making a seam in middle. Or you can just make a seam on back support since it's not that visible.




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sprinterPaul

Well-known member
Use a seam ripper and split at seat seam plastic rail comes off. You need to reattach it.

The back is harder because you have to cut and rebuild a corner to avoid making a seam in middle. Or you can just make a seam on back support since it's not that visible.




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I'm in the middle of two seats right now. Here is a picture of what I was referring to for taking the seam apart and pulling off the plastic retention strip.

This is the back of the upper part. You will need to do some additional cuts and joins on the curved part that goes under the foam.




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bikebum

Member
Success! Thank you for the write up, would not have had the confidence to do this without your write up! We installed slightly smaller diameter tubing inside each cut section and welded that, for additional strength. The sewing/cutting of the fabric was a piece of cake, and I used rivets to secure the plastic backing piece.

The variable that is still unknown, is how the two kids will take to being so close together. My wife has already referred to the "love seat" as a "hate seat". But hey, its way easier to get bow to stern now.

Thanks again!
 

JJolls

'14 170 4cyl Crew
Bike bum:
Thanks for your thanks! Nice contribution with using rivets on the plastic seat back... I never thought of that!
Good luck with the new love/hate seat!
Jolls
 

sprinterPaul

Well-known member
Hateseat is truth. I was hauling around a 3 seater briefly and the boys voted unanimously to keep the bigger seat.

Honestly after gaining the space a 2 person bench offers. I can't see going back to 3 person.

They will just have to deal with it. Even though they are in striking range of each other.


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Onefin

Well-known member
My kid (6) was pissed that I moved the seat rearwards to the 1.5 back position because she could no longer “kick my seat” to get my attention.
 

sprinterPaul

Well-known member


I threw together a simple scrap wood jig to make the process easy and repeatable.

The tracks are there to make alignment easy and then supports under the bench make it trivial to hold pieces in place.

I also switched to internal sleeves all around as it speeds up the cutting and welding. You can be off a couple mm's and not a big deal.

Even if you are only doing one seat the wooden jig helps a ton.


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TheHerd

New member
I also switched to internal sleeves all around as it speeds up the cutting and welding. You can be off a couple mm's and not a big deal.
I’ve been wondering about this.
Where are the sleeves, and what sizes are you using?
A write up would be truly welcomed.
 

sprinterPaul

Well-known member
I’ve been wondering about this.
Where are the sleeves, and what sizes are you using?
A write up would be truly welcomed.
You need 4 internal tubes basically.

2 x 5/8" diameter
1 x1.75"
1x1" I think. This is already in the seat end. You just use a socket extension and a 17mm socket and hammer it into the other side.

Works perfect!

It acts as reinforcement and makes the cuts easier. Use a cut off wheel for the cuts. Too hard to get straight cuts with sawzall. Make your cuts. Measure to retain spacing.
 

JJolls

'14 170 4cyl Crew
sprinterPaul:

I like your jig to hold the seat sections in alignment - this, and the internal sleeves, makes the welding a sure thing. Great contribution to the Seat-mod effort!

-Jolls
 

TrailBuilder

New member
You need 4 internal tubes basically.

2 x 5/8" diameter
1 x1.75"
1x1" I think. This is already in the seat end. You just use a socket extension and a 17mm socket and hammer it into the other side.

Works perfect!

It acts as reinforcement and makes the cuts easier. Use a cut off wheel for the cuts. Too hard to get straight cuts with sawzall. Make your cuts. Measure to retain spacing.
Nice work, SprinterPaul! Any chance you can provide a little more detail about the internal sleeves you are using: what gauge, and length? Any pics of that part of the process?
 

sprinterPaul

Well-known member
Nice work, SprinterPaul! Any chance you can provide a little more detail about the internal sleeves you are using: what gauge, and length? Any pics of that part of the process?




My local metal shops don't stock these odd ball sizes. So I paid a bunch thru mcmastercarr

I use enough length to overlap the tube. Just a few inches. You are just using it to keep it all aligned and create strong bonds. The uprights in the bench create all the strength not the cross bars.





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coguzzi

Active member
I am finally back up and running in Quebec City, Quebec. just uncrated and put oil in my sewing machines and welder is functional. Shop is not completely done yet (is it ever), but... So anyone in QC or the NE USA, or anyone looking to do a drive, I can convert 3 to 2 person sprinter seats again.
 

gardenerbob

New member
Hi coguzzi, I am still in the market, but unfortunately my season is about to begin.
Do you have any converted seats that you could sell? I can't afford to not have a seat for weeks at a time.
Bob
 

Wheeljack

Active member
Thanks to all of the contributors on the seat conversions. Although it seemed to take a while to do, and also because I was designing/building the galley in parallel, it is mostly complete. After about 2 1/2 years of figuring out what we needed and optimal layout, the factory-style 2 seater was a key component for getting it all to work out. I even got to sew it up on this 1950's era piece of German engineering, PFAFF 130.
 

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MotoXPress

Active member
Excellent and exactly what I’m looking for.

How much space from the left edge of seat to the wall? How wide is your cabinet??


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